December

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World Aids day. Feast day of St Edmund Campion, St Agericus or Airy, St Eligius or Elroy, St Alexander Briant, St Anasanus, St Tudwal, and St Ralph Sherwin.

Events

1640 The Spanish were driven out of Portugal and the country regained its independence. 1919 US-born Lady Nancy Astor became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons, as MP for the Sutton division of Plymouth. 1925 The Locarno Pact was signed in London, guaranteeing peace and frontiers in Europe. 1939 Gone with the Wind premiered in New York. 1942 The Beveridge Report on Social Security, which formed the basis of the welfare state in Britain, was issued. 1953 The first issue of Hugh Heffner's Playboy magazine was published; the centre-spread nude featured Marilyn Monroe. 1989 Pope John Paul II and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Rome, ending 70 years of hostility between the Vatican and the USSR. 1991 France won its first Davis Cup tennis title in 59 years by defeating the USA at the finals in Lyons, France.

Births

Madame Tussaud, French wax-modeller, 1761; Alicia Markova, British ballet dancer, 1910; Woody Allen, US film actor, writer and director, 1935; Lee Trevino, US golfer, 1939; Richard Pryor, US comedian and actor, 1940; Bette Midler, US comedienne and singer, 1945.

Deaths

King Henry I, 1135; Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian sculptor and goldsmith, 1455; Vincent d'Indy, French composer, 1931; J B S Haldane, English scientist and writer, 1964; David Ben-Gurion, Israeli statesman, 1973; James Baldwin, US writer, 1987.

Feast day of St Seraphim of Sarov, St Basil, St Gregory Nazianzen, St Munchin, St Adalhard or Adelard, St Caspar of Bufalo, St Macarius of Alexandria, St Vincentian, and the Holy Name of Jesus.

Events

1492 Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrendered to the Spaniards. 1635 Cardinal Richelieu established the Académie Française. 1839 French photographer Louis Daguerre took the first photograph of the Moon. 1946 King Zog of Albania, who had been residing in England since 1939, was deposed. 1959 The Russian uncrewed spacecraft Luna I, the first rocket to pass near the Moon, was launched. 1971 A barrier collapsed at the Ibrox Park football stadium in Glasgow, crushing 66 fans to death. 1979 The trial of Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols' singer accused of murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, began in New York.

Births

James Wolfe, British general, 1727; George Murray, English classical scholar, 1866; Michael Tippett, English composer, 1905; Isaac Asimov, US biochemist and science-fiction writer, 1920; Roger Miller, US singer and composer, 1936; David Bailey, English photographer, 1938.

Deaths

Ovid, Roman poet, 17; Livy, Roman historian, 17; George Airy, English Astronomer Royal, 1892; Emil Janning, US film actor, 1950; Tex Ritter, US stage and screen singing cowboy, 1974; Dick Emery, English comedian, 1983.

Feast day of Saints Claudius, Hilaria and their Companions, St Birinus, St Lucius of Britain, St Cassian of Tangier, and St Francis Xavier.

Events

1810 The British captured Mauritius from the French. 1910 Neon lighting was displayed for the first time at the Paris Motor Show. 1917 The Quebec Bridge, the world's longest cantilever, over the St Lawrence River, was opened 87 lives were lost during its construction. 1961 At the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Henri Matisse's painting Le Bateau, which had been hanging upside-down for 46 days, was hung the right way up. 1967 At Groote Schurr Hospital, Cape Town, Dr Christiaan Barnard carried out the world's first heart transplant. 1984 A chemical leakage at a pesticide factory in Bhopal, India caused the deaths of over 2,500 people and blinded many thousands.

Births

Niccol Amati, Italian violin-maker, 1596; Joseph Conrad, British novelist, 1857; Anton von Webern, Austrian composer, 1883; Andy Williams, US singer, 1930; Jean-Luc Godard, French film director, 1930; Franz Klammer, Austrian skier, 1953.

Deaths

Frederick VI, King of Denmark, 1839; Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist, 1894; Mary Baker Eddy, US founder of Christian Science, 1910; Pierre Auguste Renoir, French painter, 1919; Oswald Mosley, English fascist leader, 1980; Lewis Thomas, US physician and biologist, 1993; Frank Zappa, US composer and guitarist, 1993.

Feast day of St Maruthas, St Bernard of Parma, St Sola, St Osmund, St Anno, St Barbara, virgin-martyr, and St John of Damascus.

Events

1154 The only Englishman to become a pope, Nicholas Breakspear, became Adrian IV. 1791 Britain's oldest Sunday paper, the Observer, was first published. 1798 William Pitt the Younger first introduced income tax in Britain, to finance the wars with revolutionary France. 1808 Napoleon abolished the Inquisition in Spain. 1829 Under British rule, suttee (whereby a widow commits suicide by joining her husband's funeral pyre) was made illegal in India. 1947 The first performance of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire starring Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy, in New York. 1961 Birth control pills became available on the NHS. 1991 News correspondent Terry Anderson, the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon (2,454 days in captivity), was freed by Islamic Jihad.

