31st December 2006
New Year's Eve.
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Silvester I, pope,
St Melania the Younger,
and St Columba of Sens.
History Test for December 31st
Today in 1983, the final edition of TV's `The Good Old Days' was broadcast. Which theatre was home to the programme? -The City Varieties Theatre, Leeds
Born today in 1720 and known as `The Young Pretender', what was Charles Edward Stuart's Scottish name? -Bonnie Prince Charlie
Today in 1969, what coin ceased to be legal tender at midnight? -The half crown
Born today in 1948, who had seventies UK pop hits with `Love's Unkind' and `Macarthur Park'? -Donna Summer
Name the religious reformer who issued the first English translation of the Bible and died today in 1384. -John Wycliffe
QUOTE “I'd not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only a boy playing on the sea-shore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whalst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” - Isaac Newton, 1726.
Events today...
1687 The first Huguenots set sail from France for the Cape of Good Hope, where they would later create the South African m 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.
1719 Death of John Flamsteed, the astronomer for whom King Charles II built the Greenwich Observatory.
1857 Ottawa became the new capital of Canada on the orders of Queen Victoria.
1877 Death of Gustave Courbet, French painter.
1891 It was announced that the new year would see the opening of the US government's new depot for handling immigrant arrivals to New York. The year before, the government assumed sole responsibility for the screening of arrivals, a task formerly performed in the New York area by the state of New York as the government's local agent. The new depot on Ellis Island in the upper bay area, would be the nation's major immigration station. It was being trumpeted as a major improvement on the old reception facilities at the Battery on Manhattan Island and better able to cope with massive numbers of arrivals. The island was named after Samuel Ellis, who owned it in the 1770s.
1903 Five employees of the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago were arrested for manslaughter after the previous day's fire.
1922 The French government turned down a German offer of a non-aggression pact.
1923 The BBC started to use the Big Ben Chimes in its broadcasts.
1936 Death of Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish writer.
1942 Potatoes were rationed in Holland.
1948 Death of Malcolm Campbell, British racing driver.
1951 Death of Maxim Litvinov, Soviet leader.
1953 A team from Britain set off to search for the 'Abominable Snowman'.
1960 The farthing coin, which had been in use in Great Britain since the l3th century, ceased to be legal tender.
1961 The Beach Boys played their first gig.
1964 Donald Campbell set the world water speed record (276.33 mph).
1973 The miners strike caused a three day working week.
1977 American serial killer Ted Bundy escaped from custody.
1977 The Cambodian government announced that it was breaking off diplomatic relations with neighbouring Vietnam and also suspending all air services between them. The two Communist countries were at loggerheads over which of them was to blame for the recent outbreaks of intense fighting along their borders. Full-scale battles at regimental level were reported to have taken place in the region known as Parrot's Beak which juts into South Vietnam. Much of the problem seemed to have its roots in the movement of Cambodians across the frontier in the Mekong Delta soon after the fall of Saigon and before the North Vietnamese could establish full control in the area. The conflict was being exacerbated by ideological differences, with the Chinese-sponsored Cambodian regime laying claim to a more "revolutionary" outlook than that of Soviet-backed Vietnam.
1981 Former flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings overthrew the government of President Hilla Limann and seized power again in Ghana. In a radio broadcast to the nation, Rawlings described Limann and his associates as "a pack of criminals who bled Ghana to the bone" and said that they had brought about the country's "total economic ruin". Rawlings gave no indication of how long his Provisional Military Council would retain power, but he did remind his fellow citizens of the fact that he voluntarily returned the government to civilian rule three months after he toppled the military government of Lieutenant-General Fred Akuffo in June 1979.
1984 A car crash resulted in Rick Allen a drummer with Def Leppard having an arm amputated.
1985 Death of Sam Spiegel, aged 84, Movie producer 'Bridge Over River Kwai'.
1985 American rock and country singer Rick Nelson was killed, along with his fiancee and four band members. when a chartered DC3 carrying them between concerts in Guntersville, Alabama and Dallas, Texas caaught fire and crashed.
1986 The oil company Esso announced it was disinvesting in South Africa.
1988 In Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto signed the first agreement between India and Pakistan in 16 years.
1988 The award of an MBE to former darts' world champion Eric Bristow in the Queen's New Year Honours List did not hit the bull's eye. One MP said, "To give someone an MBE just because he is good at throwing darts is unbelievable". Bristow retorted that "the award is on behalf of the sport and the millions of working-class people who enjoy it".
1990 The giant Christmas tree in London's Trafalgar Square was attacked by a man with a chainsaw early in the morning. Police came upon Patrick Harward-Duffy, a 36-year-old Glaswegian, at 2.30 am as he was making his protest against the unfairness of the Norwegian legal system. Harward-Duffy had sliced one-third of the way through the trunk of the 70-ft (23 m) pine, a present from the people of Oslo who since 1947 have expressed their gratitude for British liberation from the Nazis by sending a tree each year.
1990 Titleholder Gary Kasparov of the USSR won the world chess championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov.
1997 Death of Floyd Cramer, aged 64, Pianist.
1997 At midnight the Morse Code “S.O.S.” ceased to be the international distress call.
1999 Boris Yeltsin resigned as from his post of President of Russia.
2002 A record-breaking 125 million text messages were sent on New Year's Eve in the UK.
2003 Parcels sent from Italy's Bologna region to European Union institutions were being blocked after a spate of letter bombs.
2003 The Hogmanay concert in Edinburgh was cancelled as gales and heavy rain hit New Year parties across the UK.
2003 Actress Joan Plowright, who became a dame, headed the showbusiness personalities on the New Year Honours list.
2004 Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych resigned but refused to admit defeat in the presidential election.
2004 Comedian Eric Sykes, actress Anna Massey and rock star Roger Daltrey received New Year honours.
2004 One of the most famous American band leaders of the swing era, clarinettist Artie Shaw, died aged 94.
2004 Ellen MacArthur remained on record pace as she passed the halfway mark of her round-the-world attempt.
BIRTHDAYS (for 31 December 2006)
Charles Edward Stuart, 286 (born 31 December 1720)
Scottish royal known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender whose attempt to regain the Scottish throne ended in failure.
Henri Matisse, 137 (born 31 December 1869)
French painter and sculptor who initiated the vibrantly coloured style known as Fauvism.
George Marshall, 126 (born 31 December 1880)
American general and statesman who, as secretary of state, devised the Marshall Plan for post-war economic recovery in Europe.
