On this day...
0418 St Boniface I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0801 Louis the Vrome occupies Barcelona
1065 Westminister Abbey opens in London
1614 Sperm whale beached at Noordwijk
1732 1st known ad for "Poor Richard's Almanack" (Pennsylvania Gazette)
1816 American Colonization Society organizes
1821 Naples: Gioacchini Rossini moves to Bologna
1828 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo Japan, 30,000 killed
1832 John Calhoun becomes 1st Vice-President to resign (differences with President Jackson)
1836 Spain recognizes independence of México
1846 Iowa becomes 29th state
1849 M Jolly-Bellin discovers dry-cleaning, he
accidentally upset lamp containing turpentine & oil on his clothing
& sees cleaning effect
1850 Rangoon Burma destroyed by fire
1864 Battle of Egypt Station MS
1869 William Finley Semple of Mount Vernon OH, patents chewing gum
1877 John Stevens, Wisconsin, applies for a patent on his flour rolling mill
1878 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Quod apostolici muneris (socialism)
1879 North British Railway's train falls as Firth bridge collapses (Scotland)
1887 Sir John Layton Jarvis, 1st British race horse trainer knighted
1893 French lieutenant Boiteux annexes Tumbuktu
1895 World's 1st movie theater opens in Paris
1897 Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac" premieres in Paris
1902 1st indoor pro football game, Syracuse beats Philadelphia 6-0 (Madison Square Garden, NYC)
1902 Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii to US
1903 Clyde Fitch's "Glad of It" premieres in New York NY
1903 Electric lamp sets fire to Iroquois theater in Chicago; 602 die
1904 1st daily wireless weather forecasts published (London)
1905 Intercollegiate Athletic Association of US founded (becomes NCAA in 1910)
1905 New South Wales all out for 805 vs Victoria, win by innings & 253
1906 Ecuador adopts its constitution
1908 Messina, Italy struck by an earthquake (nearly 80,000 died)
1910 The opera "Königskinder" is produced (New York NY)
1912 San Francisco Municipal Railway starts operation at Geary St (MUNI)
1912 National Council of Young Israel convenes
1915 San Francisco City Hall dedicated by Mayor James Rolph
1923 George Bernard Shaw's "St Joan" premieres in New York NY
1925 George/Ira Gershwin's musical "Tip-Toes" premieres in New York NY
1926 Imperial Airways begins England-India mail & passenger service
1926 Arthur Mailey takes 4-362 off 64 overs (no maidens) New South Wales vs Victoria
1926 Ponsford scores 352 & Ryder 295 against New South Wales
1926 Victoria all out for 1107 against New South Wales at the MCG Crowd 22,348
1927 George Kaufman & Moss Hart's "Royal Family" premieres in New York NY
1928 Last recording of Ma Rainey, "Mother of the Blues" is made
1928 Louis Armstrong makes 78rpm recording of "West End Blues"
1931 Lin-Sen succeeds Chiang Kai-shek as President of Nanjing-China
1935 W P A Federal Art Project Gallery opens in New York NY
1937 Fascist Octavian Goga becomes PM of Romania/begins spread of Judaism
1938 Paul Gibb scores 106 on Test Cricket debut vs South Africa
1940 Arthur Morris scores 111 in 2nd innings of 1st game after 148
1941 State of siege goes into effect in Bohemia/Moravia
1942 Robert Sullivan becomes 1st pilot to fly the Atlantic 100 times
1942 Oberkommando Wehrmacht orders strategist flight out of Kaukasus
1943 All inhabitants of Kalmukkie deported, about 70,000 killed
1944 Eisenhower & Montgomery meet in Hasselt Belgium
1944 Former Washington 3rd baseman Buddy Lewis wins Distinguished Flying Cross
1944 Leonard Bernstein's musical "On the Town" premieres in New York NY
1945 Congress officially recognizes "Pledge of Allegiance"
1947 Chicago Cardinals beat Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 in NFL championship game
1948 The IDF crosses the Egyptian border
1948 Middel-Java as a whole in Dutch hands
1948 US announced a study to launch an Earth satellite
1949 20th Century Fox announces it will produce TV programs
1950 Chinese troops cross 38th Parallel, into South Korea
1952 Detroit Lions beat Cleveland Browns 17-7 in NFL championship game
1953 WLBT TV channel 3 in Jackson MS (NBC) begins broadcasting
1954 43rd Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Sydney (3-2)
1954 KEPR TV channel 19 in Pasco-Kennewick-Richl WA (CBS) 1st broadcast
1955 44th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in New York (5-0)
1956 Dr. Frances Horwich [Miss Frances], Ding Dong School on NBC-TV
1957 CBS states it won't broadcast baseball where minor league games are on
1957 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
1958 What might be called greatest NFL game, Colts beat Giants 23-17
1958 Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon & Theodore with David Seville) hit #1
1961 Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana" premieres in New York NY
1962 UN troops occupy Elizabethstad Katanga
1963 "Double Dublin" closes at Little Theater NYC after 4 performances
1963 "Jennie" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 82 performances
1963 Merle Haggard's 1st appearance on country chart with "Sing a Sad Song"
1964 Premier of Dmitri Shostakovich's Stefan Rasin
1964 Principal filming of "Dr Zhivago" begins
1966 13 die in a train crash in Everett MA
1966 China People's Republic performs nuclear test at Lop Nor People's Rebublic of China
1967 KTSB (now KSNT) TV channel 27 in Topeka KS (NBC) begins broadcasting
1967 Muriel Siebert is 1st women to own a seat on New York Stock Exchange
1968 100,000 attend Miami Pop Festival
1968 Beatles' "Beatles-The White Album" goes #1 & stays #1 for 9 weeks
1968 57th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Adelaide (4-1)
1968 Israeli assault on Beirut Airport
1968 KVOF (KUDO, now KWBB) TV channel 38 in San Francisco CA (IND) 1st broadcast
1969 Dallas Cowboy kicker Mike Clark, attempting an on-side kick against Cleveland, misses the ball
1969 Neil Simon's "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" premieres in New York NY
1969 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1970 "Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen" opens at Majestic NYC for 19 performances
1970 Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) adopts constitution
1971 Hasj falls from now on under(neath) the Opiumwet
1972 Kim Il-song, becomes President of North Korea
1972 Martin Bormann's skeleton found in Berlin (Hitlers deputy)
1972 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1973 Alexander Solzhenitsyn publishes "Gulag Archipelag"
1973 Akron OH's Chamber of Commerce terminates itself from Soap Box Derby
1973 Comet Kohoutek at perihelion
1974 6.3 earthquake strikes Pakistan: 5200 killed
1975 "Hail Mary Pass" - Cowboys beat Vikings 17-14 on last second pass
1975 Red Army beats New York Rangers 7-3 at Madison Square Garden
1975 1st broadcast of radio Hilversum IV (classic music)
1975 Gary Cosier scores 109 vs West Indies at MCG on Test Cricket debut
1976 "Fiddler on the Roof" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 167 performances
1976 Genie Francis joind "General Hospital" as Laura Vining
1976 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1976 Winnie Mandela banished in South Africa
1978 30th hat trick in Islander history (Mike Bossy)
1980 México terminated fishing agreements with US
1981 Cleveland Metroparks Administrative offices move from downtown to Zoo
1981 Warner-Elektra-Atlantic raises price of 45 records from $1.68 to $1.98
1983 72nd Davis Cup: Australia beats Sweden in Melbourne (3-2)
1983 Gavaskar achieves his 30th century, beating Bradman's 29
1983 US says they will leave UNESCO on Dec 31, 1984
1983 Warren Cromartie signs 3 year $2.5 million contract with Yomiuri Giants
1984 TV soap "The Edge of Night" ends 28 year run
1984 Creosote bush determined to be 11,700 years old
1984 Rajiv Gandhi's Congress party wins election in India
1984 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1985 Warring Lebanese Moslem & Christian leaders sign peace agreement
1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1986 Pat Davis, ranked 412th among world tennis competitors, wins Davis Cup
1987 In Arkansas R Gene Simmons kills 2, later bodies of 14 of his relatives are found at his home near Dover AR
1988 US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirms Yonkers is guilty of racism
1988 John Tarrant, 1st Australian born Zen teacher, receives Dharma Transmission
1988 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1989 Alexander Dubcek elected parliament chairman of Czechoslovakia
1989 Earthquake at Newcastle Australia, 11 die
1990 2 die in a NYC subway accident
1990 Blockbuster Bowl 1: Florida State beats Penn State, 24-17
1991 8 are crushed to death at a RAP basketball game at City College, New York NY
1991 Irene the Icon of the Greek Orthodox church returns after being stolen
1991 Ted Turner is named Time Magazine Man of the Year
1991 Blockbuster Bowl 2: Alabama beats Colorado, 30-25
1991 Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jiminez, 20, of Venez, crowned 41st Miss World
1993 Dow-Jones hits record 3793.49
1993 Dutch Antilles government of Yandi Paula forms
1993 John Maclean passes Kirk Muller as all-time New Jersey Devils scorer (521 points)
1994 Billy Ray Cyrus (Achy Breaky Heart) weds Leticia Finley
1994 Boon completes his 20th Test Cricket century (131 vs England, MCG)
1994 Tammy Wynette admitted to the hospital with bile duct infection
1996 India all out for 66 at Durban after making 100 in cricket 1st inning
1997 Sting beats Hollywood Hogan for WCW Championship
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Iowa : Admission Day (1846)
Nepál : King Birendra's Birthday
Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day celebrated
- - - - - ( Tuesday )
Religious Observances
Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican : Feast of St John, apostle/evangelist
Religious History
1741
English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in a letter: 'Redeem your
precious time: pick up the fragments of it, that not one moment of it
may be lost. Be much in secret prayer. Converse less with man, and more
with God.'