Births

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish author, 1795; Edith Cavell, English nurse, 1865; Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet, 1875; Francisco Franco, Spanish dictator, 1892; Ronnie Corbett, British comedian, 1930; Jeff Bridges, US film actor, 1949.

Deaths

Cardinal Richelieu, French politician, 1642; John Gay, English poet and dramatist, 1732; Luigi Galvani, Italian physiologist, 1798; Jack Payne, British bandleader, 1969; Benjamin Britten, English composer, 1976.

The national day of Thailand. Feast day of St Christian, St Sabas, St Justinian or Iestin, St Crispina, St Nicetius of Trier, St Sigiramnus or Cyran, and St John Almond.

Events

1766 James Christie, founder of the famous auctioneers, held his first sale in London. 1904 The Russian fleet was destroyed by the Japanese at Port Arthur, during the Russo-Japanese War. 1908 The first American football game in which players were numbered was played, at Pittsburgh. 1933 Prohibition was repealed in the USA after more than 13 years. 1958 Britain's first motorway, the Preston by-pass, was opened by Prime Minister Macmillan. 1993 The single by Mr Blobby, a pink-and-yellow spotted BBC television star, reached number one in the charts.

Births

Christina Georgina Rossetti, English poet, 1830; Fritz Lang, Austrian film director, 1890; Walt Disney, US filmmaker and animator, 1901; Otto Preminger, Austrian film director, 1906; Little Richard, US rock `n' roll pioneer, 1935; José Carreras, Spanish operatic tenor, 1946.

Deaths

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer, 1791; Alexandre Dumas père, French novelist, 1870; Henry Tate, English businessman and philanthropist, 1899; Claude Monet, French painter, 1926; Jan Kubelik, Czech violinist, 1940; Robert Aldrich, US film director, 1983.

Macdonald, reported on 6 Dec 1925

National Day of Finland. Feast day of St Gertrude the Elder, St Abraham of Kratia, St Nicholas of Bari, St Asella, and Saints Dionysia, Majoricus and their Companions.

Events

1492 Columbus discovered Hispaniola, now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 1774 Austria became the first nation to introduce a state education system. 1877 With a recording of himself reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb Thomas Edison demonstrated the first gramophone, in New Jersey, USA. 1907 In Monongah, West Virginia 361 people were killed in America's worst mine disaster. 1917 Finland proclaimed independence from Russia. 1921 The Irish Free State was formally created, as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. 1926 Mussolini introduced a tax on bachelors. 1990 Saddam Hussein announced that he would free all of the 2,000 foreign hostages held in Iraq and occupied Kuwait.

Births

King Henry VI, 1421; George Monck, English admiral, 1608; Warren Hastings, British administrator, 1732; Osbert Sitwell, English writer, 1892; Ira Gershwin, US lyricist, 1896; Dave Brubeck, US jazz musician, 1920.

Deaths

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter, 1779; Madame du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV of France, 1793; Anthony Trollope, English novelist, 1882; Ernst Werner von Siemens, German inventor, 1892; Roy Orbison, US singer and songwriter.

Feast day of St Martin of Saujon, St Ambrose of Milan, St Eutychianus, St Servus, and St Buithe or Boethius.

Events

1431 In Paris, Henry VI of England was crowned King of France. 1732 The original Covent Garden Theatre Royal (now the Royal Opera House) was opened. 1787 Delaware became the first of the United States. 1907 At London's National Sporting Club, Eugene Corri became the first referee to officiate from inside a boxing ring. 1941 The Japanese attacked the US fleet in Pearl Harbor. 1982 The first execution by lethal injection took place at Fort Worth Prison, Texas. 1988 An earthquake in Armenia killed thousands and caused widespread destruction. 1990 A week-long succession of violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims in several Indian cities began, resulting in about 300 deaths and 3,000 arrests.

Births

Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, Italian sculptor, 1598; Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer, 1863; Eli Wallach, US film actor, 1915; Mario Soares, Portuguese politician, 1924; Ellen Burstyn, US actress, 1932; Geoff Lawson, Australian cricketer, 1958.

Deaths

Cicero, Roman orator, 43 BC; William Bligh, captain of the Bounty, 1817; Ferdinand de Lesseps, French engineer, 1894; Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian operatic soprano, 1962; Thornton Wilder, US novelist, 1975; Robert Graves, English poet and author, 1985; Wolfgang Paul, German nuclear physicist, 1993.

Feast day of the Immaculate Conception, St Romaric, St Eucharius, St Sophronius of Cyprus, and St Patapius.

Events

1854 Pope Pius IX declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be an article of faith. 1863 Tom King of England defeated American John Heenan, becoming the first world heavyweight champion. 1941 The USA, Britain, and Australia declared war on Japan, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 1987 US President Reagan and Soviet President Gorbachev signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty in Washington DC, the first nuclear arms reduction agreement. 1991 The leaders of Russia, Byelorussia, and the Ukraine signed an agreement forming a `Commonwealth of Independent States' to replace the USSR; the decision was denounced by President Gorbachev as unconstitutional.