Sir Anthony Hopkins, 69 (born 31 December 1937)
British actor who won an Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs.
Sarah Miles, 65 (born 31 December 1941)
Actress.
Alex Furguson OBE, 65 (born 31 December 1941)
Football manager.
Andy Summers, 64 (born 31 December 1942)
Member of The Police.
Ben Kingsley (Krishna Bhanji), 63 (born 31 December 1943)
British actor best-known for his performance as Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's film of the same name.
Sarah Miles, 63 (born 31 December 1943)
Actress
John Denver, 63 (born 31 December 1943)
Died 1997. Singer.
Tim Matheson, 59 (born 31 December 1947)
Actor and cartoon voice 'Animal House'.
Donna Summer, 58 (born 31 December 1948)
Singer.
Tom Hamilton, 55 (born 31 December 1951)
Member of Aerosmith.
Val Kilner, 48 (born 31 December 1958)
Actor best-known as `Batman'
Steve Bruce, 46 (born 31 December 1960)
Soccer Player / Manager
26.12.06
Today's The Day - 30th December
30th December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Sabinus of Spoleto,
St Anysia,
and St Anysius.
History Test for December 30th
Today in 1905, the operetta `The Merry Widow' was performed for the first time in Vienna. Who composed it? -Franz Lehar
Actor Jack Lord celebrates a birthday today. Which character did he play in the TV series `Hawaii 5-0'? -Steve McGarett
Named from the Russian for `debauched one', which infamous confidant of the Russian Royal Family was murdered today in 1916? -Rasputin
Irish chemist Robert Boyle died today in 1691. His Boyle's Law relates to what substance? -Gas
Tracy Ullman was born today in 1959. In which comedy series did she star alongside Lenny Henry? -`Three of a Kind'
Events today...
1460 At the Battle of Wakefield, in the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York was defeated and killed by the Lancastrians.
1691 Death of Robert Boyle, Irish physicist and chemist.
1809 In Boston, U.S. the wearing of masks at Balls was prohibited.
1879 'The Pirates of Penzance' a play by Gilbert and Sullivan was premiered in 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.
1894 Death of Amelia Bloomer, US social reformer.
1919 The first female law student was admitted to the Lincoln's Inn legal society.
1922 Soviet Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
1924 The existence of other galactic systems was announced by Edwin Hubble.
1941 Dutch physicians were forced to join the Nazi party.
1947 King Michael of Romania abdicated in favour of a Communist Republic.
1965 Ferdinand Marcos was elected as President of the Philippines.
1967 Peter Tork a member of the Monkees pop group paid $160,000 to opt out of his contract with the band, this left him broke.
1968 Death of Trygve Lie, Norwegian politician and diplomat.
1970 Paul McCartney sued John, George and Ringo to dissolve the Beatles.
1979 Emerson, Lake and Palmer disbanded.
1979 Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert went to great lengths to secure the copyright of their operatic offering The Pirates of Penzance.
1979 Richard Rogers, one of this century's best-known composers of musicals died in New York at the age of 77.
1985 Arab terrorists threw grenades and opened fire with automatic weapons on queues at El Al check-in desks in Rome and Vienna airports, killing twelve and wounding over 100.
1988 President Regan and Vice President Bush were asked to testify at the Irangate hearings by Colonel Oliver North.
1988 In Moscow, Yuri Churbanov, son-in-law of former president Brezhnev, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for corruption.
1989 Negotiations between Washington and the Vatican restarted to bring an end to the refuge of the Panamanian dictator General Manuel Noriega in the Vatican embassy in Panama City.
1996 Death of Lew Ayres, aged 88, Actor.
1999 Former Beatle, George Harrison was attacked as he slept in his Oxfordshire home. He suffered serious knife wounds as his wife Olivia smashed a lamp over his attackers head.
2003 An Italian judge ruled that former Parmalat boss Calisto Tanzi was to stay in jail as investigators probed the food giant's accounts.
2003 Michael Jackson's chief spokesman resigned over "strategic differences" with others in his entourage.
2003 Former film actress Patricia Roc, one of Britain's top 1940s box office stars, died aged 88.
2004 Ukraine's Supreme Court rejected all of PM Yanukovych's complaints about the presidential election.
2004 Complaints by the Women's Institute prompted the BBC to make changes to hit comedy show Little Britain.
BIRTHDAYS (for 30 December 2006)
Rudyard Kipling, 141 (born 30 December 1865)
Died 1936. English novelist and poet, most of whose works were concerned with India, where he was born.
Sir Carol Reed, 100 (born 30 December 1906)
Died 1976. British film director best-known for Odd Man Out, The Fallen Idol, The Third Man, and the Oscar-winning Oliver!.
Bert Parks, 92 (born 30 December 1914)
former Miss America Pageant emcee.
Jack Lord, 86 (born 30 December 1920)
Died 1998. Actor 'Hawaii Five-0'.
Bo Diddley, 78 (born 30 December 1928)
American rhythm and blues singer who was a major influence on pop groups such as the Rolling Stones in the 1960s.
Russ Tamblyn, 72 (born 30 December 1934)
Actor dancer - 'West Side Story' 'Tom Thumb'.
Del Shannon, 67 (born 30 December 1939)
Died 1990. Singer.
James Burrows, 66 (born 30 December 1940)
TV producer - 'Cheers'.
Michael Nesmith, 64 (born 30 December 1942)
Member of The Monkees.
Davy Jones, 60 (born 30 December 1946)
Member of The Monkees.
Jeff Lynne, 59 (born 30 December 1947)
Member of Electric Light Orchestra.
Suzy Boggus, 50 (born 30 December 1956)
Country singer.
Tracy Ullman, 47 (born 30 December 1959)
British comedienne who transplanted successfully to America, where she scored a hit with the Tracy Ulman Show.
Jay Kay, 37 (born 30 December 1969)
Member of Jamiroquai.
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Sabinus of Spoleto,
St Anysia,
and St Anysius.
History Test for December 30th
Today in 1905, the operetta `The Merry Widow' was performed for the first time in Vienna. Who composed it? -Franz Lehar
Actor Jack Lord celebrates a birthday today. Which character did he play in the TV series `Hawaii 5-0'? -Steve McGarett
Named from the Russian for `debauched one', which infamous confidant of the Russian Royal Family was murdered today in 1916? -Rasputin
Irish chemist Robert Boyle died today in 1691. His Boyle's Law relates to what substance? -Gas
Tracy Ullman was born today in 1959. In which comedy series did she star alongside Lenny Henry? -`Three of a Kind'
Events today...