1832 In Missouri, St. Louis Academy (founded in 1818)
was chartered as St. Louis University. It was the first Catholic
university established in the U.S. west of the Allegheny Mountains.
1838 Greensborough Female College was chartered in North
Carolina, under the Methodist Church. In 1920 its name was changed to
Greensboro College.
1847 Birth of Samuel A. Ward, American music publisher.
Ward composed the tune MATERNA, to which we sing today the patriotic
hymn, "America, The Beautiful."
1916 At a seven_day convention in Eureka Springs,
Arkansas, the General Assembly of Apostolic Assemblies (GAAA) was
formed. Its institutional life was short, however. Due to the pressures
of World War I, the GAAA was formed too late to recognize ministers of
military age.
Birthdates which occurred on your SELECTED date of December 28:
1484 Joachim Vadianus [von Watt] Swiss physician/mayor of Sankt Gallen
1631 Ludolf Backhuysen Dutch seascape painter/cartoonist
1694 Ceslav Vanura composer
1731 Christian Cannabich German composer/royal chaplain master
1738 Thaddaus Ferdinand Lipowsky composer
1751 Josef Blazej Smrcek composer
1753 Johan Wikmanson composer
1763 John Molson founded Montréal brewery (Molson Canadian)
1783 Robert Gallenberg composer
1787 Hermanus J Abbring Dutch writer/engineer on Curaçao
1801 James Barnes Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1869
1805 Tomas Genoves y Lapetra composer
1812 Julius Reitz composer
1822 William Booth Taliaferro Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1898
1823 Thomas Alexander Scott Assistant Secretary War (Union), died in 1881
1826 Conrad Busken Huet Dutch vicar/literary (Country of Rubens)
1827 Robert Latimer McCook volunteers Brigadier-General (Union), died in 1862
1828 Karl L Kahlbaum German psychiatrist (katatonie)
1833 Charles Miller Shelley Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1907
1835 Archibald Geikie British geologist
1837 Benjamin Johnson Lang composer
1842 Calixa Lavallee composer
1845 Homer Newton Bartlett composer
1849 Herbert von Bismarck German politician/son of Otto of Bismarck
1855 Juan Zorrilla de San Martin Uruguay's diplomat/poet (Tabaré)
1856 [Thomas] Woodrow Wilson Staunton VA, (28 President-D-1913-21, Nobel 1919)
1859 Gerard Brucken Fock composer
1859 John W Fortescue military historian
1860 Alexander von Fielitz composer
1865 Félix E Vallotton Swiss/French painter/writer (Chaste Suzanna)
1868 Marie van Regteren Altena Dutch painter (Amsterdam's Joffers)
1872 Pio Baroja Y Nessa San Sebastian Spain, writer (Camino de Perfección)
1880 Christian DFL Leipoldt South african physician/writer/poet
1882 Arthur Eddington England, astrophysicist/cosmologist/mathematician
1883 A Wolfenstein writer
1884 Joseph Pholien Belgian premier (1950-52)/communist hunter
1887 Charles Dingle
1888 Gabriel von Wayditch composer
1889 Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
1890 Frank Butler Oxford England, actor/screenwriter (Road to Bali, China)
1894 Ed Healey NFL tackle (Rock Island Independents, Chicago Bears)
1894 André de Meulemeester Belgian WWI pilot (Eagle of Flanders)
1895 Auguste Lumiere twin brother of Louis who opened 1st commercial cinema
1895 Louis Lumiere twin brother of Auguste who opened 1st commercial cinema
1896 Roger Huntington Sessions Brooklyn NY, composer (Black Maskers)
19-- Bob Perlow Pawtucket RI, TV host (People Do the Craziest Things)
1902 Mortimer J Adler New York NY, author (Encyclopedia Brittanica)
1902 Shen Congwen writer
1903 John Von Neumann mathematician/astronomer (Bocher Award 1938)
1904 Clabon W Allen Australian/British astronomer
1904 Sergei Yutkevich St Petersburg Russia, director (Otello, Banya)
1905 Cliff Arquette Toledo OH, comedian (Charlie Weaver)
1905 Earl "Fatha" Hines Duquesne PA, jazz pianist (Deep Forest)
1907 Roman Palester Polish composer: The Weichsel
1908 Lew Ayres Minnesota, actor (All Quiet on the Western Front, Dr Kildare)
1909 Billy Williams Waco TX, singer (Your Show of Shows)
1909 Nikola J Vaptsarov Bulgaria poet (Subrani Sutsjinenija)
1910 John Kerr New Zealand, cricketer (opening batsman in 1930's)
1911 Sam Levenson New York NY, humorist (Sam Levenson Show, Masquerade Party)
1911 Phani Majumdar film maker
1913 Lou Jacobi Toronto Ontario, comedian (Dean Martin Show, Melba)
1914 Lee Bowman Cincinnati OH, actor (Ellery Queen, Miami Undercover)
1914 Bernard Youens British actor (Coronation Street)
1915 Roebuck "Pops" Staples US gospel/singer (Staple Singers)
1916 Noel Johnson British actor (Frenzy, Frightmare, Royal Flash)
1917 Ellis Clarke President of Trinidad & Tobago (1976-87)
1919 Inocenti Carreno composer
1920 Steve Van Buren NFL halfback (Philadelphia Eagles)
1921 Eddy Doorenbos Dutch vocalist/pianist/guitarist
1921 Johnny Otis R&B singer
1922 Nyron Sultan Asgarali cricketer (West Indian opening bat 1957)
1922 Stan Lee comics artist/creator (Spiderman, Incredible Hulk)
1923 Andrew Duggan actor (Secret War of Harry Frigg, Winds of War)
1924 Rod Serling Syracuse NY, writer/host (Twilight Zone, Night Gallery)
1924 Johnny Otis [Veliotes] composer (Every Beat of My Heart)
1925 Hildegarde Neff Ulm Germany, actress (Touch of Class, Mozambique)
1925 Bill [William] Westwood British bishop of Peterborough
1926 Donald Carr cricketer (England player in 50's, later MCC honcho)
1927 Martin Milner Detroit MI, actor (Route 66, Adam 12, Life of Riley)
1927 Anne Legendre Armstrong ambassador (to UK)
1927 Simon Raven English playwright/critic (Alms for Oblivion)
1928 Kamillo Lendvay composer
1929 Owen Bieber United Auto Workers president
1929 Terry Sawchuk NHL goaltender (Red Wings, Bruins, Maple Leafs, Rangers)
1929 Maarten Schmidt Netherlands/US astronomer (quasars)
1931 Georg "Org" Marais South African economist/underminister of Finance
1931 Guy Debord situationist
1931 John de Mol Dutch vocalist/composer/producer
1932 Dorsey Burnette Memphis, rocker (Tall Oak Tree, Hey Little One)
1932 Manuel Puig Argentina, writer (La Traicion de Rita Hayworth, Blood of Requited Love)
1932 Clem Schouwenaars Flemish poet/writer
1932 Roy Hattersley British journalist/Labour-parliament leader
1933 Jack Perkins Cleveland OH, newscaster (Prime Time Sunday, NBC Magazine)
1933 Nichelle Nichols Robbins IL, actress (Uhura-Star Trek)
1934 Maggie Smith Ilford England, actress (Death on Nile, Clash of Titans)
1934 David Warrilow actor (Simon, Radio Days, Dakota Road, Barton Fink)
1934 John Akers business executive
1934 Peggy Wilson golfer
1935 Fernando Lopes Portugal, director (Encoberto, Matar Saudades)
1936 Nichelle Nichols Robbins IL, actress (Uhura-Star Trek)
1938 Bruce Yarnell Los Angeles CA, actor (Outlaws)
1938 Charles Neville US rock vocalist/saxophonist (Neville Brothers)
1938 Janet Hough Bryant author/performing artist/educator
1938 Richard Sudhalter British(?) writer/jazz musician
1940 Alvin Elliot Singleton composer
1940 Lonnie Liston Smith US jazz performer (Cosmic Echoes, Magic Lady)
1941 Don Francisco Spanish variety show host (Sabado Gigante)
1941 Intikhab Alam Pakistan cricket leg-spinner (1959-77)
1942 Paul Horowitz New York NY, physicist, META project (Sloan Award 1971-3)
1943 David Peterson Toronto Ontario, premier of Ontario Canada (L) (1982- )
1943 Bobby Comstock rocker
1943 Oscar D Dhlomo South African Secretary-General of Inkatha (1978-90)
1945 Dwight Bement rocker (Gary Puckett & Union Gap-Young Girl)
1945 Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva King of Nepal (1972- )
1945 Max Hastings British editor-in-chief (Daily Telegraph)
1946 Edgar Winter Beaumont TX, rocker (They Only Come Out at Night)
1946 Hubie Green golfer (US Open-1977, PGA-1985)
1946 Jorge Velasquez sportsman
1947 Dick [Richard] Diamonde [Van Der Sluys] Hilversum Holland, rock bassist (Easybeats-Friday on My Mind)
1947 Andrew Olle broadcaster
1947 Aurelio Rodriguez baseball player
1947 Robert Gilliot father of Gerda Havertongs daughter Zulèma
1948 Jorge Velasquez jockey (Kentucky Derby-1981, Preakness-1981)
1950 Alex Chilton Memphis TN, rock guitarist/vocalist (Box Tops-Let Me Get Close to You, The Letter)