Births

Horace, Roman poet, 65 BC; Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, 1542; Björnstjerne Björnson, Norwegian poet and dramatist, 1832; James Thurber, US wit and cartoonist, 1894; Sammy Davis Jr, US singer, actor, and dancer, 1925; Jim Morrison, US singer, 1943.

Deaths

Thomas de Quincey, English author, 1859; Herbert Spencer, British philosopher and writer, 1903; Simon Marks, English retailer, 1964; Golda Meir, Israeli politician, 1978; John Lennon, British rock singer and songwriter, 1980.

The national day of Tanzania. Feast day of The Seven Martyrs of Samosata, St Peter Fourier, St Budoc or Beuzec, St Gorgonia, and St Leocadia.

Events

1783 The first executions at Newgate Prison took place. 1868 Gladstone was elected prime minister of Britain, beginning the first of his four terms. 1917 The British captured Jerusalem from the Turks, during World War I. 1955 Sugar Ray Robinson knocked out Carl Olson, regaining his world middleweight boxing title. 1960 The first episode of Coronation Street was screened on ITV. 1987 The first martyrs of the `intifada' in the Gaza Strip were created when an Israeli patrol attacked the Jabaliya refugee camp. 1990 Lech Walesa, leader of the once-outlawed Solidarity labour movement, was elected president of Poland.

Births

John Milton, English poet, 1608; Clarence Birdseye, US inventor of deep-freezing process, 1886; Douglas Fairbanks Jr, US film actor, 1909; Kirk Douglas, US film actor, 1918; Robert Hawke, Australian politician, 1929; Joan Armatrading, English singer and songwriter, 1950.

Deaths

Anthony Van Dyck, Flemish painter, 1641; Joseph Bramah, English inventor of the hydraulic press, 1814; Juan de la Cierva, Spanish enginer, 1963; Edith Sitwell, English poet and author, 1964; Karl Barth, Swiss theologian, 1968; Bernice Abbott, US photographer, 1991; Danny Blanchflower, Irish footballer, 1993.

Feast day of St Gregory, pope, St Edmund Gerhings, St Eustace White, St John Roberts, St Eulalia of Merida, St Swithin Wells, Saints Mannas, Hermogenes and Eugrphus, St Polydore Plaaden, and St Melchiades or Miltiades.

Events

1768 The Royal Academy of Arts was founded in London by George III, with Joshua Reynolds as its first president. 1845 Pneumatic tyres were patented by Scottish civil engineer Robert Thompson. 1898 Cuba became independent of Spain following the Spanish-American War. 1901 Nobel prizes were first awarded. 1941 The Royal Naval battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk by Japanese aircraft in the Battle of Malaya. The leaders of the 12 EC nations ended their two-day summit and agreed on the treaty of Maastricht, pledging closer political and economic union.

Births

César Franck, Belgian composer, 1822; Emily Dickinson, US poet, 1830; William Plomer, South African author, 1903; Olivier Messiaen, French composer and organist, 1908; Dorothy Lamour, US film actress, 1914; Kenneth Branagh, British actor and director, 1960.

Deaths

Paolo Uccello, Italian painter, 1475; Leopold I, King of the Belgians, 1865; Alfred Nobel, Swedish industrialist and philathropist, 1896; Damon Runyon, US writer, 1946; Otis Redding, US soul singer and songwriter, 1967; Jascha Heifetz, US violinist, 1987.

Feast day of St Daniel the Stylite, St Damasus, pope, Saints Fuscianus, Victoricus and Gentianus, and St Barsabas.

Events

1769 Edward Beran of London patented venetian blinds. 1844 Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, was first used for a tooth extraction. 1894 The first motor show opened in Paris, with nine exhibitors. 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the USA. 1987 Charlie Chaplin's trademark cane and bowler hat were sold at Christie's for £82,500. 1991 Salman Rushdie, under an Islamic death sentence for blasphemy, made his first public appearance since 1989 in New York, at a dinner marking the 200th anniversary of the First Amendment (which guarantees freedom of speech).

Births

Pope Leo X, 1475; Hector Berlioz, French composer, 1803; Carlo Ponti, Italian film director and producer, 1913; Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian author, 1918; Kenneth MacMillan, Scottish choreographer, 1929; Brenda Lee, US pop singer, 1944.

Deaths

Llewlyn ap Gruffydd, last native Prince of Wales, 1282; Bernardino Pinturicchio, Italian painter, 1513; Olive Schreiner, South African novelist, 1920; Ed Murrow, US journalist and broadcaster, 1965.

National Day of Kenya. Feast day of St Jane Frances de Chantel, St Corentin or Cury, Saints Epimachus and Alexander, St Edburga of Minster, St Vicelin, and St Finnian of Clonard.

