| 1057:
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Death of Ralph the Timid, Earl of Hereford
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| 1095:
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Roger II Grand count of Sicily (1105-30) and king of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily (1130-54) born
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| 1135:
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Coronation of King Stephen
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| 1178:
|
ANTOKU TENNO, personal name TOKIHITO 81st emperor of Japan born
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| 1216:
|
The Dominican Order of Friars confirmed by the Pope
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| 1440:
|
Bluebeard, pirate, is executed
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| 1551:
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Death of Richard Plantagenet, illegitimate son of Richard III
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| 1617:
|
Mustapha I becomes Ottoman Sultan
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| 1696:
|
Colonist James Oglethorpe. He colonized Georgia and founded the city of Savannah. born
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| 1775:
|
A Continental naval fleet was organized in the rebellious American colonies under the command of Ezek Hopkins
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| 1785:
|
The American Continental Navy fleet was organized, consisting of two frigates, two brigs and three schooners. Sailors were paid eight dollars a month
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| 1807:
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Congress passed the Embargo Act, designed to force peace between Britain and France by cutting off all trade with Europe
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| 1808:
|
A remarkable concert was staged by Beethoven. The four-hour event included the premiere of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies with the Fourth Piano Concerto in between. Some of Beethoven's vocal music was sung, too
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| 1856:
|
Frank Kellogg, Secretary of State who tried to outlaw war born
|
| 1858:
|
Opera composer Giacomo Puccini ( La Boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly) born
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| 1862:
|
Philadelphia A's manager Connie Mack, "Dean of Baseball" born
|
| 1864:
|
Union General William T. Sherman sent President Abraham Lincoln this message: "I beg to present you as a Christmas present the city of Savannah."
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| 1869:
|
Pulitzer prize-winning poet Edwin Arlington Robinson born
|
| 1883:
|
Composer Edgar Varese born
|
| 1885:
|
Composer Deems Taylor born
|
| 1885:
|
Conductor Andre Kostelanetz born
|
| 1894:
|
French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism. (Dreyfus was eventually vindicated.)
|
| 1894:
|
The United States Golf Association was formed in New York City
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| 1894:
|
Debussy's "Prelude for the Afternoon of a Faun" was premiered in Paris. Mallarme, whose poem inspired the work, said, "I didn't expect anything like that."
|
| 1907:
|
Academy Award-winning actress Dame Edith Margaret (Peggy) Ashcroft (Passage to India) born
|
| 1910:
|
Postal savings stamps were issued for the first time. They were discontinued in 1914
|
| 1912:
|
Former first lady Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) Johnson born
|
| 1917:
|
TV game show host Gene (Rubessa) Rayburn born
|
| 1917:
|
Actor- Frankie (Johnson) Darro (Vanishing Legion, Westward the Women, Broadway Bill, Riding High, Black Gold, Irish Luck) born
|
| 1918:
|
The last of the food restrictions, that had been enforced because of the shortages during World War I, are lifted. Thoughts on American History
|
| 1920:
|
WEAF, in New York City, aired the first broadcast of a prize fight from ringside. The fight was broadcast from Madison Square Garden where Joe Lynch defeated Peter Herman to retain the bantamweight title
|
| 1922:
|
Actress Barbara Billingsley (Leave it to Beaver) born
|
| 1922:
|
Former House Speaker Jim Wright born
|
| 1931:
|
The U.S. Senate ratifies foreign debt moratorium
|
| 1934:
|
Auto racer David Pearson born
|
| 1936:
|
Actor Hector Elizondo (Chicago Hope, Popi, Freebie and the Bean, Foley Square, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, The Fan, Cuba, American Gigolo, The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three, Pocket Money, Born to Win) born
|
| 1937:
|
Country singer Red Steagall born
|
| 1941:
|
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington for a wartime conference with President Roosevelt
|
| 1943:
|
Sporting goods manufacturers received permission to use synthetic rubber for the core of baseballs
|
| 1944:
|
Baseball hall-of-famer Steve Carlton born
|
| 1944:
|
Ordered to surrender by Nazi troops who had his unit trapped, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division replied with one word: "Nuts!"