1951 Kenneth Pope NFLer
1952 Ray Knight 3rd baseman (New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles)
1952 S Epatha Merkerson Saginaw MI, actress (Lieutenant Van Buren-Law and Order)
1953 Richard Clayderman pianist (Amour, Romantic America)
1953 Robert Pittman TV executive/developer (MTV)
1954 Denzel Washington Mount Vernon NY, actor (Dr Chandler-St Elsewhere)
1954 Rosie Vela British singer (Zazu, Fools Paradise)
1954 Tony Rosato Naples Italy, comedian (SCTV, Saturday Night Live, Amanda's)
1956 Kenneth Gant rocker (Midnight Star-Freak-A-Zoid, Operator, No Parking On The Dance Floor)
1956 Michael Gibbons rocker (Bo Donaldson & Heywoods-Billy Don't be a Hero)
1956 Nigel Kennedy English violinist
1958 Carl Marsden bodyguard
1958 Carlos Carson football player
1958 Joe Diffie Tulsa OK, country singer/guitarist (Home)
1958 Mike McGuire Haleyville AL, singer (Shenandoah-Sunday in the South)
1958 Terry Butcher British soccer player
1959 Everson Walls NFL cornerback (Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants)
1960 Chad McQueen actor (Nightforce)
1960 John Fitzgerald Australia, tennis star
1960 Marty Roe Lebanon OH, singer (Diamond Rio-Meet in the Middle)
1960 Raymond Bourque Montréal Canada, NHL defenseman (Team Canada, Boston)
1960 Terri Garber Miami FL, actress (Leslie Carrington-Dynasty)
1960 Zane Smith Madison WI, pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates)
1961 Heather Hafner Santa Barbara CA, WPVA volleyballer (National-7th-90)
1962 Keith Lee basketball player (Memphis State)
1963 Mel Stottlemyre Jr pitcher (Toronto Blues Jays)
1963 Malcolm Gets actor (Richard Karinsky-Caroline In the City)
1963 Willow Bay TV host (Good Morning America)
1964 Charles Sinek dance skater (& Beata Handra-1997 Pac Coast Senior 3rd)
1965 Mary Waddell Gainey Hartsville SC, Miss South Carolina-America (1991-2nd)
1965 Martine Robine newspaper writer/Miss Junior Miss-France (1984)
1966 Joe Wolf NFL guard (Arizona Cardinals)
1967 Paul Lynch Sydney New South Wales Australia, canoeist (Olympics-96)
1968 Jennifer Palmquest Wilmot SD, Miss South Dakota-America (1991)
1968 Darrick Brownlow NFL linebacker (Washington Redskins)
1968 Jozef Dano Skalica Czechoslovakia, hockey forward (Team Slovakia 1998)
1968 Kurt Schulz NFL safety (Buffalo Bills)
1969 James Trapp NFL cornerback (Oakland Raiders)
1970 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy Haarlem Netherlands, tennis star (95, 96 Oklahoma City)
1970 Elizabeth McIntyre Dunbar WV, Miss America-West Virginia (1996)
1970 James Jett NFL wide receiver (Oakland Raiders)
1971 Melvin Nieves San Juan Puerto Rico, outfielder (Detroit Tigers)
1971 Michael Watkins NFL wide receiver (San Diego Chargers)
1971 Steve Morrison NFL linebacker (Indianapolis Colts)
1972 Adam Clawson Salt Lake City UT, slalom single canoe (Olympics-19th-96)
1972 Adam Vinatieri WLAF punter/kicker (Amsterdam Admirals, New England Patriots)
1972 Jean-Francois Jomphe Havre St-Pierre CA, NHL right wing (Anaheim)
1972 Jim Kitts WLAF running back (Frankfurt Galaxy, Miami Dolphins)
1972 Patrick Rafter Queensland Australia, tennis star (1993 USTA/Aptos California)
1973 Bobby Taylor NFL cornerback (Philadelphia Eagles)
1973 Garth John Da Silva Auckland New Zealand, heavyweight boxer (Olympics-96)
1974 Rob Niedermayer Cassiar, NHL center (Florida Panthers)
1975 Tannis Vallely New York NY, actress (Janice Lazorotto-Head of the Class)
1975 Kesley Perrin CFL defensive back (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1981 Elizabeth Jordan Carr 1st American test tube baby
Deaths which occurred on December 28:
1446 Clemens VIII [Aegyd Muñoz] Spanish anti-pope (1423-29), dies
1542 Albert Pigge [Pighius] Dutch theologist/astronomer, dies at about 52
1622 François de Sales French bishop of Genèva/writer/saint, dies at 55
1673 Joan Blaeu Dutch cartographer/publisher (Atlas Major), dies at 77
1694 Queen Mary II of England dies after 5 years of rule at 32
1706 Pierre Bayle French theologist (History of Criticism), dies at 59
1772 Ernst J Earl van/of Biron Russian duke of Courland, dies at 82
1775 Peter A van de Parra Governor-General of (Netherlands Indies), dies at 61
1779 Gennaro Manna composer, dies at 64
1793 Louis Earl of Bylandt Dutch admiral, dies at about 75
1830 Adrien-Joseph van Helmont composer, dies at 83
1859 Thomas Babington Macaulay English essayist/historian, dies
1860 Cornelius Broere Dutch Roman Catholic clergyman/poet, dies at 57
1862 Joaquim Casimiro Junior composer, dies at 54
1870 Alexey Fyodorovich L'vov composer, dies at 72
1870 Peter van Schendel Dutch painter, dies at 64
1876 Frederik Paludan-Müller Danish poet (Abels död), dies at 67
1878 Jose Bernardo Alcedo composer, dies at 90
1884 Gerben Colmjon Frisian linguist/publisher, dies at 56
1891 Alfred Cellier composer, dies at 47
1903 George [Robert] Gissing English novelist, dies at 46
1915 Gerrit Jan van Heek Dutch textile manufacturer/politician, dies at 78
1916 Eduard Strauss Austrian composer (318 dances), dies at 81
1918 George H White last post Reconstruction congressman (Pennsylvania), dies
1923 Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel engineer (Eiffel Tower), dies at 91
1932 John Blackham cricketer (35 Tests as Australia WK, caught 37), dies
1935 Clarence Day writer (Life with Father), dies
1937 Maurice J Ravel Swiss/French composer (Bolero), dies in Paris at 62
1938 Florence Lawrence silent screen actress (Confidence), dies at 48
1945 Theodore Dreiser novelist (An American Tragedy), dies at 74
1946 Carrie Jacobs Bond American composer (I Love You Truly), dies at 85
1947 Victor Emmanuel III king of Italy (1900-46)/Ethiopia, dies at 78
1948 Mahmud Nokrashy Pasha PM of Egypt, assassinated
1949 Jack Lovelock New Zealand/US surgeon/athlete (Olympics-gold-1936), dies at 39
1949 W Hervey Allen US writer/poet (Anthony Adverse), dies at 60
1956 Roelof Kranenburg Dutch social democratic party-chairman, dies at 76
1961 Edith Bolling Galt Wilson 1st lady (1915-21), dies at 89
1963 Abbott Joseph Liebling American journalist/writer, dies
1963 Paul Hindemith German composer (Composer's World), dies at 68
1967 Béla Schick Hung/US children's physician (Scarlet Fever), dies at 90
1969 Henry Oscar actor (Saint in London), dies at 78
1970 Charles "Sonny" Liston heavyweight boxer champion (1962-64), dies
1970 L Mendel Rivers (Representative-D-SC), dies at 65
1971 Maximilian Raoul Walter Steiner composer, dies at 83
1976 Freddie King rocker, dies at 42
1978 Harry Winston US jeweler for the "rich & famous", dies at 82
1980 Amir Elahi cricketer, 1st Pakistani Test cricketer to die
1980 Jersey calf lived 222 days with an artificial heart
1982 Frederick Douglass Hall composer, dies at 84
1983 William Demarest actor ("Uncle Charlie" on My Three Sons), dies in Palm Springs at 92
1983 Dennis Wilson drummer/singer (Beach Boys), drowns at 39
1984 Sam Peckinpah director, dies of cardiac arrest at 59
1986 Andrei Tarkovsky dies
1986 Louis van Lint Belgian painter, dies at 77
1987 Charles Malik Lebanon's 1st delegate to the UN, dies at 81
1989 Robert Wickler dies
1990 Ed van der Elsken Dutch photographer (Sweet Life), dies at 65
1990 Kiel Martin actor (Detective LaRue-Hill Street Blues), dies of cancer at 46
1990 Lucas Polhaupessy Moluccan leader, dies
1991 Cassandra Harris actress (For Your Eyes Only), dies of cancer at 39
1991 Jacques Aubuchon actor (Hoax, Thunder Road), dies of heart failure
1992 Mort Greene US songwriter (My Grandfather's Clock), dies at 80
1993 Howard Caine dies
1993 Joop Vervoort Dutch soccer referee, dies at 61
1993 William L Shirer writer (Rise & Fall of 3rd Reich), dies at 89
1994 Julian Belfrage theatre agent, dies at 60
1995 Harold Francis Collison trade unionist, dies at 84
1997 George Fleming cyclist, dies at 80
1997 James Lees-Milne architecural historian, dies at 89
1997 Ronald Clive Williams actor/comedian, dies at 68
The History of Love: A Novel
Great House: A Novel
A Natural History Of Love
Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years
America at War Megaset (History Channel)
On this day...