Events

1896 Guglielmo Marconi gave the first public demonstration of radio at Toynbee Hall, London. 1915 The first all-metal aircraft, the German Junkers J1, made its first flight. 1925 The world's first motel, in San Luis Obispo, California, opened. 1955 Bill Haley and the Comets recorded `See You Later Alligator' at Decca Recording Studios, New York. 1955 British engineer Christopher Cockerell patented the first hovercraft. 1989 US billionairess Leona Helmsley, dubbed the `Queen of Greed', was fined $7 million and sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion.

Births

Gustave Flaubert, French novelist, 1821; Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter, 1863; Edward G Robinson, US film actor, 1893; Frank Sinatra, US singer and actor, 1915; Dionne Warwick, US singer, 1941; Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver, 1960.

Deaths

Robert Browning, English poet, 1889; Douglas Fairbanks, Sr, US film actor, 1939; Peter Fraser, New Zealand politician, 1950; Tallulah Bankhead, US actress, 1968; Anne Baxter, US film actress, 1985.

Feast day of St Lucy, St Aubert of Cambrai, St Othilia or Odilia, St Eustratius of Sebastea, and St Judocus or Josse.

Events

1577 Francis Drake began his journey from Plymouth in the Golden Hind that was to take him around the world. 1642 Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand. 1903 Moulds for ice cream cones were patented by Italo Marcione of New York. 1904 The Metropolitan Underground railway in London went electric. 1967 A military coup replaced the monarchy in Greece, sending King Constantine II into exile. 1973 Due to the Arab oil embargo and the coalminers' slowdown, the British government ordered a three-day work week.

Births

Heinrich Heine, German poet and journalist, 1797; John Piper, English painter and writer, 1903; Laurens van der Post, South African writer and explorer, 1906; Balthazar Johannes Vorster, South African politician, 1915; Christopher Plummer, US film actor, 1929; Howard Brenton, English dramatist, 1942.

Deaths

Maimonides, Jewish philosopher, 1204; Donatello, Italian sculptor, 1466; Dr Samuel Johnson, English lexicographer, 1784; Wassily Kandinsky, Russian painter, 1944; Grandma Moses, US primitive painter (aged 101), 1961; Mary Renault, English novelist, 1983.

Feast day of St John of the Cross, Saints Fingar or Gwinnear and Phiala, St Spiridion, St Venantius Fortunatus, and St Nicasius of Reims.

Events

1900 Professor Max Planck of Berlin University revealed his revolutionary Quantum Theory. 1911 A Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen became the first to reach the South Pole 35 days ahead of Captain Scott. 1918 For the first time in Britain women (over 30) voted in a General Election. 1959 Archbishop Makarios was elected Cyprus' first president. 1962 US Mariner II sent the first close-up pictures of the planet Venus back to Earth. 1990 After 30 years in exile, ANC president Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa.

Births

Nostradamus, French physician and astrologer, 1503; Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and mathematician, 1546; Roger Fry, English painter and critic, 1866; King George VI, 1895; Lee Remick, US actress, 1935; Stan Smith, US tennis player, 1946.

Deaths

George Washington, 1st US president, 1799; Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, 1861; Stanley Baldwin, British politician, 1947; Stanley Spencer, English painter, 1959; Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist and human-rights campaigner, 1989.

Feast day of St Nino, St Valerian, St Mary di Rosa, and St Paul of Latros.

Events

1654 A meteorological office established in Tuscany began recording daily temperature readings. 1791 The Bill of Rights' ten amendments became part of the US Constitution. 1916 In World War I, the first Battle of Verdun ended; over 700,000 German and Allied soldiers died in the action. 1939 Nylon was first produced commercially in Delaware, USA. 1961 Nazi official Adolph Eichmann was found guilty of crimes against the Jewish people and sentenced to death, after a trial in Jerusalem. 1982 Gibraltar's frontier with Spain was opened to pedestrian use after 13 years. 1992 Bettino Craxi, the leader of Italy's Socialist Party, was informed that he was under investigation in a burgeoning corruption scandal that had racked the northern city of Milan.

Births

Nero, Roman emperor, 37; George Romney, English painter, 1734; Gustave Eiffel, French engineer, 1832; John Paul Getty, US oil billionaire, 1892; Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist, 1936; Dave Clark, English pop drummer, 1942.

Deaths

Jan Vermeer, Dutch painter, 1675; Izaak Walton, English author of The Compleat Angler, 1683; Sitting Bull, chief of the Sioux Indians, 1890; Fats Waller, US jazz pianist, 1943; Charles Laughton, English actor, 1962; Walt Disney, US filmmaker and animator, 1966.

`For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn.' Jane Austen

Feast day of St Irenion, Saints Ananiah, Azariah, and Michael, and St Adelaide.