1460 At the Battle of Wakefield, in the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of York was defeated and killed by the Lancastrians.
1691 Death of Robert Boyle, Irish physicist and chemist.
1809 In Boston, U.S. the wearing of masks at Balls was prohibited.
1879 'The Pirates of Penzance' a play by Gilbert and Sullivan was premiered in 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.
1894 Death of Amelia Bloomer, US social reformer.
1919 The first female law student was admitted to the Lincoln's Inn legal society.
1922 Soviet Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
1924 The existence of other galactic systems was announced by Edwin Hubble.
1941 Dutch physicians were forced to join the Nazi party.
1947 King Michael of Romania abdicated in favour of a Communist Republic.
1965 Ferdinand Marcos was elected as President of the Philippines.
1967 Peter Tork a member of the Monkees pop group paid $160,000 to opt out of his contract with the band, this left him broke.
1968 Death of Trygve Lie, Norwegian politician and diplomat.
1970 Paul McCartney sued John, George and Ringo to dissolve the Beatles.
1979 Emerson, Lake and Palmer disbanded.
1979 Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert went to great lengths to secure the copyright of their operatic offering The Pirates of Penzance.
1979 Richard Rogers, one of this century's best-known composers of musicals died in New York at the age of 77.
1985 Arab terrorists threw grenades and opened fire with automatic weapons on queues at El Al check-in desks in Rome and Vienna airports, killing twelve and wounding over 100.
1988 President Regan and Vice President Bush were asked to testify at the Irangate hearings by Colonel Oliver North.
1988 In Moscow, Yuri Churbanov, son-in-law of former president Brezhnev, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for corruption.
1989 Negotiations between Washington and the Vatican restarted to bring an end to the refuge of the Panamanian dictator General Manuel Noriega in the Vatican embassy in Panama City.
1996 Death of Lew Ayres, aged 88, Actor.
1999 Former Beatle, George Harrison was attacked as he slept in his Oxfordshire home. He suffered serious knife wounds as his wife Olivia smashed a lamp over his attackers head.
2003 An Italian judge ruled that former Parmalat boss Calisto Tanzi was to stay in jail as investigators probed the food giant's accounts.
2003 Michael Jackson's chief spokesman resigned over "strategic differences" with others in his entourage.
2003 Former film actress Patricia Roc, one of Britain's top 1940s box office stars, died aged 88.
2004 Ukraine's Supreme Court rejected all of PM Yanukovych's complaints about the presidential election.
2004 Complaints by the Women's Institute prompted the BBC to make changes to hit comedy show Little Britain.
BIRTHDAYS (for 30 December 2006)
Rudyard Kipling, 141 (born 30 December 1865)
Died 1936. English novelist and poet, most of whose works were concerned with India, where he was born.
Sir Carol Reed, 100 (born 30 December 1906)
Died 1976. British film director best-known for Odd Man Out, The Fallen Idol, The Third Man, and the Oscar-winning Oliver!.
Bert Parks, 92 (born 30 December 1914)
former Miss America Pageant emcee.
Jack Lord, 86 (born 30 December 1920)
Died 1998. Actor 'Hawaii Five-0'.
Bo Diddley, 78 (born 30 December 1928)
American rhythm and blues singer who was a major influence on pop groups such as the Rolling Stones in the 1960s.
Russ Tamblyn, 72 (born 30 December 1934)
Actor dancer - 'West Side Story' 'Tom Thumb'.
Del Shannon, 67 (born 30 December 1939)
Died 1990. Singer.
James Burrows, 66 (born 30 December 1940)
TV producer - 'Cheers'.
Michael Nesmith, 64 (born 30 December 1942)
Member of The Monkees.
Davy Jones, 60 (born 30 December 1946)
Member of The Monkees.
Jeff Lynne, 59 (born 30 December 1947)
Member of Electric Light Orchestra.
Suzy Boggus, 50 (born 30 December 1956)
Country singer.
Tracy Ullman, 47 (born 30 December 1959)
British comedienne who transplanted successfully to America, where she scored a hit with the Tracy Ulman Show.
Jay Kay, 37 (born 30 December 1969)
Member of Jamiroquai.
Today's The Day - 29th December
29th December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Thomas of Canterbury,
St Ebrulf or Evroult,
St Trophimus of Arles,
and St Maroellus Akimetes.
History Test for December 29th
oday in 1845, Texas achieved statehood. What is the state's capital? -Austin
Born today in 1928, which comedy actor had a sixties hit with the song 'Hole in the Ground'? -Bernard Cribbins
Who reached the top of the UK pop charts today in 1990 with `Saviour's Day'? -Cliff Richard
Victorian Prime Minister William Gladstone was born today in 1809. What was his middle name? -Ewart
How many knights murdered Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral today in 1170? -Four
QUOTE “In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the state.” - Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Soviet novelist, 1974.
Events today...
1170 Four of King Henry II's knights murdered the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas à Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral. The Archbishop had only recently returned from a six-year exile in France after incurring Henry's displeasure over the question of church vs crown rights in England. The tussle between the two had led to excommunication for the bishops Roger of York and Foliot of London and several royal servants hostile to Becket, and the fear that the Pope might slap an interdict on England. There was little doubt that Henry was the unwitting architect of the Archbishop's murder. It seemed that Henry's exclamation "Will no one rid me of this troublesome cleric?"- uttered in a moment of extreme duress - was interpreted by the four knights who carried out the execution as a call to action.
1689 Death of Thomas Sydenham, English physician.
1825 Death of Jacques Louis David, French painter.
1860 The world's first true ironclad warship, HMS Warrior, was launched at Blackwall on the river Thames. The 9,210-ton battleship was the first capital ship in the world to be built of iron throughout. The British Admiralty first showed interest in the idea of iron-built warships as a consequence of the calamitous showing of wooden-built vessels during the Crimean War. The decision to build such a vessel was not taken until 1859, however, when the launch of the French ironclad La Gloire threatened British naval supremacy. La Gloire (displacement 5600 tons) was built of oak but with a belt of iron extending from the upper deck to 6 ft (1.8 m) below the waterline.
1879 Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen seemed to have a knack for hitting the raw nerves of polite society. His play The Doll's House, which opened at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen on December 21, had become a major talking point. The play ended with the main character, Nora, a pampered wife, leaving the family home. She literally slamed the door on her successful lawyer/banker husband and, most controversially of all, her children. The play had been denounced by some as militant suffragist propaganda.