0418 [Etalius] begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0537 St Sofia-church in Constantinople, initiated
1437 Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Bohemia
1503 Battle at Garigliano - Spanish army under G Córdoba beats France
1521 "Zwickauer profeten" appear in Wittenberg
1679 Dutch troops capture Madurees prince Trunudjojo in Java
1703 England & Portugal sign Methuen-Asiento-trade agreement
1741 Prussian forces took Olmutz, Czechoslovakia
1825 1st public railroad using steam locomotive completed in England
1831 Darwin begins his voyage to South America on board the HMS Beagle
1836 Worst English avalanche kills 8 of 15 buried (Lewes Sussex)
1845 Ether 1st used in childbirth in US, Jefferson GA
1850 Hawaiian Fire Department established
1862 Battle of Chickasaw Bluffs MS (Chickasaw Bayou)
1862 Battle of Elizabethtown KY
1867 Ontario & Québec legislatures hold 1st meeting
1871 World's 1st cat show (Crystal Palace, London)
1884 Netherlands recognizes king Leopold II's Congo Free State
1887 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of The Blue Carbuncle" (BG)
1892 Foundation Stone of the Cathedral of St John laid (New York NY)
1892 N C Biddle beats Livingston 4-0 in 1st black college football game
1897 Stanley Cup: Montréal Victorias beat Ottawa Capitals, 15-2
1900 Carrie Nation's 1st public smashing of a bar (Hotel Carry Annex Bar, Wichita KS)
1903 "Sweet Adeline", a barbershop quartet favorite, is 1st sung
1904 Duke of York Theatre opens in London (1st musical Peter Pan)
1904 W B Yeats/Lady Gregory's "On Baile's Strand" premieres in Dublin
1905 M A Noble scores 281 (369 minutes, 21 fours) New South Wales vs Victoria
1906 1st annual meeting of American Sociological Society, Providence RI
1919 Red Sox owner Harry Frazee announces they will deal
any player except Harry Hooper, Hooper is sent to the White Sox after
1920 season
1923 Unsuccessful attempt on prince-regent Hirohito of Japan
1926 Depot Square in the Bronx renamed Botanical Square
1926 Latkin Square in Bronx named for 1st US Jewish soldier to die in WWI
1927 Stalin's faction wins All-Union Congress in USSR, Trotsky expelled
1927 Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II's "Show Boat" premieres at the Ziegfeld Theater (New York NY)
1927 Philip Barry's "Paris Bound" premieres in New York NY
1932 Radio City Music Hall opens (New York NY)
1934 1st youth hostel in US opens (Northfield MA)
1934 Shah of Persia declares Persia now Iran
1937 German immigration officials with no explanation bar
Juan Carlos Zabala (Argentina), 1932 Olympic marathon champion, from
entering Germany
1937 Bradman scores 246 South Africa vs Queensland, 364 minutes, 20 fours
1937 Mae West performs Adam & Eve skit that gets her banned from NBC radio
1939 1st American skimobiles (North Conway NH)
1939 8.0 Earthquake in Erzincam Turkey, about 50,000 die
1941 Japan bombs Manila even though it was declared an "open city"
1941 Siberia: Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 7th Symphony
1942 1st Japanese women camp (Ambarawa) goes into use
1942 NFL Pro Bowl: NFL All-Stars beats Washington 17-14
1943 France transfers most of her powers in Lebanon to Lebanese government
1943 German warship "Scharnhorst" sinks in Barents Sea
1943 Montgomery discusses Overlord with Eisenhower & Bedell Smith
1944 Greece: British premier Churchill flies back to London
1945 International Monetary Fund established - World Bank founded
1945 Arthur Laurent's "Home of the Brave" premieres in New York NY
1946 US wins 1st Davis Cup since 1938
1947 1st "Howdy Doody Show" (Puppet Playhouse), telecast on NBC
1949 Queen Juliana (Netherlands) grants sovereignty to Indonesia
1951 40th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Sydney (3-2)
1953 Detroit Lions beat Cleveland Browns 17-16 in NFL championship game
1954 Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "Saint of Bleecker Street" premieres at Broadway Theater NYC for 92 performances
1956 Bill Sharman (Boston) ends NBA free throw streak of 55 games
1956 45th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Adelaide (5-0)
1959 Baltimore Colts beat New York Giants 31-16 in NFL championship game
1960 France performs nuclear test
1961 Belgium & Congo resume diplomatic relations
1961 Styne/Comden/Green's musical "Subways are for Sleeping" premieres at St James Theater NYC for 205 performances
1962 28th Heisman Trophy Award: Terry Baker, Oregon State (QB)
1964 Cleveland Browns beat Baltimore Colts 27-0 in NFL championship game
1966 "At the Drop of Another Hat" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 105 performances
1968 Apollo 8 returns to Earth
1968 China People's Republic performs nuclear test at Lop Nor People's Rebublic of China
1970 "Hello, Dolly!" closes at St James Theater NYC after 2,844 performances
1972 Los Angeles Kings start Islanders on 12 game losing streak
1972 New North Korean constitution comes into effect
1972 "Purlie" opens at Billy Rose Theater NYC for 14 performances
1972 Belgium recognizes German Democratic Republic
1973 Los Angeles Dodgers announce night games will start at 7:30 instead of 8
1974 FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberación
Nacional/Sandinista National Liberation Front) seizes government
hostages at a private Managua party
1974 40th Heisman Trophy Award: Archie Griffin, Ohio State (RB)
1974 Dear Abby show ends run on CBS radio after 11 years
1974 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1975 Explosion at Chasnala Colliery collapses drowning 350 (Dhanbad India)
1976 Albania constitution goes into effect
1978 King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution
1979 "Knots Landing" premieres on CBS-TV
1979 Red Army beats New York Rangers 5-2 at Madison Square Garden
1979 Soviet troops invade Afghánistán, President Hafizullah Amin overthrown
1980 Calvin Murphy (Rockets) begins longest NBA free throw streak of 78
1981 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest NHLer to get 100 points (38th game)
1981 Lillee becomes the leading wicket-taker in Test Crickets with 310
1981 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1982 Imran Khan 8-60 to bring innings victory vs India at Karachi
1983 Propane gas fire devastated 16 square blocks of Buffalo NY
1983 Pope John Paul II pardons man who shot him (Mehmet Ali Agca)
1984 Padres' free agent pitcher Ed Whitson signs with New York Yankees
1985 Terrorists kill 20 & wound 110 attacking El Al
at Rome & Vienna airports; President Reagan blamed Libyan leader
Colonel Muammar Qaddafi
1986 "Les Miserables" opens at Kennedy Center, Washington DC
1986 10th Soap Opera Digest Poll Awards - Young & Restless wins
1987 Steve Largent sets all-time NFL record for career catches when he catches his 752nd pass
1987 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1988 Bulgaria stops jamming Radio Free Europe after more than 3 decades
1989 Oregon begins taking bids on NBA games
1991 Bengals hire Dave Shula as youngest NFL coach (32)
1991 Chuck Knox retires as Seattle Seahawk coach
1991 "Carol Burnett Show" last airs on CBS-TV
1992 "3 From Brooklyn" closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 45 performances
1992 "Les Miserables" opens at Ostregaswerks, Copenhagen
1992 "Tommy Tune Tonite! Song & Dance Act" opens at Gershwin NYC for 10 performances
1992 13th United Negro College Fund raises $11,000,000
1992 Harry Connick Jr is caught with 9mm gun in New York's JFK airport
1992 Nancy Sheehan wins LPGA Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge Golf Tournament
1993 "Candles, Snow, & Mistletoe" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 7 performances
1993 Actress Teri Garr (44) weds John O'Neil (42)
1993 Dow-Jones hits record 3792.93
1995 Boon completes his 21st Test Cricket century (110 vs SL, MCG)
1996 Carquest Bowl 7: Miami beats Virginia, 31-21
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Australia, Channel Islands, England, Nauru : Boxing Day
Bhutan : Day of 9 Evils
Indonesia : Independence Day (1949)
Namibia, South Africa : Family Day
Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day celebrated
- - - - - ( Monday )
Religious Observances
Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican : Feast of St John, apostle/evangelist
Religious History
1774
English founder of Methodism, John Wesley wrote in a letter:
'God...frequently...makes young men and women wiser than the aged, and
gives to many, in a very short time, a closer and deeper communion with
himself than others attain in a long course of years.'
1784 In Baltimore, at its first General Conference held
this side of the Atlantic, Francis Asbury, 39, was ordained the first
bishop of the Methodist Church in America.
1899 American Christian temperance leader Carry Nation,
53, raided and wrecked her first saloon in Medicine Lodge, KA. She went
on similar rampages in Wichita and Topeka, and in other cities in Iowa
and Illinois as well.
1943 The film "The Song of Bernadette" was released by
20th Century Fox. It told the true story of 14_year_old French Catholic
peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous, who experienced 18 visions of the
Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France in 1858.
1949 In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Evangelical Theological
Society was organized. A conservative fellowship of North American
theologians and Bible scholars, ETS promotes theological discussion and
exploration within the context of a firm belief in the truthfulness of
the Bible.