Events

1653 Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England. 1773 The Boston Tea Party, a protest against British taxation, took place off Griffin's Wharf in Boston harbour. 1809 Napoleon divorced his wife Josephine, because she had not produced children. 1838 The Zulu chief Dingaan was defeated by a small force of Boers at Blood River celebrated in South Africa as `Dingaan's Day'. 1850 The first immigrant ship, the Charlotte Jane, arrived at Lyttleton, New Zealand. 1944 The Battle of the Bulge, in the Ardennes, began with a strong counter-attack by the Germans under General von Rundstedt. 1990 Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a leftist priest, was elected president in Haiti's first democratic elections. 1991 The UN General Assembly voted to repeal its 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism.

Births

Catherine of Aragon, 1st wife of King Henry VIII, 1485; Jane Austen, English novelist, 1775; Jack Hobbs, English cricketer, 1882; Noël Coward, English dramatist, actor and composer, 1889; Margaret Mead, US anthropologist, 1901; Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress, 1938.

Deaths

Wilhelm Grimm, German philologist and folklorist, 1859; Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer, 1921; Glenn Miller, US trombonist and bandleader, 1944; William Somerset Maugham, British novelist, 1965; Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese politician, 1993.

Feast day of St Lazarus, St Sturmi, St Begga, St Wivina, and St Olympias.

Events

1843 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published. 1892 Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker was first performed, in St Petersburg by the Russian Imperial Ballet. 1903 Orville Wright made the first successful controlled flight in a powered aircraft, at Kill Devil Hill, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA. 1939 The German battleship Graf Spee was scuttled by British warships off Montvideo, Uruguay, after the Battle of the River Plate. 1973 Thirty-one people were killed at Rome airport after Arab guerillas hijacked a German airliner. 1986 At Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, Davina Thompson became the world's first recipient of a heart, lungs, and liver transplant. 1992 Israel deported over 400 Palestinians to Lebanese territory in an unprecedented mass expulsion of suspected militants.

Births

Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer, 1749; Humphry Davy, English chemist and inventor, 1778; William Lyon MacKenzie King, Canadian statesman, 1874; Erskine Caldwell, US novelist, 1903; Tommy Steele, British singer and actor, 1936; Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete, 1938.

Deaths

Simón Bolvar, South American revolutionary leader, 1830; Alphonse Daudet, French novelist, 1897; Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, first English woman physician, 1917; Harold Holt, Australian politician, 1967; Sy Oliver, US composer, 1988.

`Happy is the man with a wife to tell him what to do and a secretary to do it.' Lord Mancroft, reported on 18 Dec 1966

Feast day of Saints Rufus and Zosimus, St Flannan, St Winebald, St Gatian, and St Samthan

Events

1865 The USA officially abolished slavery with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. 1903 The Panama Canal Zone was acquired `in perpetuity' by the USA, for an annual rent. 1912 The immigration of illiterate persons to the USA was prohibited by Congress. 1912 The discovery of the Piltdown Man in East Sussex was announced; it was proved to be a hoax in 1953. 1969 The death penalty for murder was abolished in Britain. 1970 Divorce became legal in Italy. 1979 The sound barrier on land was broken for the first time by Stanley Barrett, driving at 739.6 mph, in California.

Births

Joseph Grimaldi, English clown, 1779; Paul Klee, Swiss painter, 1879; Willy Brandt, German statesman, 1913; Betty Grable, US film actress, 1916; Keith Richards, British guitarist, 1943; Steven Spielberg, US film director, 1947.

Deaths

Antonio Stradivari, Italian violin maker, 1737; John Alcock, English aviator, 1919; Dorothy L Sayers, English author, 1957; Bobby Jones, US golfer, 1971; Ben Travers, British dramatist, 1980; Paul Tortelier, French cellist, 1990.

Feast day of St Timothy, St Gregory of Auxerre, St Anastasius I of Antioch, and St Nemesius of Alexandria.

Events

1154 Henry II became King of England. 1562 The Battle of Dreux was fought between the Huguenots and the Catholics, beginning the French Wars of Religion. 1842 Hawaii's independence was recognised by the USA. 1955`Blue Suede Shoes' was recorded by Carl Perkins in Memphis, Tennessee. 1957 An air service between London and Moscow was inaugurated. 1984 Ted Hughes was appointed Poet Laureate. 1984 Britain and China signed an agreement in Beijing, in which Britain agreed to transfer full sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997. 1991 Bob Hawke was deposed as Australia's prime minister by his parliamentary colleagues and replaced by Paul Keating.

Births

William Edward Parry, English Arctic explorer, 1790; Albert Abraham Michelson, US physicist, 1852; Ralph Richardson, English actor, 1902; Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet leader, 1906; Jean Genet, French dramatist and essayist, 1910; Edith Piaf, French singer, 1915.

Deaths

Vitus Bering, Danish navigator, 1741; Emily Brontë, English novelist, 1848; Joseph Turner, English painter, 1851; Robert Andrews Millikan, US physicist, 1953; Alexei Nikolaievich Kosygin, Soviet politician, 1980; Stella Gibbons, English author, 1989.

Feast day of St Dominic of Silos, St Ammon and his Companions, St Ursicinus, and St Philogonius.