1885 Gottlieb Daimler patented the first bike in Germany.
1890 An attempt to disarm Miniconjou Sioux Indians on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, ended in bloodshed. Trouble flared unexpectedly when a force of about 500 US cavalrymen, commanded by Colonel James W. Forsyth, rode into the Indian camp at Wounded Knee Creek, where the authorities had placed Big Foot and about 350 of his people. According to the Seventh Cavalry, a medicine man incited the young braves to resist disarmament. Big Foot was among more than a hundred Sioux that died in the action; 44 were wounded. About half of the Sioux casualties were women and children, lending weight to claims that the encounter was a massacre, not a battle. The violence came as a further blow to General Nelson A. Miles, who had been hoping to settle the recent Indian unrest peacefully. News of the incident prompted thousands of Indians to barricade themselves in a large camp north of Pine Ridge Agency.
1891 "Transmission of signals electrically (radio)" was patented by Edison.
1894 Death of Christina Georgina Rossetti, English poet.
1895 The Jameson Raid from Mafeking into Transvaal, which attempted to overthrow Kruger's Boer govemment, Started.
1911 Sun Yat-sen became the first president of a republican China, following the Revolution.
1926 Death of Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet.
1952 Death of James Fletcher Henderson, US jazz pianist and composer.
1955 Barbra Striesand recorded her first ever song at the age of 13.
1967 "The Trouble With Tribbles" episode of Star Trek was first transmitted.
1967 Death of Paul Whiteman, aged 76, Bandleader.
1972 Ten of the 16 survivors from a Uruguayan aircraft that crashed in the Andes mountains ten weeks earlier admitted at a press conference in Montevideo that they ate the raw flesh of their dead companions in order to stay alive. The Old Christians rugby team - pupils or old boys of the exclusive Catholic Stella Maris College in Montevideo - had chartered the aircraft for a tour of Chile. Fifteen of the 45 passengers died as a consequence of the crashlanding; eight died later in an avalanche. Starvation and cold killed another six. The survivors were rescued after two of them found their way down to an upland pasture where a farmer was checking his stock.
1980 Death of Tim Hardin, aged 39, Folk singer.
1982 The Jamaican post office issued a Bob Marley stamp.
1986 Death of Harold MacMillan, aged 92, British Prime Minister 1957-1963.
1989 Following Hong Kong's decision to forcibly repatriate some Vietnamese refugees, thousands of Vietnamese `boat people' battled with riot police.
1993 Courtney Love sued doctors for revealing details of her medical treatment for drug abuse.
1997 Chickens were killed in Hong Kong in order to prevent the spreading of bird flu.
1997 An airliner travelling from Tokyo to Honalulu hit an airpocket shortly after take off and plummetted 1000ft. Hostess trolleys were thrown around and a 32-year-old woman was killed and many injured, as those not wearing their seat belts hit the ceiling.
2003 Ayatollah Khamenei vowed to rebuild the Iranian town of Bam after the quake which destroyed the historic city, killing at least 25,000.
2003 The US Government said foreign airlines would be required to place armed guards on certain flights to the US.
2003 Police investigating the killing of a police officer in Leeds intensified the search for a nightclub doorman.
2003 The British airline pilots' union demanded talks with ministers on plans to put undercover armed marshals on flights.
2003 Tributes were paid to comedian and television host Bob Monkhouse, who died of cancer aged 75.
2004 Romanian doctors said a 67-year-old woman, pregnant with twin girls, was set to be the oldest recorded mother.
2004 Law and Order and Dirty Dancing actor Jerry Orbach died of prostate cancer at the age of 69.
BIRTHDAYS (for 29 December 2006)
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, 285 (born 29 December 1721)
Marquise de Pompadour, French mistress if King Louis XV and as such the holder of political influence and notable patron of artists and scholars
Charles Goodyear, 206 (born 29 December 1800)
Died 1860. Inventor Goodyear Co and Blimp founder.
Andrew Johnson, 198 (born 29 December 1808)
Died 1875. 17th US President.
William Ewart Gladstone, 197 (born 29 December 1809)
Died 1898. English statesman and liberal prime minister who dominated British politics in the latter part of the 19th century
Pablo Casals, 130 (born 29 December 1876)
Died 1973. Spanish cellist of great stature who refused to live or play in Spain while Franco ruled the country
Bernard Cribbins, 78 (born 29 December 1928)
Actor.
Mary Tyler Moore, 69 (born 29 December 1937)
American actress who co-starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show and went on to have her own television series and appear in films such as Ordinary People
John Voight, 68 (born 29 December 1938)
American actor who first found fame in 'Midnight Cowboy' and went on to win an Oscar for 'Coming Home'
Harvey Smith, 68 (born 29 December 1938)
Show jumper.
Ray Thomas, 64 (born 29 December 1942)
Member of The Moody Blues.
Marianne Faithfull, 60 (born 29 December 1946)
Singer - Mick Jagger's ex-wife.
Ted Danson, 59 (born 29 December 1947)
Actor - 'Cheers' 'Three Men and a Baby'.
Cozy Powell, 59 (born 29 December 1947)
Died 1998. Drummer.
Robert Parissi, 56 (born 29 December 1950)
Lead of Wild Cherry 'Play That Funky Music'.
Yvonne Elliman, 55 (born 29 December 1951)
Singer 'If I Can't Have You'.
Martin Offiah, 40 (born 29 December 1966)
Rugby Ace
Jennifer Ehle, 37 (born 29 December 1969)
Actress
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Thomas of Canterbury,
St Ebrulf or Evroult,
St Trophimus of Arles,
and St Maroellus Akimetes.
History Test for December 29th
oday in 1845, Texas achieved statehood. What is the state's capital? -Austin
Born today in 1928, which comedy actor had a sixties hit with the song 'Hole in the Ground'? -Bernard Cribbins
Who reached the top of the UK pop charts today in 1990 with `Saviour's Day'? -Cliff Richard
Victorian Prime Minister William Gladstone was born today in 1809. What was his middle name? -Ewart
How many knights murdered Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral today in 1170? -Four
QUOTE “In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the state.” - Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Soviet novelist, 1974.
Events today...
1170 Four of King Henry II's knights murdered the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas à Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral. The Archbishop had only recently returned from a six-year exile in France after incurring Henry's displeasure over the question of church vs crown rights in England. The tussle between the two had led to excommunication for the bishops Roger of York and Foliot of London and several royal servants hostile to Becket, and the fear that the Pope might slap an interdict on England. There was little doubt that Henry was the unwitting architect of the Archbishop's murder. It seemed that Henry's exclamation "Will no one rid me of this troublesome cleric?"- uttered in a moment of extreme duress - was interpreted by the four knights who carried out the execution as a call to action.