Birthdates which occurred on your SELECTED date of December 27:
1555 Johann Arndt German Lutherian theologist
1571 Johann Kepler Württemberg Germany, astronomer (elliptical orbits)
1645 Giovanni Adb Viscardi Swiss architect, baptized
1654 Jean/Jacobus Bernoulli Swiss mathematician
1709 Pieter de Swart Dutch architect (Royal Palace, Hague)
1721 Franciscus "French" Hemsterhuis Frisian philosopher
1748 William Marshall composer
1752 Johann Georg Anton Mederitsch-Gallus composer
1755 Antons Klemens Theodor king of Saksen (1827-36)
1761 Michael A Barclay de Tolly Scottish/Russian minister of War
1773 George Cayley England, found science of aerodynamics
1800 John Goss composer
1801 Guillaume L Baud Dutch minister of Colonies (1848-49)
1802 Thomas Fearnley Norway, landscape painter
1803 John ACA van Nispen Sevenaer Member of Dutch 2nd parliament (1848-75)
1814 James Henry Carleton Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1873
1816 Eliakim Parker Scammon Brigadier-General (Union volunteers), died in 1894
1822 Louis Pasteur Dole France, bacteriologist (pasteurization)
1822 John Roberts composer
1825 Reinhold Finsterbusch composer
1829 James Clay Rice Brigadier-General (Union volunteers), died in 1864
1831 Lucius Fairchild Brigadier-General (Union volunteers), died in 1896
1836 Henricus Oort Dutch theologist (Leidse translation)
1845 Augusto de Oliviera Machado composer
1852 Dom Joâo G da Câmara Portuguese journalist/songwriter
1855 Paul Ehrenreich German etnologist/mythologist
1856 Andre Gedalge composer
1859 William Henry Hadow composer
1869 Aurélien FM Lugné-Poe French actor/stage manager (La Parade)
1879 Sydney Greenstreet Sandwich England, actor (Maltese Falcon)
1879 Robert Greig Australia, actor (Horse Feathers)
1884 Bernard van Dieren composer
1890 Maurice Schoemaker composer
1892 Feliks Roderyk Labunski composer
1895 Sig Arno Hamburg, Germany, actor (Holiday in Havana)
1896 Arch Ward sportswriter (proposed baseball's all-star game)
1896 Ewan Calague economist/statistician (Social Security Board)
1896 Louis Bromfield Mansfield OH, writer (Early Autumn, Pulitzer-1926)
1896 Carl Zuckmayer German/Swiss/US playwright
1897 Iwan S Konew Russian marshal/supreme commander pact of Warsaw
1899 Paul Costello US, double sculls (Olympics-gold-1920, 24, 28)
19-- Jerry Gaskill rocker (King's X-Faith Hope Love)
1901 Marlene Dietrich Berlin Germany, singer/actress (Blue Angel)
1901 Irene Handl London England, actress (Riding High, Morgan)
1902 Ferenc Szabo composer
1906 Oscar Levant Pittsburgh PA, actor (American in Paris, Dance of Life)
1906 Ivan Brkanovic composer
1906 Ivan Mark Waller mountaineer
1907 Jan Willem Van Otterloo Winterwijk Holland, conductor (Melbourne 1967-71)
1907 Emile de Strijker Belgian philosopher
1907 Nils-Eric Ringbom composer
1908 Louis de Bourbon Dutch writer/poet (Black Banners)
1909 Johan[nes B] Schmitz Dutch actor/reciter (Lucifer, MacBeth)
1910 Jack Massey groundsman
1910 Neville Crump racehorse trainer
1911 Endre Szervanszky composer [or Jan 1]
1914 Giuseppe Berto Italian writer (Heaven Sees Red)
1914 Ivan Sutton British concert promoter
1915 Mary Kornman Idaho Falls ID, actress (Queen of the Jungle)
1915 William Howell Masters sex author/physician
1917 Earl of Inchcape English large landowner/industrialist (P&O)
1922 Larry Osborne navigator air traffic controller/supply specialist
1924 James A McClure (Senator-R-ID)
1924 Mokta Ould Daddah President of Mauritania (1961-78)
1924 Wouter Eijkelemboom Dutch architect (Holy-hospital, Vlaardingen)
1925 Allan Blank composer
1925 Michel Piccoli Paris France, actor (Topaz, Peril, May Fools)
1926 Jerome Courtland Knoxville TN, actor (Tonka, Tharus)
1930 Wilfrid Sheed England, writer (Boys of Winter, The Hack)
1930 Jacqueline Fontijn Flemish composer
1930 Meg Greenfield US politician(?)
1931 Scotty Moore guitarist (for Elvis)
1934 Larisssa Latynina Ukraine, gymnast (Olympics-gold-1956, 60, 64)
1935 Norma Rae Beatty Ashby broadcaster/TV producer
1936 Lee Salk doctor (CBS TV)
1936 Phil Sharpe cricketer (England middle order batsman during 60's)
1939 John Amos Newark NJ, actor (Good Times, Coming to America)
1940 Jerry Lambert jockey (rode Native Diver)
1940 Pete Brown rocker
1941 Leslie Maguire rocker (Gerry & Pacemakers-Ferry Cross the Mersey)
1941 Michael Pinder rocker (Moody Blues-Nights in White Satin)
1943 Cokie Roberts newscaster (ABC-TV)
1943 Dave Rowberry Newcastle, rocker (Animals)
1944 Tracy Nelson Madison WI, singer (In The Here And Now)
1944 Mick Jones rock guitarist (Foreigner-I Want to Know What Love is)
1946 Janet Street-Porter British TV personality (Youth)
1947 Peter Criss rocker (Kiss-Beth)
1948 Larry Byrom rocker (Steppenwolf-Hour of the World)
1948 Gérard Depardieu France, actor (Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, Danton)
1948 Tovah Feldshuh New York NY, actress (Idolmaker, Terror out of the Sky)
1950 Terry Bozzio rock drummer (Missing Persons-Hello I Love You)
1950 Jack van Gelder Dutch TV host
1951 William Waldorf 4th viscount Astor/English large landowner
1952 Karla Bonoff rock singer (New World, Restless Nights)
1952 Tovah Feldshuh New York NY, actress (Idolmaker, Terror out of the Sky)
1953 Arthur Kent newscaster [Scud Stud], (NBC-Gulf War coverage)
1953 Kevin Wright cricketer (Australian wicket-keeper 1979)
1956 Doina Melinte Romanian running star (world record 1500 m/mile indoor)
1957 Connie Chillemi Eglin AFB FL, golfer (1994 Standard Register-13th)
1957 James Sanford US runner (world record 50 meter indoor)
1958 Steffen Mensching writer
1958 Steven Glen Jones Artesia NM, PGA golfer (1988 AT&T Pebble Beach)
1959 Andre Tippett NFL linebacker (New England Patriots)
1959 Mary Holland San Diego CA, WPVA volleyballer
1960 Maryam D'Abo London, actress (Living Daylights, Xtro, Until Sept)
1960 Terry Price Rockhampton Queensland, Australasia golfer
1961 Caroline Gowan Greenville SC, LPGA golfer (South Carolina Women's Amateur-1981, 83)
1962 Barbara Crampton Levittown NY, actress (Body Double, The Young & the Restless)
1962 Sherri Steinhauer Madison WI, LPGA golfer (1992 du Maurier Ltd)
1962 Timothy Hacker Milwaukee WI, 10k runner
1963 Dana Chladek Decin Czechoslovakia, US slalom Kayak (Olympics-bronze/silver-92, 96)
1963 Jim Leyritz Lakewood OH, catcher (New York Yankees)
1963 Mark Pike NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills)
1964 David Tikolo Kenyan cricket batsman (1996 World Cup)
1964 Randy Kirk NFL outside linebacker (Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers)
1964 Steve Wallace NFL tackle (San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs)
1965 Gamini Wickremasinghe cricketer (Sri Lanka wicket-keeper)
1967 Niels Meijer Dutch rock keyboardist (Bob Color)
1968 Dean Palmer Tallahassee FL, infielder (Texas Rangers)
1969 Chris Humbert Modesto CA, water polo 2 meter offense (Olympics-96)
1969 Suzanne Paxton Baltimore MD, fencer-foil (Olympics-96)
1970 Frank Messmer WLAF defensive end (Frankfurt Galaxy)
1970 Lorenzo Neal NFL fullback (New Orleans Saints, New York Jets)
1970 Mike Salmon NFL/WLAF safety (Houston Oilers, Rhein Fire, San Francisco 49ers)
1970 Steve Hoyem WLAF offensive tackle (Rhein Fire)
1971 Bryan Smolinski Toledo OH, NHL forward (Team USA, Pittsburgh Penguins)
1971 James Stewart NFL running back (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1972 Thomas Wilson Brown actor (Jason-Knots Landing)
1972 Charles Way NFL fullback (New York Giants)
1972 Dewayne Washington NFL cornerback (Minnesota Vikings)
1973 Bill Clay Yokosuka Japan, US sprint cyclist (Olympics-96)
1973 Wilson Cruz actor (My So Called Life, Ally McBeal)
1975 Heather O'Rourke San Diego CA, actress (Happy Days, Poltergeist)
1975 Patrick Paauwe Dutch soccer player (PSV, Graafschap)
1977 Kate Nelson Evanston IL, rhythmic gymnast (Olympics-96)
Deaths which occurred on December 27:
0418 Zosimus Greek Pope (417-8), dies
0975 Balderik bishop of Utrecht (918-75), dies
1065 Ferdinand I the Great, king of Castile, dies
1590 Emmanuel-Philibert of Lalaing marquis of Renty, dies at 33
1595 Pietro Pontio composer, dies at 63
1603 Thomas Cartwright English Presbyterian publicist, dies at about 68
1631 John Pijnas Dutch painter, buried at about 47
1641 François van d'Aerssen ruler of Sommelsdijk/diplomat, dies at 69
1805 Belle van Zuylen Netherlands/Swiss writer (Trois Femmes), dies at 65
1836 Stephen Fuller Austin founder of state of Texas, dies at 43
1858 Alexandre Pierre François Boely composer, dies at 73
1877 Nikolai A Nekrasov Russian poet (Metshty into Zvuki), dies at 56
1880 Alessandro Nini composer, dies at 75
1916 Nikolay Feopemptovich Solov'yov composer, dies at 70
1919 Achilles Alferaki composer, dies at 73
1919 Theodoor H de Meester Dutch liberal premier (1905-08), dies at 68
1924 William Archer Scottish critic/playwright (Green Goddess), dies at 68
1925 Louis Dosfel Flemish lawyer/literary (Assault!), dies at 44
1930 William Courtleigh actor (Madame X, Eyes of Youth), dies at 63
1931 Peter Christian Lutkin composer, dies at 73
1931 Walter Courvoisier composer, dies at 56
1936 Hans von Seeckt German general/advisor of Chiang Kai-shek, dies at 70
1938 Emile Vandervelde Belgian Secretary of State (BWP), dies at 72
1938 O Mandelstam writer, dies
1944 Amy Marcy Cheney Beach composer, dies at 77
1950 Max Beckmann German painter/graphic artist, dies at 66
1952 Henri G Winkelman Dutch supreme commander army/navy 1940, dies at 76
1957 Alan Bridge actor (Hail the Conquering Hero), dies at 66
1959 Alfonso Reyes Mexican poet/historian/diplomat, dies at 70
1972 Lester B Pearson (L) 14th Canadian PM (Nobel 1957), dies at 75
1974 Amy Vanderbilt US author (Complete book of etiquette), dies at 66
1974 Raymond Glenn actor (Raisin in the Sun, Carmen Jones), dies at 76
1978 Bob de Lange Dutch actor/director (Daniel), dies at 62
1978 Chris Bell rock guitarist (Big Star), dies at 27 in car crash
1978 Houari Boumédiene Algerian President, dies after 40 days in a coma at 53
1979 Hafizullah Amin President of Afghánistán (1979), murdered
1981 Hoagy Carmichael US actor/songwriter (Stardust), dies at 82
1982 John Leonard Swigert Jr astronaut (Apollo 13), dies of cancer at 51