Events

1860 South Carolina seceded from the American Union, and joined the Confederacy. 1915 The ANZACS, Australian and New Zealand forces with British troops were evacuated from Gallipoli, after their expedition against the Turks went seriously wrong. 1933 Flying Down to Rio, the first film to feature Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, was first shown in New York. 1957 Elvis Presley, at the height of his stardom, received his draft papers. 1989 General Noriega, Panama's former dictator, was overthrown by a US invasion force invited by the new civilian government. 1990 Soviet Foregn Minister Shevardnadze resigned, complaining of conservative attacks on his policies.

Births

Robert Menzies, Australian politician, 1894; James Leasor, English author, 1923; Geoffrey Howe, British politician, 1926; Uri Geller, Israeli psychic/illusionist, 1946; Jenny Agutter, English actress, 1952; Billy Bragg, English rock singer, 1958.

Deaths

Erich Ludendorff, German general, 1937; James Hilton, English novelist, 1954; John Steinbeck, US novelist, 1968; Artur Rubinstein, US pianist, 1982; Bill Brandt, British photographer, 1983.

Feast day of St Thomas the Apostle, Saints Themistocles and Dioscorus, St John Vincent, St Anastasius II of Antioch, St Peter Canisius, and St Glycerius.

Events

1620 The Pilgrim Fathers, aboard the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. 1879 Ibsen's A Doll's House was first performed in Copenhagen, with a revised happy ending. 1925 Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin was first shown in Moscow. 1937 Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was shown in Los Angeles, the first full-length animated talking picture. 1958 Charles de Gaulle became President of France. 1988 A Pan Am jet blew up in mid-flight and crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers aboard and 11 people on the ground; the terrorist bomb had been concealed within a radio. 1990 In a German television interview, Saddam Hussein declared that he would not withdraw from Kuwait by the UN deadline.

Births

Benjamin Disraeli, British politician, 1804; Joseph Stalin, Soviet leader, 1879; Heinrich Böll, German author, 1917; Jane Fonda, US film actress, 1937; Frank Zappa, US rock singer and composer, 1940; Chris Evert, US tennis player, 1954.

Deaths

Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian author, 1375; James Parkinson, British neurologist, 1824; F Scott Fitzgerald, US novelist, 1940; George Patton, US military leader, 1945; Jack Hobbs, English cricketer, 1963.

Feast day of St Flavian of Tuscany, St Zeno, St Chaeremon and Others, and St Ischyrion.

Events

1715 James Stuart, the `Old Pretender', landed at Petershead after his exile in France. 1894 Alfred Dreyfus, the French officer who was falsely convicted for selling military secrets, was sent to Devil's Island. 1895 German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen made the first X-ray, of his wife's hand. 1961 James Davis became the first US soldier to die in Vietnam, while US involvement was still limited to the provision of military advisers. 1989 Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausçescu was overthrown in a bloody revolutionary coup. 1991 Eleven of the 12 Soviet republics (excluding Georgia) agreed, in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, on the creation of a Commonwealth of Independent States.

Births

John Crome, English painter, 1768; John Nevil Maskelyne, English stage magician, 1839; Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer, 1858; Peggy Ashcroft, English actress, 1907; Noel Edmonds, English TV presenter, 1948; Maurice and Robin Gibb, Australian pop musicians, 1949.

Deaths

George Eliot, English novelist, 1880; Beatrix Potter, English author and artist, 1943; Harry Langdon, US silent-film comedian, 1944; Richard Dimbleby, British broadcaster, 1965; Samuel Beckett, Irish author and dramatist, 1989.

Feast day of The Ten Martyrs of Crete, St Dagobert II of Austria, St John of Kanti, Saints Victoria and Anatolia, St Frithebert, St Servulus, and St Thorlac.

Events

1834 English architect Joseph Hansom patented his `safety cab', better known as the Hansom cab. 1888 Following a quarrel with Paul Gauguin, Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his own earlobe. 1922 The BBC began daily news broadcasts. 1948 General Tojo and six other Japanese military leaders were executed, having been found guilty of crimes against humanity. 1953 Soviet secret police chief Lavrenti Beria and six of his associates were shot for treason following a secret trial. 1954 first human kidney transpant at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Richard and Ronald Herrick were identical twins, but Richard was dying of kidney disease. Ronald donated one of his kidneys, and it was successfully transplanted into Richard. 1986 Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager made the first non-stop flight around the world without refueling, piloting the US plane Voyager. 1965 A 70-mph speed limit was introduced in Britain. 1990 Elections in Yugoslavia ended, leaving four of its six republics with non-Communist governments.

Births

Richard Arkwright, English inventor, 1732; Alexander I, tsar of Russia, 1777; Samuel Smiles, Scottish author, 1812; J Arthur Rank, British film magnate, 1888; Maurice Denham, English actor, 1909; Helmut Schmidt, German statesman, 1918.

Deaths

Michael Drayton, English poet, 1631; Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist, 1834; George Catlin, US painter and explorer, 1872; Charles Dana Gibson, US artist and illustrator, 1944; Henry Cotton, British golfer, 1987; Ernst Krenek, US composer, 1991.

