December 13th
 

1916 ~ Not EVERYONE who died in WWI was in the fighting!! An avalanche in Tyrol, Austria, killed over 10,000 Italian and Austrian troops.


1642 ~ New Zealand was discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman.


1918 ~ President Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first U.S. president to visit Europe while in office.


1978 ~ The U.S. Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, the first U.S. coin honoring a woman.


1981 ~ The Polish government imposed martial law in an attempt to crush the Solidarity movement.


1996 ~ Kofi Annan of Ghana chosen to become UN secretary-general.


2000 ~ George W. Bush accepted presidency 36 days after election; Al Gore, Jr., conceded.


2003 ~ CA & I fly to Dublin, to indulge in ALL SORTS of high-jinks and debauchery, fuelled by copious amounts of "Proper" Guinness!! :D :D


This programme will now take a short(ish!) intermission..... normal service will be resumed on December 17th!!

DM

And, just in time for the season ... in 1843, Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" was published with 6,000 copies sold.

(BTY, TY DM)

1981~ Israel annexed the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967.

1916 ~ the French defeated the Germans in the World War I Battle of Verdun.

1770 ~ Birth of Ludwig Van Beethoven

1950 ~ President Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight "Communist imperialism."

(how did I miss this before?)
 

What happened? Did they deport him to some backward southern nation?:confused:



Margaret Mead- Born 1901
She was twenty-three years old when she first traveled to the South Pacific, to conduct research for her doctoral dissertation. The resulting book, Coming of Age in Samoa, was - and remains - a best-seller.

Alexander Ross Clarke- Born 1828;
English geodesist whose calculations of the size and shape of the Earth (the Clarke ellipsoid) were the first to approximate accepted modern values with respect to both polar flattening and equatorial radius.

In 1884, the first U.S. patent was issued for an automatic liquid vending machine to William H. Fruen of Minneapolis, Minn. (No. 309,219).

Re: (how did I miss this before?)
 

LOL I KNOW! I was quite young when metric was introduced so it was just another part of school for me. I guess it caused some controversy!

December 17th
 

1855 ~ Jem Smith beat Jack Davies in the last official bare-knuckle British heavyweight championship fight.


1777 ~ France recognized American independence.


1903 ~ Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight in a heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, N.C.


1944 ~ The U.S. Army announced the end of its policy of holding Japanese-Americans in internment camps, allowing "evacuees" to return home.


1969 ~ The U.S. Air Force ended its "Project Blue Book" and concluded that there was no evidence of extraterrestrial activity behind UFO sightings.


1992 ~ North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed by U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

December 18th
 

1997 ~ Anthony DeCulit shoots three fellow postal workers in Milwaukee, before turning the gun on himself


1737 ~ Violin maker Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona, Italy.


1787 ~ New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.


1865 ~ Slavery was abolished with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.


1892 ~ Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" premiered at St. Petersburg's Maryinksy Theatre.


1956 ~ Japan was admitted to the United Nations


1957 ~ The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania became the first civilian nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States.


1969 ~ The British Parliament abolished the death penalty for murder.


2000 ~ George W. Bush received 271 votes in the delayed Electoral College balloting.

1984: Britain and China signed an accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997

December 19th
 

1989 ~ ~U.S. troops invade Panama to overthrow President General Noriega


1732 ~ Benjamin Franklin began publishing Poor Richard's Almanac.


1776 ~ Thomas Paine published his first American Crisis essay, in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls."


1843 ~ Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol."


1946 ~ War broke out in Indochina when Ho Chi Minh attacked the French.


1972 ~ Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, ending the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.


1998 ~ President Bill Clinton impeached on two counts by the House of Representatives.

December 20th
 

2001 ~ Scottish rock band Big Country's lead singer, Stuart Adamson, found dead in a hotel room. He had committed suicide.


1803 ~ The United States purchased the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million.


1860 ~ South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.


1968 ~ Author John Steinbeck died at age 66.


1989 ~ The United States had invaded Panama and installed a new government but failed to capture General Manuel Antonio Noriega.


1996 ~ Astronomer Carl Sagan died at age 62.

(In a big country! Loved that song!)

1991 Argentia Newfoundland - US Navy announces plans to close Argentia base in 1994; 500 personnel will leave; once the largest US base on foreign soil.

1991 OTTAWA SENATORS COME BACK

NHL Governors grant permanent membership to the new Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning teams. The original Senators went out of business in 1932, due to the Depression.

Born 20 Dec 1868; died 7 Feb 1938.
Harvey S(amuel) Firestone was an American industrialist who introduced straight-side pneumatic tires for the Model T Ford.