1983 Walter Scott rocker, dies
1985 Dian Fossey US naturalist (Gorillas in Mist), found dead in Rwanda
1986 Cliff Burton bass player (Metallica), dies in a bus crash at 24
1986 Lars-Eric Vilner Larsson composer, dies at 78
1987 Rewi Alley New Zealand author, pro Chinese communist, dies at 90 in Beijing
1987 Priscilla Dean actress (Outside the Law), dies of injuries at 91
1988 Fox Harris actor (Alienator, Warlords, Sid & Nancy), dies
1988 Hal Ashby academy-award winning director (Shampoo, 8 Million Ways to Die), dies of cancer at 59
1991 Edward M Love choreographer/dancer, dies of AIDS at 43
1991 John Morgan Evans actor, dies after lengthy illness at 49
1991 W Hudson US "strongest man to the world" (540 kg), dies
1992 Cardew "the Cad" [Douglas] Robinson English comedian (Alfie), dies at 75
1992 Jan Peeters Dutch watercolorist/monument artist, dies
1993 Blandine Ebinger [Loeser] actress (Mädchen in Uniform), dies at 94
1993 Youssef Sebti Algerian scholar/poet, murdered at 50
1994 Hans Berghuis author/poet (Kleitabletten), dies at 70
1994 Karl AF Schiller West German economist/SPD-minister, dies at 83
1994 Peter Barker Howard May cricket (4537 runs-England 1951-61), dies at 64
1994 Sadi de Gorter Dutch author/diplomat (Abscess), dies at 82
1995 Jeremy John Beadle writer/broadcaster, dies at 39
1995 Peter Refn Danish journalist/director (Violets are Blue), dies at 54
1995 Shura Cherkassky pianist, dies at 86
1997 Brendan Gill journalist, dies at 83
1997 Dorothy Stroud garden historian, dies at 87
1997 Ewart G Abner Jr president (Motown Records), dies at 74
1997 Tom Hudson artist/teacher, dies at 75
World Religions: The Great Faiths Explored & Explained
A Comparative View of Religions
History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science
God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter
God Without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths
On this day...
0268 St Dionysius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0418 St Zosimus ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0795 St Leo III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1198 French bishop Odo van Sully condemns Zottenfeest
1481 Battle at Westbroek: Dutch army beats Utrecht
1492 1st Spanish settlement in New World founded, by Columbus
1568 Uprising of Morisco's against suppression in Granada
1620 Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth MA
1659 Long Parliament reforms in Westminster
1748 France & Austria signs treaty about Southern Netherlands
1773 Expulsion of tea ships from Philadelphia
1776 Battle of Trenton-major British defeat
1776 George Washington defeats Hessians at Trenton
1799 George Washington is eulogized by Colonel Henry Lee as "1st in war, 1st in peace & 1st in the hearts of his countrymen"
1805 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts established, Philadelphia
1805 France & Austria sign Peace of Pressburg
1809 English invasionary troop leaves Vlissingen
1813 Zamose, Modlin, Torgau surrender to allied armies
1825 Erie Canal opens
1830 Gaetano Donizetti's opera "Anna Bolena" premieres in Milan
1831 Vincenzo Bellini's opera "Norma" premieres in Milan
1848 1st gold seekers arrive in Panamá en route to San Francisco
1848 William & Ellen Craft escape from slavery in Georgia
1854 Wood-pulp paper 1st exhibited, Buffalo
1860 Maiden voyage of 1st steamship owned by 1 man (C Vanderbilt)
1860 Major Robert Anderson, under cover of darkness, concentrated his small force at Fort Sumter
1862 1st US navy hospital ship enters service
1862 38 Santee Sioux Indians hanged in Mankato MN, due to their uprising
1862 Battle of Dumfries VA
1865 James H Mason (Massachusetts) patents 1st US coffee percolator
1872 4th largest snowfall in NYC history (18")
1877 Socialist Labor Party of North America holds 1st national convention
1878 1st US store to install electric lights, Philadelphia
1879 John Brahms' "Tragic Ouverture" premieres
1890 King Mwanga of Uganda signs contract with East Africa Company
1892 The opera "Cristoforo Colombo" is produced (La Scala)
1899 Mafeking: Bathe-Powells failed assault up fort Game Tree: 24 killed
1902 Most knock downs in a fight, Oscar Nelson (5) & Christy Williams (42)
1908 Jackson Johnson TKOs Tommy Burns in 14 at Sydney, Australia for heavyweight boxing title
1916 Joseph Joffre becomes marshal of France
1917 Federal government took over operation of American RR for duration of WWI
1917 1st NHL defensemen to score a goal: Toronto Maple Leaf Harry Cameron
1918 1st day of 1st-class cricket in Australia after WWI (Victoria vs New South Wales)
1919 Yankees & Red Sox reach agreement on transfer of Babe Ruth
1924 Judy Garland, age 2½, billed as Baby Frances, show business debut
1925 1st East-West football game at Ewing Park before 25,000 fans
1925 NHL record 141 shots as New York Americans (73) beat Pittsburgh Pirates (68) 3-1
1925 Turkey adopts Gregorian calendar
1925 New York's Jake Forbes makes 67 saves, Pittsburgh's Ray Waters makes 70
1926 Prince-regent Hirohito becomes emperor of Japan
1928 Johnny Weissmuller announces his retirement from amateur swimming
1928 World record 10th wicket stand 307 (Kippax / Hooker) New South Wales vs Victoria
1931 George/Ira Gershwin's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical play "Of Thee I Sing" premieres on Broadway
1931 SS-Sturmbannführer Reinhard Heydrich marries Lina von Osten
1932 Earthquake kills 70,000 in Kansu China
1933 US forswears armed intervention in the Western Hemisphere
1933 Bradman scores 187 New South Wales vs Victoria, 294 minutes, 13 fours
1934 Yomiuri Giants, Japan's 1st professional baseball team forms
1935 Stalin views Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth"
1936 Israel Philharmonic Orchestra forms
1938 Bradman scores 225 South Australia vs Queensland before Christ gets him out
1938 Tom Goddard takes a cricket hat-trick for England vs South Africa
1939 Earthquake in East Anatolia Turkey
1939 Mine strikes in Borinage Brussels
1940 1st-class debut of Arthur Morris, who scores 148
1940 JA Fields/J Chodorov's "My Sister Eileen" premieres in New York NY
1941 Winston Churchill becomes 1st British PM to address a
joint meeting of Congress, warning that the Axis would "stop at
nothing"
1943 British sink German battle cruiser Scharnhorst
1943 Chicago Bears win NFL championship
1944 Battle of Bastogne-US General Patton's 4th Pantzers repulse the Germans
1944 Budapest surrounded by soviet army
1944 Tennessee Williams' play "Glass Menagerie" premieres in Chicago
1946 Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas opens (start of an era)
1946 "Beggar's Holiday" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 111 performances
1946 "Toplitzky of Notre Dame" opens at Century Theater NYC for 60 performances
1946 35th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Melbourne (5-0)
1947 British transfer Heard & McDonald Islands (Indian Ocean) to Australia
1947 Heavy snow blankets Northeast, buries NYC under
25.8" of snow in 16 hours; That same day, Los Angeles set a record high
of 84º F
1947 "Cradle Will Ruck" opens at Mansfield Theater NYC for 34 performances
1948 Hungarian cardinal Mindszenty arrested
1950 Gillette & Mutual buy All Star & World Series rights ($6 million for 6 years)
1954 Cleveland Browns beat Detroit Lions 56-10 in NFL championship game
1954 "The Shadow" airs for last time on radio
1955 Cleveland Browns beat Los Angeles Rams 38-14 in NFL championship game
1955 RKO is 1st to announce sale of its film library to TV
1957 Roger Sessions' 3rd Symphony premieres in London
1960 Philadelphia Eagles beat Green Bay Packers 17-13 in NFL championship game
1960 Musical "Do re mi" with Phil Silvers premieres at St James Theater NYC for 400 performances
1963 "Double Dublin" opens at Little Theater NYC for 4 performances
1963 Beatles release "I Want To Hold Your Hand"/"I Saw Her Standing There"
1963 US furnishes cereal to USSR
1964 Beatles' "I Feel Fine" single goes #1 & stays #1 for 3 weeks
1964 Buffalo Bills beat San Diego Chargers 20-7 in AFL championship game
1964 Moors Murderers claim last victim
1965 "Funny Girl" with Barbra Streisand closes on Broadway
1965 Buffalo Bills beat San Diego Chargers 23-0 in AFL championship game
1965 Paul McCartney is interviewed on pirate radio station Radio Caroline
1966 Maulana Karenga establishes Kwanzaa (1st fruits of harvest) holiday
1967 The BBC broadcasts "The Magical Mystery Tour"
1967 Dave Brubeck Quartet formally disbands
1968 Bruin Ted Green sets NHL penalty record of 3 minors,
2 majors & 2 game misconducts in a game against the New York
Rangers in New York's Madison Square Garden
1968 Arab terrorists in Athens fire on El Al plane, kills 1
1968 Jay Allens "Forty Carats" premieres in New York NY
1968 Led Zeppelin's concert debut in Boston as opener for Vanilla Fudge
1973 2 Skylab 3 astronauts walk in space for a record 7 hours
1973 Soyuz 13 returns to Earth
1973 "The Exorcist", starring Linda Blair & rated X, premieres
1974 Washington Capitals 1st NHL sellout
1975 1st supersonic transport service (USSR-Tupolev-144)
1975 A crowd of 85661 attends the 1st day of the Australia-West Indies MCG Test Cricket
1976 "Music Is" closes at St James Theater NYC after 8 performances
1977 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1978 India's former PM, Indira Gandhi, released from jail
1981 One of the great day's Test Cricket at the MCG Australia vs West Indies
1982 TIME's Man of the Year is a computer
1982 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1983 Test Cricket debut of Gregory Richard John Matthews, vs Pakistan MCG
1983 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1984 Belgian princess Astrid marries arch duke Otto L van Austrian-Este
1985 Test Cricket debut of Steve Waugh, vs India at the MCG
1986 TV soap "Search for Tomorrow" ends 35 year run
1986 Doug Jarvis, 31, sets NHL record of 916 consecutive games
1986 Hijackers take over an Iraqi Airways Boeing 737 with
91 people on board during a flight from Baghdad to Amman - it lands in
Arar, Saudi Arabia where it explodes, killing 62 people.
