Sverdlovsk plane crash: AeroflotLisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 aboard are killed, including almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Force – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur.[1]
Klaus Fuchs is convicted in London of spying against both Britain and the United States for the Soviet Union, by giving to the latter top secretatomic bomb data.
Acting Chinese President Li Tsung-jen ends his term in office.
NSC 68 is issued by the United States National Security Council, advocating the development of the hydrogen bomb, increased military aid to America's allies, and the rollback of communist expansion.
April 15 – Belgian King Leopold III announces that he is ready to abdicate in favor of his son, Baudouin.
Robert Schuman presents his proposal for the creation of a pan-European organisation, which he believes to be indispensable to the maintenance of permanently peaceful relations between the different nations of the continent. This proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
May 17 – Israeli Air ForceSpitfires intercept a Royal Air ForceShort Sunderland, when it inadvertently crossed into Israeli airspace, forcing it to land at Lod Airport. The Sunderland's crew had been issued maps that did not depict Israel, as Britain had not recognized the Jewish State at the time the maps were issued.
August 23 – Legendary singer-actor Paul Robeson, whose passport had recently been revoked because of his alleged Communist affiliations, meets with U.S. officials in an effort to get it reinstated. He is unsuccessful, and it is not reinstated until 1958.
October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission in the United States issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.
Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business.
November 24 – A phenomenal winter storm ravages the northeastern United States, brings 30–50 inches of snow and temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.
November 26 – Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and United Nations forces at the Ch'ongch'on River and the Chosin Reservoir, dashing any hopes for a quick end to the conflict.