Feast day of St Gregory of Spoleto, Saints, Tharsilla and Emiliana, St Adela, St Irmina, St Delphinus, and St Sharbel Makhlouf.

Events

1814 The War of 1812 between the USA and Britain was brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. 1828 William Burke who, with his partner William Hare, dug up the dead and murdered to sell the corpses for dissection, went on trial in Edinburgh. 1871 Verdi's Aida was first performed in Cairo. 1914 The first air raid on Britain was made when a German airplane dropped a bomb on the grounds of a rectory in Dover. 1951 Libya achieved independence as the United Kingdom of Libya, under King Idris. 1965 A meteorite landed on Leicestershire; it weighed about 100lbs. 1979 Afghanistan was invaded by Soviet troops as the Kabul government fell.

Births

King John, 1167; Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Jesuits, 1491; Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic, 1822; Howard Hughes, US tycoon, 1905; Ava Gardner, US film actress, 1922; Colin Cowdrey, English cricketer, 1932.

Deaths

Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer and navigator, 1524; W M Thackeray, English novelist, 1863; Leon Bakst, Russian painter and stage designer, 1924; Alban Berg, Austrian composer, 1935; Frank Richards, English writer, 1961; Karl Doenitz, German naval commander, 1980.

Christmas Day. Feast day of The Martyrs of Nicomedia, St Eugenia, St Alburga, and St Anastasia of Sirmium.

Events

800 Charlemagne was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III. 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey. 1914 During World War I, British and German troops observed an unofficial truce, even playing football together on the Western Front's `no man's land'. 1926 Hirohito succeeded his father Yoshihito as emperor of Japan. 1941 Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese. 1972 The Nicaraguan capital Managua was devastated by an earthquake which killed over 10,000 people. 1989 Dissident playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia. 1991 Unable to maintain control over a disintegrating Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation as president.

Births

Isaac Newton, English scientist, 1642; Maurice Utrillo, French painter, 1883; Humphrey Bogart, US film actor, 1899; Anwar Sadat, Egyptian statesman, 1918; Sissy Spacek, US film actress, 1949; Annie Lennox, British pop singer, 1954.

Deaths

Karel apek, Czech dramatist, 1938; W C Fields, US actor and screenwriter, 1946; Charlie Chaplin, English actor and director, 1977; Joan Miró, Spanish artist, 1983; Nicolae Ceausçescu, Romanian politician, executed, 1989.

Boxing Day (Handsel Day in Scotland). Feast day of St Stephen, St Dionysius, pope, St Archelaus of Kashkar, St Vicentia Lopez, St Zosimus, pope, and St Tathai or Athaeus.

Events

1898 Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium. 1908 Texan boxer `Galveston Jack' Johnson knocked out Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia, to become the first black boxer to win the world heavyweight title. 1943 The German battlecruiser Scharnhorst was sunk in the North Sea, during the Battle of North Cape. 1956 Fidel Castro attempted a secret landing in Cuba to overthrow the Batista regime; all but 11 of his supporters were killed. 1959 The first charity walk took place, along Icknield Way, in aid of the World Refugee Fund. 1991 The Soviet Union's parliament formally voted the country out of existence.

Births

Thomas Gray, English poet, 1716; Charles Babbage, English mathematician, 1792; Henry Miller, US novelist, 1891; Mao Zedong, Chinese Communist leader, 1893; Richard Widmark, US film actor, 1914; Jane Lapotaire, English actress, 1944.

Deaths

John Wilkes, British politician and journalist, 1797; Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist, 1890; Charles Pathé, French film pioneer, 1957; Harry S Truman, 33rd US president, 1972; Jack Benny, US comedian, 1974.

Feast day of St John the Evangelist, St Fabiola, Saints Theodore and Theophanes Graptoi, and St Nicarete.

Events

1703 The Methuen Treaty was signed between Portugal and England, giving preference to the import of Portuguese wines into England. 1831 Charles Darwin set sail in the Beagle on his voyage of scientific discovery. 1904 James Barrie's Peter Pan premiered in London. 1927 Defeated in his struggle for power against Stalin, Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party. 1965 The BP oil rig Sea Gem capsized in the North Sea, with the loss of 13 lives. 1978 With the adoption of a new constitution, Spain became a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.

Births

Johannes Kepler, German astronomer, 1571; George Cayley, British aviation pioneer, 1773; Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist, 1822; Sydney Greenstreet, English film actor, 1878; Marlene Dietrich, German singer and actress, 1901; Gerard Depardieu, French film actor, 1948.

Deaths

Charles Lamb, English essayist and critic, 1834; Max Beckmann, German painter, 1950; Lester Pearson, Canadian statesman, 1972; Houari Boumédienne, Algerian politician, 1978; Hoagy Carmichael, US composer, singer, and pianist, 1981; Hervé Guibert, French novelist and photographer, 1992.

Feast day of the Holy Innocents, St Antony of Lérins, and St Theodore the Sanctified.