1987 "Les Miserables" opens at National Theatre of Iceland, Reykjavik
1988 "Legs Diamond" starring Peter Allen prenieres at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 64 performances
1988 Anti African student rebellion in China People's Republic
1989 ODI debut for Mark Taylor & Sanath Jayasuriya at cricket MCG
1990 Garry Kasparov beats Antatoly Karpov to retain chess championship
1990 Reggie Williams becomes 1st GM of WLAF's New York-New Jersey Knights
1990 Senior Professional Baseball Association folds
1991 Chuck Knolls retires as NFL coach after 23 years
1991 Jack Ruby's gun sells for $220,000 in auction
1991 Militant Sikhs kill 55 & wound 70 in India
1991 New York Islander Derek King ties New Jersey Devils 5-5 with ½ second left
1992 New York Jet announcer Marty Glickman retires at 75
1993 Antonov-26 crashes at Gyumri, Armenia, 36 killed
1993 Comedian Rodney Dangerfield (72) weds Joan Child (41)
1993 Floyd, Nicklaus & Rodriguez win Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge Golf Tourn
1994 Actor Jason Hervey (22) weds Kelley Patricia O'Neill (27)
1994 French commando's terminate Air France hijacking in Marseille
1994 President's ½ brother Roger Clinton (37) weds 8-month pregnant Molly Nartin (25)
1995 Muttiah Muralitharan no-balled for throwing (SL vs Australia, MCG)
1995 Paul Adams becomes South Africa's youngest Test Cricket player, 18 years 340 ds
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Africa, US : Kwanzaa (1966)
China People's Republic : Mao Tse-Tung's Birthday
Czechoslovakia : Day of Rest
West Germany : 2nd Day of Christmas
Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day
- - - - - ( Monday )
Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day
- - - - - ( Tuesday )
Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day
- - - - - ( Wednesday )
Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day
- - - - - ( Thursday )
Canada, United Kingdom (except Scotland), Australia, New Zealand : Boxing Day
- - - - - ( Friday )
Religious Observances
Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran : Feast of St Stephen, deacon, the 1st martyr
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Vicenta Maria Lopez y Vicuna, foundress
Religious History
1531
German reformer Martin Luther declared: 'The inner man is a saint; the
outer man is a sinner. That is why we confess in the Creed that the
church is holy but pray for forgiveness of sins in the Lord's Prayer.'
1620 Plymouth Colony was settled by the "Mayflower"
colonists. (In 1691 Plymouth joined other neighboring settlements to
form the royal colony of Massachusetts.)
1830 Birth of William Caven, Scottish_born Canadian
Presbyterian leader. He taught at Knox College, in Toronto, the last 39
years of his life. Though staunchly conservative, Caven was genuinely
interested in social issues and thoroughly committed to missions.
1887 Birth of Charles Brandon Booth, American social
reformer and head of the Volunteers of America, 1949_58. Booth was the
grandson of Salvation Army founder William Booth.
1970 American missionary and apologist Francis Schaeffer
wrote in a letter: 'We can fail after we are truly Christians because
becoming a Christian does not rob us of our true humanity.'
Birthdates which occurred on your SELECTED date of December 26:
1194 Frederick II Iesi Italy, German Emperor (1212-1250)/King of Sicily
1618 Elisabeth Paltsgravin of Rhine/abbess
1633 Charles E Biset Flemish painter, baptised
1660 Peter Schenck German/Netherlands engraver/publisher, baptised
1687 Johann Georg Pisendel German violinist/composer
1716 Thomas Gray English poet (Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard)
1731 Anthony Ziesenis architect/sculptor (Town Hall of Westzaan)
1738 Thomas Nelson merchant, signer of the Declaration of Independence
1747 Cornelis Stevens Belgium, Roman Catholic foreman/polemist (Le sophisme dévoilé)
1762 Franz Wilhelm Tausch composer
1770 Pierre earl de Cambronne French general (Waterloo, Elba)
1771 Heinrich J von Collin Austria dramatist/poet (Regulus)
1778 Juan Lovera Venezuela, artist
1792 Charles Babbage English inventor (calculating machine)
1793 Franz Hunten composer
1797 Hans Skramstad composer
1805 Joseph-Leon Gatayes composer
1808 Albert Grisar composer
1809 William Nelson Pendleton Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), died in 1883
1812 Wilhelm Volkmar composer
1815 Israel Bush Richardson Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
1820 Gustavus Adolphus Smith Brigadier-General (Union volunteers), died in 1885
1822 Dion Boucicault Irish/Us actor/playwright (Rip van Winkle)
1824 Augustus Louis Chetlain Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1914
1826 Franz Coenen composer
1826 Martinus Nijhoff founder Nijhoff's book/publisher (Van Dale)
1837 Admiral George Dewey American naval hero of Manila
1845 Salvatore Auteri Manzocchi composer
1849 Samuel E "Sam" van Beem actor (Fanfan la Tulipe)
1855 Arnold Ludwig Mendelssohn composer
1859 Johan F van Bemmelen Dutch zoologist
1861 Friedrich Engel German mathematician (group theory)
1862 Alexander V Amfiteatrov Russian/French/Italian writer
1867 Julien Benda French philosopher/writer (Dialogues à Byzance)
1869 Harry Redman composer
1873 Hubert Cuypers Dutch composer/choir conductor (Minstrels)
1873 Karel Moor composer
1874 Norman Angell [Lane] English cowboy/journalist (Nobel 1933)
1878 Isaiah Bowman US, geography/co-founder (Geographical Review)
1879 Armen Tigran Tigranyan composer
1879 Julius Weismann composer
1883 Carl Oscar Ahues Germany, International Chess Master (1950)
1883 Frank Debenham Australian geographer/geologist
1886 Gyula Gömbös von Jákfa general/dictator of Hungary (1932-35)
1888 Hiroshi "Can" Kikuchi Japanese stagewriter (Tjitj Kaeru)
1891 Henry Miller author (Tropic of Capricorn, Tropic of Cancer, Sexus)
1891 Jean Galtier-Boissière French writer/cartoonist/journalist
1893 Evgeny Karlovich Tikotsky composer
1893 Mao Tse-tung of little red book fame, PM of China People's Republic (1949-76)
1893 Yury Nikolayevich Tyulin composer
1894 Antonio Molina composer
1897 Willie Corsari [Wilhelmina A Schmidt] Dutch writer
1901 Georgy Mikhaylovich Rimsky-Korsakov composer
1901 Victor Hely-Hutchinson composer
1902 Elisha Cook Jr San Francisco CA, actor (Maltese Falcon, Shane, Magnum PI)
1904 Alentejo Carpentier Cubans/French writer (Guerra del Tiempo)
1906 BVA Röling Dutch lawyer
1908 Ralph Hill US, 5K runner (Olympics-1932)
1908 Hanns Maassen writer
1910 Lucy Faithfull children's campaigner
1914 Richard Widmark Sunrise MN, actor (Madigan, Judgement at Nüremberg)
1915 Hans [Henri A] Gomperts Dutch literature (Duck on Attic)
1915 Una Mae Carlisle US pianist/vocalist (Walkin' at the River)
1916 Helmut Eder composer
1917 Rosemary Woods Nixon's secretary, keep her away from your tapes
1920 Gote Carlid composer
1921 Steve Allen New York NY, comedian/TV host (Tonight Show, Steve Allen Show)
1925 Baron Baker activist
1926 Earle Brown composer
1926 Edgar D Ngoyi South African ANC leader (17 years in Robbeneiland Jail)
1926 Zlatko Pibernik composer
1927 Alan King Brooklyn NY, comedian/actor (Anderson Tapes, Memories of Me)
1927 Denis Quilley London England, actor (Masada)
1930 Donald Moffat Plymouth England, actor (Kent-Logan's Run)
1930 Sayed Mutawli imam ad-Darsh scholar/broadcaster
1931 Thomas Eden Binkley musician
1931 Thomas K "Tom" van Brook actor/interpreter (Soldier of Orange)
1932 Walter Leblanc Belgian painter
1935 Abdul "Duke" Fakir Detroit MI, rock vocalist (Four Tops)
1935 Barbara J Jacket US athletic coach (Olympics-1972)
1935 Rohan Kanhai cricketer (one of West Indies' finest batsmen)
1936 Kitty Dukakis 1st lady of Massachusetts/wife of Michael (Governor-MA)
1939 [Harvey] Phil Spector record producer (Wall of Sound)
1939 Lynn Martin US Secretary of Labor (1991-93)
1940 Harmen Siezen Dutch TV-journal host
1941 Daniel Schmid actor/director (Paloma, Violanta, Hecate, Amateurs)
1942 Earl Cate Fayetteville AR, country singer/twin of Ernie (Cate Brothers-Fire on the Tracks)