1689 Death of Thomas Sydenham, English physician.
1825 Death of Jacques Louis David, French painter.
1860 The world's first true ironclad warship, HMS Warrior, was launched at Blackwall on the river Thames. The 9,210-ton battleship was the first capital ship in the world to be built of iron throughout. The British Admiralty first showed interest in the idea of iron-built warships as a consequence of the calamitous showing of wooden-built vessels during the Crimean War. The decision to build such a vessel was not taken until 1859, however, when the launch of the French ironclad La Gloire threatened British naval supremacy. La Gloire (displacement 5600 tons) was built of oak but with a belt of iron extending from the upper deck to 6 ft (1.8 m) below the waterline.
1879 Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen seemed to have a knack for hitting the raw nerves of polite society. His play The Doll's House, which opened at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen on December 21, had become a major talking point. The play ended with the main character, Nora, a pampered wife, leaving the family home. She literally slamed the door on her successful lawyer/banker husband and, most controversially of all, her children. The play had been denounced by some as militant suffragist propaganda.
1885 Gottlieb Daimler patented the first bike in Germany.
1890 An attempt to disarm Miniconjou Sioux Indians on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, ended in bloodshed. Trouble flared unexpectedly when a force of about 500 US cavalrymen, commanded by Colonel James W. Forsyth, rode into the Indian camp at Wounded Knee Creek, where the authorities had placed Big Foot and about 350 of his people. According to the Seventh Cavalry, a medicine man incited the young braves to resist disarmament. Big Foot was among more than a hundred Sioux that died in the action; 44 were wounded. About half of the Sioux casualties were women and children, lending weight to claims that the encounter was a massacre, not a battle. The violence came as a further blow to General Nelson A. Miles, who had been hoping to settle the recent Indian unrest peacefully. News of the incident prompted thousands of Indians to barricade themselves in a large camp north of Pine Ridge Agency.
1891 "Transmission of signals electrically (radio)" was patented by Edison.
1894 Death of Christina Georgina Rossetti, English poet.
1895 The Jameson Raid from Mafeking into Transvaal, which attempted to overthrow Kruger's Boer govemment, Started.
1911 Sun Yat-sen became the first president of a republican China, following the Revolution.
1926 Death of Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet.
1952 Death of James Fletcher Henderson, US jazz pianist and composer.
1955 Barbra Striesand recorded her first ever song at the age of 13.
1967 "The Trouble With Tribbles" episode of Star Trek was first transmitted.
1967 Death of Paul Whiteman, aged 76, Bandleader.
1972 Ten of the 16 survivors from a Uruguayan aircraft that crashed in the Andes mountains ten weeks earlier admitted at a press conference in Montevideo that they ate the raw flesh of their dead companions in order to stay alive. The Old Christians rugby team - pupils or old boys of the exclusive Catholic Stella Maris College in Montevideo - had chartered the aircraft for a tour of Chile. Fifteen of the 45 passengers died as a consequence of the crashlanding; eight died later in an avalanche. Starvation and cold killed another six. The survivors were rescued after two of them found their way down to an upland pasture where a farmer was checking his stock.
1980 Death of Tim Hardin, aged 39, Folk singer.
1982 The Jamaican post office issued a Bob Marley stamp.
1986 Death of Harold MacMillan, aged 92, British Prime Minister 1957-1963.
1989 Following Hong Kong's decision to forcibly repatriate some Vietnamese refugees, thousands of Vietnamese `boat people' battled with riot police.
1993 Courtney Love sued doctors for revealing details of her medical treatment for drug abuse.
1997 Chickens were killed in Hong Kong in order to prevent the spreading of bird flu.
1997 An airliner travelling from Tokyo to Honalulu hit an airpocket shortly after take off and plummetted 1000ft. Hostess trolleys were thrown around and a 32-year-old woman was killed and many injured, as those not wearing their seat belts hit the ceiling.
2003 Ayatollah Khamenei vowed to rebuild the Iranian town of Bam after the quake which destroyed the historic city, killing at least 25,000.
2003 The US Government said foreign airlines would be required to place armed guards on certain flights to the US.
2003 Police investigating the killing of a police officer in Leeds intensified the search for a nightclub doorman.
2003 The British airline pilots' union demanded talks with ministers on plans to put undercover armed marshals on flights.
2003 Tributes were paid to comedian and television host Bob Monkhouse, who died of cancer aged 75.
2004 Romanian doctors said a 67-year-old woman, pregnant with twin girls, was set to be the oldest recorded mother.
2004 Law and Order and Dirty Dancing actor Jerry Orbach died of prostate cancer at the age of 69.
BIRTHDAYS (for 29 December 2006)
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, 285 (born 29 December 1721)
Marquise de Pompadour, French mistress if King Louis XV and as such the holder of political influence and notable patron of artists and scholars
Charles Goodyear, 206 (born 29 December 1800)
Died 1860. Inventor Goodyear Co and Blimp founder.
Andrew Johnson, 198 (born 29 December 1808)
Died 1875. 17th US President.
William Ewart Gladstone, 197 (born 29 December 1809)
Died 1898. English statesman and liberal prime minister who dominated British politics in the latter part of the 19th century
Pablo Casals, 130 (born 29 December 1876)
Died 1973. Spanish cellist of great stature who refused to live or play in Spain while Franco ruled the country
Bernard Cribbins, 78 (born 29 December 1928)
Actor.
Mary Tyler Moore, 69 (born 29 December 1937)
American actress who co-starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show and went on to have her own television series and appear in films such as Ordinary People
John Voight, 68 (born 29 December 1938)
American actor who first found fame in 'Midnight Cowboy' and went on to win an Oscar for 'Coming Home'
Harvey Smith, 68 (born 29 December 1938)
Show jumper.
Ray Thomas, 64 (born 29 December 1942)
Member of The Moody Blues.
Marianne Faithfull, 60 (born 29 December 1946)
Singer - Mick Jagger's ex-wife.
Ted Danson, 59 (born 29 December 1947)
Actor - 'Cheers' 'Three Men and a Baby'.
Cozy Powell, 59 (born 29 December 1947)
Died 1998. Drummer.
Robert Parissi, 56 (born 29 December 1950)
Lead of Wild Cherry 'Play That Funky Music'.
Yvonne Elliman, 55 (born 29 December 1951)
Singer 'If I Can't Have You'.