Events

1065 Westminster Abbey was consecrated under Edward the Confessor. 1836 Mexico's independence was recognised by Spain. 1879 The central portion of the Tay Bridge collapsed as a train was passing over it, killing 75 people. 1908 An earthquake killed over 75,000 at Messina in Sicily. 1926 The highest recorded cricket innings score of 1,107 runs was hit by Victoria, against New South Wales, in Melbourne. 1937 The Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland when a new constitution established the country as a sovereign state under the name of Eire. 1950 The Peak District became Britain's first designated National Park. 1989 Alexander Dubc ek, who had been expelled from the Communist Party in 1970, was elected speaker of the Czech parliament.

Births

Woodrow Wilson, 28th US president, 1856; Arthur Stanley Eddington, English astronomer, 1882; Earl Hines, US jazz pianist, 1905; Lew Ayres, US film actor, 1908, Maggie Smith, English actress, 1934; Nigel Kennedy, English violinist, 1956.

Deaths

Queen Mary II, 1694; Rob Roy, Scottish clan chief, 1734; Gustave Eiffel, French engineer, 1923; Maurice Ravel, French composer, 1937; Max Steiner, US film music composer, 1971; Sam Peckinpah, US film director, 1984.

Feast day of St Thomas of Canterbury, St Ebrulf or Evroult, St Trophimus of Arles, and St Maroellus Akimetes.

Events

1170 St Thomas Becket, the 40th Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights acting on Henry II's orders. 1860 HMS Warrior, Britain's first seagoing iron-clad warship, was launched. 1890 The massacre at Wounded Knee, the last major battle between Native American Indians and US troops, took place. 1895 The Jameson Raid from Mafikeng into Transvaal, which attempted to overthrow Kruger's Boer government, started. 1911 Sun Yat-sen became the first president of a republican China, following the Revolution. 1989 Following Hong Kong's decision to forcibly repatriate some Vietnamese refugees, thousands of Vietnamese `boat people' battled with riot police.

Births

Marquise de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV, 1721; Charles Goodyear, US inventor, 1800; William Gladstone, English statesman, 1809; Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist, 1876; Jon Voight, US film actor, 1938; Marianne Faithfull, English singer and actress, 1946.

Deaths

Thomas Sydenham, English physician, 1689; Jacques Louis David, French painter, 1825; Christina Georgina Rossetti, English poet, 1894; Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet, 1926; James Fletcher Henderson, US jazz pianist and composer, 1952; Harold Macmillan, British politician, 1986.

Feast day of St Sabinus of Spoleto, St Anysia, St Anysius, and St Egwin.

Events

1460 At the Battle of Wakefield, in the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York was defeated and killed by the Lancastrians. 1879 Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance was first performed, at Paignton, Devon. 1880 The Transvaal was declared a republic by Paul Kruger, who became its first president. 1887 A petition to Queen Victoria with over one million names of women appealing for public houses to be closed on Sundays was handed to the home secretary. 1919 Lincoln's Inn, in London, admitted the first female bar student. 1922 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed. 1947 King Michael of Romania abdicated in favour of a Communist Republic. 1988 Colonel Oliver North subpoenaed President Reagan and Vice President Bush to testify at the Irangate hearings.

Births

André Messager, French composer, 1853; Rudyard Kipling, English author and poet, 1865; Carol Reed, English film director, 1906; Bo Diddley, US rhythm and blues singer, 1928; Tracey Ullman, English comedienne, 1959; Ben Johnson, Canadian athlete, 1961.

Deaths

Robert Boyle, Irish physicist and chemist, 1691; Amelia Bloomer, US social reformer, 1894; Grigoriy Efimovich Rasputin, Siberian mystic, 1916; Trygve Lie, Norwegian politician and diplomat, 1968; Richard Rodgers, US composer, 1979.

New Year's Eve. Feast day of St Silvester I, pope, St Melania the Younger, and St Columba of Sens.

Events

1687 The first Huguenots set sail from France for the Cape of Good Hope, where they would later create the South African wine industry with the vines they took with them on the voyage. 1695 The window tax was imposed in Britain, which resulted in many being bricked up. 1891 New York's new Immigration Depot was opened at Ellis Island, to provide improved facilities for the massive numbers of arrivals. 1923 The chimes of Big Ben were first broadcast by the BBC. 1960 The farthing coin, which had been in use in Great Britain since the 13th century, ceased to be legal tender. 1990 Titleholder Gary Kasparov of the USSR won the world chess championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov.

Births

Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, 1720; Henri Matisse, French painter, 1869; George Marshall, US general, 1880; Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor, 1937; Ben Kingsley, British actor, 1943; Donna Summer, US singer, 1948.

Deaths

John Flamsteed, first Astronomer Royal, 1719; Gustave Courbet, French painter, 1877; Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish writer, 1936; Malcolm Campbell, British racing driver, 1948; Maxim Litvinov, Soviet leader, 1951; Rick Nelson, US rock and country singer, 1985.