|
| 1945:
|
ABC News correspondent Diane Sawyer born
|
| 1946:
|
Rock singer-musician Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) born
|
| 1948:
|
Retired baseball player Steve Garvey born
|
| 1949:
|
Brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees pop group. born
|
| 1951:
|
Golfer Jan Stephenson born
|
| 1953:
|
Actress BernNadette Stanis (Good Times) born
|
| 1956:
|
Gorilla Colo (1st to be born in captivity. Born at Columbus, Ohio zoo) born
|
| 1956:
|
The Columbus, Ohio zoo reports the first gorilla born in captivity
|
| 1960:
|
Rapper Luther Campbell born
|
| 1962:
|
Actor Ralph Fiennes born
|
| 1966:
|
The U.S. announces the allocation of 900,000 tons of grain to fight the famine in India
|
| 1969:
|
Actress Lauralee Bell ("The Young and the Restless") born
|
| 1972:
|
Folk singer Joni Mitchell received a gold record for the album, "For the Roses."
|
| 1974:
|
Actress Heather Donahue ("The Blair Witch Project") born
|
| 1975:
|
Mike and Gloria Stivic (Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers) had a baby on "All In the Family" on CBS-TV
|
| 1977:
|
Three dozen people were killed when a 250-foot-high grain elevator at the Continental Grain Company plant in Westwego, Louisiana, exploded
|
| 1978:
|
Actress Dina Meyer born
|
| 1985:
|
Winnie Mandela of South Africa is put in jail for returning to her home in Soweto
|
| 1986:
|
Joe Paterno was named Sportsman of the Year by "Sports Illustrated"magazine. It marked only the second time a coach had won the honor
|
| 1987:
|
The Reagan administration criticized Israel's handling of the Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, particularly the military's use of live ammunition against civilians
|
| 1988:
|
President-elect Bush appointed Dr. Louis W. Sullivan secretary of health and human services, Samuel K. Skinner transportation secretary and Manuel Lujan Junior interior secretary
|
| 1989:
|
Romania's hard-line Communist ruler, Nicolae Ceausescu, was toppled in a popular uprising
|
| 1990:
|
Lech Walesa took the oath of office as Poland's first popularly elected president
|
| 1990:
|
Twenty-one sailors returning from shore leave to the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga drowned when the Israeli ferry they were traveling on capsized
|
| 1991:
|
The body of Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins, an American hostage murdered by his captors, was found dumped along a highway in Lebanon
|
| 1992:
|
President-elect Clinton chose Warren Christopher to be his secretary of state, and tapped Les Aspin to be defense secretary
|
| 1992:
|
A Libyan Boeing 727 jetliner crashed, killing 157 people
|
| 1993:
|
Singer Michael Jackson, fighting back against child molestation allegations, issued a video statement in which he said he was "totally innocent of any wrongdoing."