1942 Ernie Cate Fayetteville AR, country singer/twin of Earl (Cate Brothers-Fire on the Tracks)
1942 Barry Wood cricketer (England opener in early 70's)
1942 Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo President of Guatemala (1986-91)
1942 Rob de Nijs Dutch singer (Put a candle in your window)
1944 Jane Lapotaire actress (Spirit of the Dead)
1945 John Walsh activist/TV host (America's Most Wanted)
1946 Gordon Edwards rocker
1946 Lisette Hordijk Dutch TV broadcaster
1947 Carlton Fisk Vermont, all star catcher (Red Sox, White Sox)
1947 Joyce Jillson Cranston RI, psychic/actress (Superchick)
1948 Chris Chambliss 1st baseman (New York Yankee)
1949 Ira Newborn New York NY, orchestra leader (Manhattan Transfer)
1950 Michael Jones rocker (BT Express-Here Comes the Express)
1950 Victoria Racimo New York NY, actress (Corene-Falcon Crest)
1951 Richard Skinner British DJ
1952 André-Michel Schub Paris France, pianist (Van Cliburn-1981)
1953 Matthew Harding businessman/soccer supporter
1953 Valeri Yuriyevich Sharov Russian cosmonaut
1954 Peter Woods rocker (Romeo Void-Girl in Trouble)
1954 Ullrich Diessner German Democratic Republic, 4 man cox/twin of Walter (Olympics-silver-1976)
1954 Walter Diessner German Democratic Republic, 4 man cox/twin of Ullrich (Olympics-silver-1976)
1954 Ozzie Smith Mobile AL, infielder (St Louis Cardinals)
1954 Susan H Butcher dog sled driver (Iditarod)
1956 Gail Tatterson WBL center (New York Stars)
1956 Karen Smith WBL forward (New York Stars)
1959 Lesley Tomlinson Derbyshire England, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1960 Terri Garber Miami FL, actress (Leslie Carrington-Dynasty)
1961 Storm Davis Dallas TX, pitcher (Kansas City Royals)
1961 Tahnee Welch [La Tahn Renee Welch] San Diego CA, actress (Cocoon)
1963 Lars Ulrich Gentofte Denmark, rock drummer (Metallica-Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters)
1964 Colleen Dion Newburgh NY, actress (Felicia-Bold & Beautiful, Brett Gardner-Another World)
1964 Jeff King Marion IN, infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates)
1965 Ben Husaby Eden Prairie MN, cross country skier (Olympics-1994)
1966 Tim Legler NBA guard (Washington Wizards/Bullets)
1967 Tony Covington NFL safety (Seattle Seahawks)
1968 Darren Barber Victoria British Columbia, rower (Olympics-96)
1970 Lisa Gathright Moline IL, WPVA volleyballer (US Open-17th-1993)
1970 Radka Zrubakova Bratislava Slovakia, tennis star (1994 Futures-Germany)
1970 Willie Williams NFL cornerback (Pittsburgh Steelers, Seahawks)
1971 Mark Lathwell cricketer (England opening batsman vs Australia 1993)
1972 Burnell Roques NFL wide receiver (Atlanta Falcons)
1972 Derrick Cullors running back (New England Patriots)
1972 Jared Leto Bossier City LA, actor (Jordan-My So Called Life)
1973 Ryan Berube US, 800 meter freestyle relay (Olympics-gold-96)
1974 Tiffany Brissette actress (Vicki-Small Wonder)
1974 Tony Brackens defensive end (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1975 Marcelo Rios Santiago Chile, tennis star (1995 Amsterdam)
1977 Brandee Layne Loving Miss Mississippi Teen USA (1996)
1980 Serena Phillips Corvallis OR, figure skater (1997 Pruetten Champion)
1985 Steven Hartman Westlake CA, actor (Rick Forrester-Bold & Beautiful)
Deaths which occurred on December 26:
0267 Dionysius bishop of Rome/saint, dies
1476 Galeazzo Maria Sforza duke of Milan, murdered
1530 Zahir al-Din Mohammed Babur Shah founder Mogols-dynasty, dies at 47
1574 Charles Guise archbishop/cardinal of Reims, dies at 50
1624 Simon Marius astronomer, dies in Bavaria at 54
1627 Gonzaga Italian monarch of Mantua/Monferrato, dies
1658 Simon Guillain French sculptor (Castle of Blois/Sorbonne), dies at 78
1676 Domenicus van Tol Dutch painter, dies
1679 John van de Cappelle Amsterdam landscape painter, dies at 53
1736 Antonio Caldara composer, dies
1740 Mauritius Louis II earl of Nassau Lieutenant-General (12 children), dies
1771 Claude A Helvétius French encyclopedist (L'esprit), dies at 56
1776 Johann Gottlieb Rall Hessian colonel/mercenary, dies in battle
1797 John Wilkes English journalist/Higher/Lower house leader, dies at 72
1827 Jan David Holland composer, dies at 81
1836 Hans Georg Nageli composer, dies at 63
1837 Martinus van Marum chemist/physicist (giant salamander), dies at 87
1861 Philip St George Cocke Confederate Brigadier-General, commits suicide at 52
1862 38 Santee Sioux Indians hanged in Mankato
1866 Samuel Ryan Curtis Union General-Major, dies at 49
1879 Jean Leonard Marie Poiseuille dies
1887 Jules François Blasini Curaçao pianist/composer, dies at 40
1890 Heinrich Schliemann German archaeologist (Trojan War), dies at 86
1916 Bernhard Scholz composer, dies at 81
1916 Frank Penn cricketer (one Test for England vs Australia 1880), dies
1917 Louise J Gautier French poetess/daughter of Théophile G, dies at 71
1918 Bertram Luard-Selby composer, dies at 65
1933 Lunatscharski writer, dies
1937 Ivor Gurney composer, dies at 47
1942 Bosinier de la Chapelle French murderer of Admiral Darlan, executed at 24
1950 Emile Enthoven composer, dies at 47
1950 James Stephens Irish poet (Crock of Gold), dies at 68
1952 Pietro Pancrazi Italian critic (Pegaso), dies at 59
1956 Holmes Herbert actor (The Kiss), dies at 74
1957 Artur Malawski composer, dies at 53
1958 Harry Redman composer, dies on 89th birthday
1960 Eduard Ludwig German architect (Hansa quarter, Berlin), dies at 54
1961 Charlie Frank cricketer (South Africa Test centurion vs Australia 1921-22), dies
1963 "Gorgeous George" Wagner wrestler, dies
1965 Anthonie Donker Dutch [Professor N Donkersloot], literary, dies at 63
1966 Klaziena "Ina" Boudier-Bakker Dutch author (Poverty), dies at 88
1966 Noel Gallon composer, dies at 75
1967 S F Barnes cricketer (27 Tests for England, 189 wickets), dies
1969 Louise L de Vilmorin French poet/author (History d'aimer), dies at 67
1971 Robert Lowery actor (Circus Boy, Pistols 'n' Petticoats), dies at 57
1972 Harry Truman 33rd US President dies in Kansas City MO at 88
1973 Harold B Lee US head of Mormon Church, dies at 74
1973 Steven Geray actor (French Line), dies at 69
1973 William Haines actor (Little Annie Rooney), dies of cancer at 73
1974 Jack Benny comedian (Jack Benny Show), dies at 80
1974 Knudage Riisager composer, dies at 77
1974 Robert Levine Sanders composer, dies at 68
1976 Philip A Hart (Senator-D-MI), dies at 64
1977 Howard Hawks director (Rio Lobo, Hatari!), dies at 81
1977 Ivan Rezak composer, dies at 53
1985 Dian Fossey zoologist (Gorillas in the Mist), murdered at 53
1986 Elsa Lanchester actress (Bride of Frankenstien), dies at 84
1988 John Loder actor (Sabotage, Java Head), dies at 90
1989 Samuel Beckett Irish playright dies in Paris
1989 Lennox Berkeley composer, dies at 86
1989 Peggy Thorpe-Bates actress (Alcatraz Island), dies
1990 Nancy Cruznan accident victim/right-to-die case, dies at 33
1991 Dehl Berti actor (John Taylor-Guns of Paradise), dies at 70
1991 Sam Cresson dies at 73
1992 Bert [Lambertus H] Voeten Dutch poet (Antipodes), dies at 74
1992 Constance Carpenter actress (2 Worlds), dies of stroke at 87
1992 John G Kemeny US computer pioneer (BASIC), dies
1992 Nikita Magaloff Russian/Swiss pianist, dies at 80
1993 Jeff Morrow actor (Robe, Harbor Lights, Blood Legacy), dies at 80
1994 Asta ER Elstak Suriname/Netherlands welfare worker, dies at 74
1994 Johannes J "Joop" Klant Netherlands/South African economist/author, dies
1994 Karl Schiller minister of RFA Economics (1966-72), dies
1994 Robert Emhardt actor (Mac Cory-Another World), dies at 80
1994 Sylvia Brandts Buys actress (Hague's Post), dies at 85
1994 Sylvia Koscina Croatian/Italian actress (Hercules), dies at 61
1997 John Hinde photographer/circus promoter, dies at 81
1997 John Whitley air-Marshal, dies at 92
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Gift
Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology
Inception (Two-Disc Edition) [Blu-ray]
Pride and Prejudice