Martin Offiah, 40 (born 29 December 1966)
Rugby Ace
Jennifer Ehle, 37 (born 29 December 1969)
Actress
Today's The Day - 28th December
28th December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of the Holy Innocents,
St Antony of Lerins,
and St Theodore the Sanctified.
History Test for December 28th
Today in 1950, which area was designated Britain's first national park? -The Peak District
Scottish outlaw Robert MacGregor died today in 1734. By what name was he better known? -Rob Roy
Oueen Mary II died today in 1694. She shared the throne with her husband. Who was he? -William III - William of Orange
Born today in 1934, who won an Oscar for her role in the film `The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'? -Dame Maggie Smith
Today in 1966, the BBC screened a version of `Alice in Wonderland'. Which distinguished actor played the Mock Turtle? -Sir John Gielgud
Events today...
1065 Westminster Abbey was consecrated under Edward the Confessor.
1694 Queen Mary II died of Smallpox.
1734 Death of Rob Roy (Robert Macgregor), the Scottish outlaw whose exploits were romanticized by Sir Walter Scott in the novel Rob Roy.
1836 Mexico's independence was recognised by Spain.
1869 Chewing gum was patented.
1879 Part of Tay Bridge in Scotland collapsed as a train passed over it killing 75 people.
1899 "Cyrano De Bergerac" was premiered in Paris.
1904 The first weather reports by wireless telegraphy were published in London.
1908 An a earthquake killed over 75,000 at Messina in Sicily.
1908 The most violent earthquake ever recorded in Europe destroyed the city of Messina in Sicily, killing more than half the 150,000 inhabltants and causing a giant tidal wave.
1923 Death of Alexander Gustave Eiffel, aged 91, The Eiffel tower architect.
1926 The highest recorded cricket innings score of 1107 runs was hit by Victoria, against New South Wales, in Melboume.
1931 A team of scientists lad by Professor Harold Urey of Columbia University and including F.G.Brickwedde and G.M.Murphy announced the discovery of a heavy form of hydrogen known as heavy water of deuterium.
1937 Death of Maurice Ravel, French composer of the Impressionist school whose works include The Bolero, the ballet Daphnis and Chloe, and two piano concertos, one for the left hand only.
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.
1944 The musical "On The Town" was premiered in New York.
1949 Ahmed Sukarno, the leader of the Indonesian Nationalist Party, arrived in Batavia (Djakarta) and took up residence in the magnificent palace of the Dutch governors general.
1949 The movie studio 20th Century Fox announced that it was going to start producing television programmes.
1950 The Peak District became Britain's first designated National Park.
1963 The governors of the BBC decided that this edition of the satirical TV series That Was the Week That Was, affectionately known as TW3, would be the last. The premature demise of the hugely popular Saturday-night show, which attracted some 12 million viewers, was due to political sensitivity.
1971 Death of Max Steiner, aged 83, Composer 'Gone With the Wind'.
1974 5200 people died in an earthquake in Pakistan.
1976 Death of Freddie King, aged 42, Singer.
1983 Death of Dennis Wilson, aged 39, Member of Beach Boys.
1984 Death of american film director Sam Peckinpah, aged 59, maker of films such as Ride the High Country and The Wild Bunch.
1989 Alexander Dubcek, secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party in 1968 and instigator of liberal reforms which were crushed by a Soviet invasion earlier in the year, was elected chairman of the communist-dominated parliament after 20 years of political obscurity.
1989 An earthquake in New South Wales, Australia, killed 11 and injured more than 100 people.
1991 Death of Cassandra Harris, aged 39, Actress Pierce Brosnan's wife.
1994 Tammy Wynette was admitted to hospital.
2003 A huge bomb blast killed at least six people - including four police officers - near the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
2003 Undercover armed air marshals were to be introduced to some UK flights for the first time early in the week.
2003 Actor Sir Alan Bates - a star of stage, screen and television - died aged 69 after a battle with liver cancer.
2003 Westlife singer Shane Filan celebrated his marriage to his childhood sweetheart in County Mayo.
2003 Man Utd have Darren Fletcher sent off but beat Middlesbrough 1-0 through a Danny Mills own goal.
2003 Paul Gallagher's goal earns victory for Blackburn against out-of-sorts Newcastle.
2004 International relief began to arrive in Asia following the quake that has killed more than 50,000 people, and British charities launched a huge aid effort for victims of the Asian tsunami.
2004 Author Susan Sontag, widely regarded as one of America's leading intellectuals, died aged 71.
2004 Actress and singer Liza Minnelli was treated in hospital after falling out of bed at her Manhattan home.
BIRTHDAYS (for 28 December 2006)
John Molson, 243 (born 28 December 1763)
patriarch of Molson brewery family.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 150 (born 28 December 1856)
Died 1924. American statesman and Democratic president 1913-21, whose Fourteen Points peace plan in 1918 contained a proposal for a League of Nations that was incorporated into the Versailles Treaty.
Earl Hines, 103 (born 28 December 1903)
Died 1983. Jazz pianist.
Earl `Fatha' Hines, 101 (born 28 December 1905)
American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader.
Lew Ayres, 98 (born 28 December 1908)
Died 1996. American actor whose films included All Quiet on the Western Front and The Carpetbaggers.
Bernard Youens, 92 (born 28 December 1914)
Died 1984. Actor - Stan Ogden in 'Coronation Street'.
Roebuck "Pops" Staples, 91 (born 28 December 1915)
Member of The Staple Singers.
Johnny Otis, 85 (born 28 December 1921)
Singer and bandleader.
Stan Lee, 84 (born 28 December 1922)
Creator of Spiderman, Incredible Hulk etc.
Martin Milner, 75 (born 28 December 1931)
Actor.
Roy Hattersley, 74 (born 28 December 1932)
Labour MP
Dame Maggie Smith, 72 (born 28 December 1934)
British actress who won Oscars for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and California Suite.
Nichelle Nichols, 70 (born 28 December 1936)
Actress - Uhura in Star Trek.
Charles Neville, 67 (born 28 December 1939)
Member of The Neville Bros.
Keith Floyd, 63 (born 28 December 1943)
TV cook
Chas Hodges, 63 (born 28 December 1943)
Singer of Chas and Dave fame.
Edgar Winter, 60 (born 28 December 1946)
Musician and singer 'Freeride'.
Alex Chilton, 56 (born 28 December 1950)
Singer who formed The BoxTops.
Richard Clayderman, 53 (born 28 December 1953)
French pianist.