In 1879, Thomas A. Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light at Menlo Park, New Jersey. He had invented the lamp on 21 Oct 1879 after 13 months of experimentation to discover a suitable material for the filament.

December 21st
 

1988 ~ The bomb aboard a Pan AM Boeing 747 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.


1620 ~ The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts.


1891 ~ The first basketball game, invented at Springfield College in Massachusetts by James E. Naismith, was played.


1898 ~ Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium.


1913 ~ The first crossword puzzle was printed in the New York World.


1937 ~ Disney's Snow White, the first feature length color and sound cartoon, premiered.


1970 ~ Elvis Presley met with president Richard Nixon in the White House.


1991 ~ Eleven of the former Soviet republics form the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1904- Born (died 24 May 1992)
Francis Thomas Bacon was an English engineer who developed the first practical hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, which convert air and fuel directly into electricity through electrochemical processes.

1933- Died (born 7 Jun 1879)
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen, Danish-Eskimo explorer and ethnologist who, in the course of completing the longest dog-sledge journey to that time, across the American Arctic, made a scientific study of virtually every Eskimo tribe in that vast region.

1945- General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. 3rd Army, dies from injuries suffered not in battle but in a freak car accident. He was 60 years old.

1958- Three months after a new French constitution was approved, Charles de Gaulle is elected the first president of the Fifth Republic by a sweeping majority of French voters.

1968- Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard.

December 22nd
 

1989 ~ Brandenburg Gate re-opens, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.

1870- Jules Janssen, flew in a balloon in order to study the solar eclipse.

1882- The first string of Christmas Tree lights was created by Thomas Edison's associate, Edward H. Johnson. He decorated a Christmas tree at his home. Previously, trees were decorated with wax candles from the early days of the Christmas tree tradition.

1911- Born (died 20 Dec 2002)
Grote Reber, U.S. astronomer and radio engineer who built the first radio telescope and was largely responsible for the early development of radio astronomy, an entirely study of the universe.

1937- The Lincoln Tunnel in New York opened to traffic.

1964- Comedian Lenny Bruce is sentenced to four months in a New York jail for violating obscenity laws during his nightclub act.

1968- The first U.S. live telecast from a manned spacecraft in outer space was transmitted from Apollo VIII.

On Dec. 22, 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln from Georgia, saying, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah."

December 23rd
 

1956 ~ The United Nations Emergency Force takes over in Egypt after British and French forces withdraw from Port Said and Port Fuad ending the Suez Crisis.

1986 The experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

December 23rd
 

1995 ~ 16 members of the Solar Temple sect were found in a clearing near Grenoble, France. 14 were presumed shot by two of the group, who then committed suicide


1783 ~ George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army.


1788 ~ Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the District of Columbia.


1823 ~ The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ("'Twas the night before Christmas"), written by either Clement C. Moore or Maj. Henry Livingston, Jr., was published in the Troy Sentinel of New York.


1947 ~ The transistor was invented by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, and William Shockley.

Christmas Eve! My guy, Joey Smallwood was born today.

1900-1991

journalist, politician, born on this day at Mint Brook, just outside Gambo, Newfoundland; died at St. John's Dec. 17, 1991.

Smallwood worked as a left-wing journalist in New York from 1920-25, and campaigned for the Progressive Party; 1925 returned to Newfoundland to serve as a union organizer and radio broadcaster; 1933 failed to win a seat in the election; 1943-46 ran a piggery at the Gander air base; 1946 elected to the Newfoundland Convention and tirelessly campaigned for admission into Canada; July 22, 1948 won second of two hard-fought and close referenda using the bait of family allowances; April 1, 1949 became interim Premier, May 1949 won election as Newfoundland's first provincial Premier, a post he held until 1971; Oct. 1971 defeated by the Conservatives led by Frank Moores; 1977 left politics to write his 5 volume Encyclopedia of Newfoundland, but only lived to see publication of three volumes. It was completed in 1994.

1781 CANADA'S FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE

Sorel Quebec - Friedrich, Baron von Riedesel 1738-1800 erects Canada's first Christmas tree for the garrison in Fort Sorel.

December 24th
 

1962 ~ The last of more than 1,000 men taken prisoner at the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was returned to the United States.

Christmas Eve!!!
 

1914 ~ The first EVER German bomb was dropped on Britain!! A bit unsporting, old boy..what??


1524 ~ Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama died in Cochin, India. Hope he got his prezzies first!! :)


1814 ~ The War of 1812 between America and Britain ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Now, THAT'S what christmas should be about, isn't it?


1818 ~ "Silent Night" was composed by Franz Joseph Gruber. Been hearing this all week! :(


1865 ~ The Ku Klux Klan was formed in Pulaski, Tennessee. They should ALL be Damned, just for this!! (Just a thought!)