|
| 1994:
|
House Democrats chastised Speaker-to-be Newt Gingrich for accepting a $4.5 million book advance from Rupert Murdoch's media empire
|
| 1994:
|
North Korea handed over the body of American pilot David Hilemon, killed when his helicopter was shot down over the communist country three days earlier
|
| 1995:
|
The Senate approved a wide-ranging Republican plan to overhaul the nation's welfare system, 52-47, but without enough votes to override President Clinton's promised veto
|
| 1995:
|
Actress Butterfly McQueen, who'd played the slave Prissy in "Gone With the Wind," died at age 84
|
| 1996:
|
Peruvian guerrillas holding more than 360 hostages at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima freed all but 140 of their captives
|
| 1996:
|
Eight workers were killed in an explosion at the Wyman Gordon Forgings metal-fabricating plant in northwest Houston
|
| 1997:
|
During his visit to Bosnia, President Clinton thanked American troops and lectured the nation's three presidents to set aside their differences
|
| 1997:
|
Gunmen attacked an Indian village in southern Mexico, killing 45 people
|
| 1997:
|
Actress Hunter Tylo, whose pregnancy got her fired from TV's steamy soap "Melrose Place," was awarded $4.9 million by jurors who agreed she was wrongfully terminated
|
| 1998:
|
A third Chinese dissident (Qin Yongmin) was sentenced to prison for trying to organize an opposition party
|
| 1999:
|
An Algerian accused of trying to smuggle nitroglycerin and other bomb-making materials into the United States from Canada pleaded innocent in Seattle to all five counts of a federal indictment
|
| 1999:
|
Two astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery went on a spacewalk to replace broken instruments in the Hubble Space Telescope
|
| 2005:
|
Greenpeace activists clash with Japanese whaling fleet in Southern Ocean
|
| 2005:
|
Japanese whaling ship to dock in Hobart
|
| 2005:
|
Bird flu resistant to anti-viral drug
|
| 2005:
|
Destroyed Kelso High School to be rebuilt
|
| 2005:
|
US Senate blocks Alaska refuge drilling
|
| 2005:
|
HIV vaccine trial ready to roll in Thailand
|
| 2005:
|
Australian academic study supports nuclear power
|
| 2005:
|
Station staff on the London tube to take industrial action over staffing levels
|
| 2005:
|
Striking NYC transit workers will return to jobs
|
| 2005:
|
Calpine declares bankruptcy, cites natural gas prices
|
| 2005:
|
Australian States to launch high court battle against IR reforms
|
| 2005:
|
Australian woman wins right to have dead husband's baby
|
| 2005:
|
First charges laid over riot text messages
|
| 2005:
|
Technology Brief for December 22, 2005
|
| 2005:
|
Former Australian defence chief's son to be discharged from the Army
|
| 2005:
|
Couples thrashed for sitting in a park in Meerut, India
|
| 2006:
|
Minimum purchasing age of fireworks raised in New Zealand
|
| 2006:
|
Travel chaos as fog descends on United Kingdom
|
| 2006:
|
Rolling Stone prints story based on Wikipedia vandalism
|
| 2007:
|
Preview of sex tape starring former 'American Idol' finalist Jessica Sierra is released
|
| 2007:
|
Open Source "TV Browser" project drops 16 channel listings in face of usage fees
|
| 2007:
|
Oldest surviving US WWI veteran dies
|
| 2007:
|
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair converts to Catholicism
|
| 2007:
|
Indian Air Force jet catches fire and crashes after refuelling at Biju Patnaik Airport
|
| 2007:
|
Rajeev Bagga & Natalia Deeva named as "Deaf Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year"
|
| 2007:
|
WHO says spread of Bird Flu among humans limited
|
| 2007:
|
Sacha Baron Cohen retires Borat alter ego
|
| 2008:
|
US drone strike kills eight in Pakistan's tribal region
|
| 2008:
|
Continental 737 runs off runway at Denver International Airport
|
| 2008:
|
UK legislation expands debt collectors' powers
|
| 2008:
|
Russian flight returns to Athens after bomb threat
|
| 2009:
|
Clashes between herders and farmers in Nigeria kill thirty
|
| 2009:
|
China and Indonesia hail deal of Copenhagen summit
|
| 2009:
|
Serbia to apply to join the EU
|
| 2009:
|
Scottish nurse loses appeal in murders of four patients in England
|
| 2009:
|
US Senate advances health care reform bill
|
| 2009:
|
Mexico City legalises gay marriages
|
| 2010:
|
British serial killer jailed for three prostitute murders
|
| 2011:
|
Cypriot court clears all of wrongdoing in Greek air disaster
|
| 2011:
|
Italian senate passes €30 billion austerity package
|
| 2011:
|
Two politicians jailed for life over Rwandan genocide
|
History
Icons
Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
Fashion model and actress, Barbara Lillian Billingsley born in Los Angeles, California
Award winning television journalist and correspondent, Lila Diane Sawyer born in Glascow, Kentucky
Singer and songwriter, Robin Gibb born in the Isle of Man
Musician. singer and songwriter, Maurice Gibb born in the Isle of Man