Denzel Washington, 52 (born 28 December 1954)
Actor 'Philadelphia' 'Crimson Tide'.
Nigel Kennedy, 50 (born 28 December 1956)
Violinist
Religious events today...
Feast day of the Holy Innocents,
St Antony of Lerins,
and St Theodore the Sanctified.
History Test for December 28th
Today in 1950, which area was designated Britain's first national park? -The Peak District
Scottish outlaw Robert MacGregor died today in 1734. By what name was he better known? -Rob Roy
Oueen Mary II died today in 1694. She shared the throne with her husband. Who was he? -William III - William of Orange
Born today in 1934, who won an Oscar for her role in the film `The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'? -Dame Maggie Smith
Today in 1966, the BBC screened a version of `Alice in Wonderland'. Which distinguished actor played the Mock Turtle? -Sir John Gielgud
Events today...
1065 Westminster Abbey was consecrated under Edward the Confessor.
1694 Queen Mary II died of Smallpox.
1734 Death of Rob Roy (Robert Macgregor), the Scottish outlaw whose exploits were romanticized by Sir Walter Scott in the novel Rob Roy.
1836 Mexico's independence was recognised by Spain.
1869 Chewing gum was patented.
1879 Part of Tay Bridge in Scotland collapsed as a train passed over it killing 75 people.
1899 "Cyrano De Bergerac" was premiered in Paris.
1904 The first weather reports by wireless telegraphy were published in London.
1908 An a earthquake killed over 75,000 at Messina in Sicily.
1908 The most violent earthquake ever recorded in Europe destroyed the city of Messina in Sicily, killing more than half the 150,000 inhabltants and causing a giant tidal wave.
1923 Death of Alexander Gustave Eiffel, aged 91, The Eiffel tower architect.
1926 The highest recorded cricket innings score of 1107 runs was hit by Victoria, against New South Wales, in Melboume.
1931 A team of scientists lad by Professor Harold Urey of Columbia University and including F.G.Brickwedde and G.M.Murphy announced the discovery of a heavy form of hydrogen known as heavy water of deuterium.
1937 Death of Maurice Ravel, French composer of the Impressionist school whose works include The Bolero, the ballet Daphnis and Chloe, and two piano concertos, one for the left hand only.
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.
1944 The musical "On The Town" was premiered in New York.
1949 Ahmed Sukarno, the leader of the Indonesian Nationalist Party, arrived in Batavia (Djakarta) and took up residence in the magnificent palace of the Dutch governors general.
1949 The movie studio 20th Century Fox announced that it was going to start producing television programmes.
1950 The Peak District became Britain's first designated National Park.
1963 The governors of the BBC decided that this edition of the satirical TV series That Was the Week That Was, affectionately known as TW3, would be the last. The premature demise of the hugely popular Saturday-night show, which attracted some 12 million viewers, was due to political sensitivity.
1971 Death of Max Steiner, aged 83, Composer 'Gone With the Wind'.
1974 5200 people died in an earthquake in Pakistan.
1976 Death of Freddie King, aged 42, Singer.
1983 Death of Dennis Wilson, aged 39, Member of Beach Boys.
1984 Death of american film director Sam Peckinpah, aged 59, maker of films such as Ride the High Country and The Wild Bunch.
1989 Alexander Dubcek, secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party in 1968 and instigator of liberal reforms which were crushed by a Soviet invasion earlier in the year, was elected chairman of the communist-dominated parliament after 20 years of political obscurity.
1989 An earthquake in New South Wales, Australia, killed 11 and injured more than 100 people.
1991 Death of Cassandra Harris, aged 39, Actress Pierce Brosnan's wife.
1994 Tammy Wynette was admitted to hospital.
2003 A huge bomb blast killed at least six people - including four police officers - near the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
2003 Undercover armed air marshals were to be introduced to some UK flights for the first time early in the week.
2003 Actor Sir Alan Bates - a star of stage, screen and television - died aged 69 after a battle with liver cancer.
2003 Westlife singer Shane Filan celebrated his marriage to his childhood sweetheart in County Mayo.
2003 Man Utd have Darren Fletcher sent off but beat Middlesbrough 1-0 through a Danny Mills own goal.
2003 Paul Gallagher's goal earns victory for Blackburn against out-of-sorts Newcastle.
2004 International relief began to arrive in Asia following the quake that has killed more than 50,000 people, and British charities launched a huge aid effort for victims of the Asian tsunami.
2004 Author Susan Sontag, widely regarded as one of America's leading intellectuals, died aged 71.
2004 Actress and singer Liza Minnelli was treated in hospital after falling out of bed at her Manhattan home.
BIRTHDAYS (for 28 December 2006)
John Molson, 243 (born 28 December 1763)
patriarch of Molson brewery family.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 150 (born 28 December 1856)
Died 1924. American statesman and Democratic president 1913-21, whose Fourteen Points peace plan in 1918 contained a proposal for a League of Nations that was incorporated into the Versailles Treaty.
Earl Hines, 103 (born 28 December 1903)
Died 1983. Jazz pianist.
Earl `Fatha' Hines, 101 (born 28 December 1905)
American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader.
Lew Ayres, 98 (born 28 December 1908)
Died 1996. American actor whose films included All Quiet on the Western Front and The Carpetbaggers.
Bernard Youens, 92 (born 28 December 1914)
Died 1984. Actor - Stan Ogden in 'Coronation Street'.
Roebuck "Pops" Staples, 91 (born 28 December 1915)
Member of The Staple Singers.
Johnny Otis, 85 (born 28 December 1921)
Singer and bandleader.
Stan Lee, 84 (born 28 December 1922)
Creator of Spiderman, Incredible Hulk etc.
Martin Milner, 75 (born 28 December 1931)
Actor.
Roy Hattersley, 74 (born 28 December 1932)
Labour MP
Dame Maggie Smith, 72 (born 28 December 1934)
British actress who won Oscars for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and California Suite.
Nichelle Nichols, 70 (born 28 December 1936)
Actress - Uhura in Star Trek.
Charles Neville, 67 (born 28 December 1939)
Member of The Neville Bros.
Keith Floyd, 63 (born 28 December 1943)
TV cook
Chas Hodges, 63 (born 28 December 1943)
Singer of Chas and Dave fame.
Edgar Winter, 60 (born 28 December 1946)
Musician and singer 'Freeride'.
Alex Chilton, 56 (born 28 December 1950)
Singer who formed The BoxTops.