1871 ~ Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida premiered in Cairo, Egypt, at the opening of the Suez Canal. *wonders if dicksbro has seen that one?*


1992 ~ President Bush pardoned former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal. Just one of the boys, y'know??

Christmas Day!
 

I'm not going to post anything today, mainly cos in the sources I use, there's NOTHING even remotely amusing or uplifting!!

So, instead, I'll just say.....


MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYPIXIE!!!



DM :D

December 25th
 

1991 ~ Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as Soviet Union breaks up. "…as a result of the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent states I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" .

Merry Christmas, DM!

It's hard to believe Gorbachev has only been gone for 12 years.

(sorry, I had no new news besides his resignation, either :) )

Here's a surprising one . . . I would have thought a Prime Minister of Britain met or spoke with the Americans before this:

On Dec. 26, 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress.

December 26th
 

2000 ~ A gunman opened fire at an internet firm in Wakefield in the the U.S., killing seven people.


1492 ~ Christopher Columbus established the first Spanish settlement in the New World.


1776 ~ George Washington defeated the Hessians at Trenton.


1865 ~ James H. Nason invented the coffee percolator.


1972 ~ The 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo.

December 27th
 

1979 ~ Soviet forces seize control of Afghanistan. The resulting civil war lasted 10 years, and gave rise to the Taliban.


1831 ~ Darwin began his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.


1871 ~ The world's first cat show was held at the Crystal Palace in London.


1932 ~ Radio City Music Hall in New York City opened.


1945 ~ The World Bank was created with an agreement signed by 28 nations.


1996 ~ Rwanda's first genocide trial opened for the 1994 slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis.


2001 ~ The U.S. announced plans to hold Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.


2001 ~ Also on this day, President Bush permanently normalized trade relations with China.

December 27th
 

1985 ~ 16 people are killed and more than 100 injured during twin terrorist attacks at Rome and Vienna airports.

1979

Just to add to the Afghanistan fact - President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, was replaced by Babrak Karmal.

December 28th
 

Kind of a BUSY day, today!!


1983 ~ The only Beach Boy who could actually surf, Dennis Wilson, died after diving into a Californian dock


1065 ~ Westminster Abbey consecrated.


1832 ~ John C. Calhoun became the first vice president in U.S. history to resign from office.


1846 ~ Iowa became the 29th state in the United States.


1869 ~ William F. Semple patented chewing gum.


1895 ~ The Lumiere Brothers gave the first movie show at the Grand Cafe in Paris.


1937 ~ Composer Maurice Ravel died in Paris at age 62.


1945 ~ Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.


1981 ~ Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, Va.

On Dec. 29, 1940, during World War II, Germany began dropping incendiary bombs on London.

December 29th
 

1890 ~ Defeat at the Battle of Wounded Knee effectively ended Native American resistance to white settlement!


1170 ~ Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by four knights acting under the orders of Henry II.


1845 ~ Texas became the 28th state in the United States.


1851 ~ The first Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) opened in Boston.


1937 ~ The Constitution of Ireland, changing the Irish Free State into Eire, went into effect.


1989 ~ Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia.


1996 ~ A peace agreement was signed, ending 36 years of conflict in Guatemala.

December 30th
 

It's New Years Eve Eve, today!! :D


1916 ~ Rasputin, the "Mad Monk" was finally killed by a group of Russian aristocrats, after being; poisoned (cakes AND wine!), shot (twice), bludgeoned and then stabbed. Still not dead, he was tied up and thrown in the River Neva, where his body was washed up several weeks later!


1853 ~ The United States bought some 45,000 sq mi of land from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase.


1896 ~ Jose Rizal, national hero of the Philippine Revolution, was executed by firing-squad by the Spanish.


1911 ~ Sun Yat-sen was elected the first president of the Republic of China.


1922 ~ The Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics was established through the confederation of Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine, and Transcaucasian Federation.


1924 ~ Edwin Hubble announced the existence of other galactic systems.


1972 ~ President Nixon halted the heavy bombing on North Vietnam.


1993 ~ Israel and the Vatican signed an agreement of mutual recognition to put an end to Jewish-Christian hostilities.

1981 GRETZKY SHATTERS RICHARD RECORD
Edmonton Alberta - Wayne Gretzky scores five goals, including his 50th of the season into an empty net, leading the Oilers to a 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Scoring in only his 39th game of the season, Gretzky becomes the first player to reach the mark in fewer than 50 games, shattering Maurice Richard's NHL record.

December 31st
 

1964 ~ Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record, becoming the only man to break the world land and water speed records in the same year.