Richard Clayderman, 53 (born 28 December 1953)
French pianist.
Denzel Washington, 52 (born 28 December 1954)
Actor 'Philadelphia' 'Crimson Tide'.
Nigel Kennedy, 50 (born 28 December 1956)
Violinist
23.12.06
Today's The Day - 27th December
27th December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of St John the Evangelist,
St Fabiota,
Saints Theodore and Theophanes Graptoi,
and St Nicarete.
History Test for December 27th
Opened today in 1932, which is the largest cinema in the world? -Radio City Music Hall in New York
American comedian Jack Benny died today in 1974. What was his musical trademark? -A violin
Today in 1904, 'Peter Pan' was first performed in London. Name the family featured in the story. -The Darlings
Born today in 1948, which French actor played Christopher Columbus in the film `1492: Conquest of Paradise'? -Gerard Depardieu
Born today in 1879 which British character actor made his film debut in 'The Maltese Falcon'? -Sydney Greenstreet
QUOTE “I am going to build the kind of nation that President Roosevelt hoped for, President Truman worked for and President Kennedy died for.” - Lyndon B. Johnson, US president, 1964.
Events today...
1703 The Methuen Treaty was signed between Portugal and England, giving preference to the import of Portuguese wines into England.
1831 'The Beagle' set sail with Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage of discovery.
1831 The Royal Navy vessel HMS Beagle under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy set sail from Devonport on a five-year scientific expedition round the world. The purpose of the trip was to survey the coasts of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Chile and Peru, to visit some Pacific islands and to set up a network of chronometrical stations. The official naturalist on board is recent BA graduate Charles Darwin, 22, whose task it was to study the rocks and life of the places visited and to collect specimens. The post was unpaid but provided a unique opportunity for studying a wide range of phenomena.
1834 Death of Charles Lamb, English essayist and critic.
1836 An avalanche killed 8 people in Lewis, Sussex.
1871 The Crystal Palace in south London was the venue for the world's first cat show.
1904 'Peter Pan' written by J.M Barrie opened in London at the Duke of York Theatre.
1904 The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, the first state-subsidized theatre in the world, had its opening night.
1927 Defeated in his Struggle for power against Stalin, Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.
1927 Impresario Florenz Ziegfeld had yet another hit on his hands in `Showboat’. The two-act musical, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Jerome Kern, captivated the audience at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway. The showboat of the title was Cotton Blossom, run by husband and wife team Cap'n Andy and Parthy Ann. The story, based on Edna Ferber's novel of the same title, centred on the lives and loves of the people who inhabited this floating playhouse. The unique aspect of Showboat was its unashamed American authenticity - the setting was l9th-century America and the songs used American musical idioms.
1929 The All-India National Congress in Lahore threatened civil disobedience if independence is not granted.
1932 New York's "Radio City Hall" opened.
1941 Manila in the Philippines was bombed by the Japanese.
1945 The last obstacle to the signing of the historic Bretton Woods agreements was removed when the British signified their willingness to take part in the 28-nation ratification ceremony at the State Department in Washington the following day. The Bretton Woods agreements provided for the establishment of an international monetary fund and a world bank. The purpose of the IMF was to bring about stability in the relative values of national currencies, thereby avoiding a repeat of the disastrous depreciations which followed World War I, and to free international trade from exchange control. The world bank was intended to help rebuild the economies of countries ravaged by war and supply the needs of industrially undeveloped nations.
1950 Death of Max Beckmann, German painter.
1965 In the North Sea the BP oil rig capsized with the lost of thirteen lives.
1972 Death of Lester Pearson, Canadian statesman, Liberal prime minister 1963-8, chairman of Nato and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for the part he played in settling the Suez Crisis in 1956.
1978 Death of Houari Boumbdienne, Algerian politician.
1978 With the adoption of a new constitution, Spain became a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
1979 The Soviet Union executed Afghan president Hafizullah Amin in a bid to restore order in the country. Babrak Karmal, a former deputy prime minister in exile in Czechoslovakia, was installed in his place. Thousands of Soviet troops were now heading into the countryside to deal with the Muslim rebellion which the Kremlin feared would spread to the USSR if it was not put down quickly.
1980 Egypt and Syria resumed full diplomatic relations after a ten-year break.
1981 Death of Hoagy Carmichael, aged 82, Composer 'Stardust'.
1983 Mehmet Ali Agca begged the Pope's forgiveness when the Pope visited his would-be assassin in jail.
1984 In Poland, four policemen went on trial for the murder of Father Jerzy Popieluszko.
1985 20 people died and 110 were injured in Rome and Vienna when terrorists struck.
1985 The marriage of Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran and Yasmin took place.
1989 Death of Hal Ashby, aged 59, Director 'Shampoo'.
1992 Singer Harry Connick Jnr was arrested when he was caught carrying a gun at JFK Airport.
1992 French novelist and photographer Herve Guibert died of AIDS at the age of 36.
2003 European Commission President Romano Prodi was unhurt after opening a letter bomb.
2003 Calisto Tanzi, former chairman of troubled Italian food firm Parmalat, was detained in Milan by finance police.
2003 The British team behind the Beagle 2 mission to Mars has failed to contact the landing craft for the fifth time.
2003 A total of £25,000 was offered for information to catch a man who shot dead one PC and injured another in Leeds.
2003 Actress Kate Winslet became a mother for the second time after giving birth to a son in New York.
2003 The Christmas ratings war was won by the BBC with the latest instalment of Only Fools and Horses.
2004 Ukraine's PM Yanukovych refused to admit defeat in the presidential poll, claiming election abuses.
2004 A tape attributed to Osama Bin Laden urged Iraqis to boycott general elections scheduled for 30 January.
2004 Presenter Keith Chegwin was recovering after emergency surgery to remove his appendix on Christmas Day.
BIRTHDAYS (for 27 December 2006)
Johannes Kepler, 435 (born 27 December 1571)
Died 1630. German astronomer who discovered that planetary orbits were elliptical in shape.
Louis Pasteur, 184 (born 27 December 1822)
French chemist and microbiologist whose many discoveries included the process of pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies.
Dr Louis Pasteur, 184 (born 27 December 1822)
Died 1895. French chemist.
Sydney Greenstreet, 127 (born 27 December 1879)
Died 1954. British actor who made his main claim to fame playing heavies in films such as The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.
Marlene Dietrich, 105 (born 27 December 1901)
Died 1992. German actress and entertainer who made her mark in Hollywood with films such as The Blue Angel, Shanghai Express and Destry Rides Again.
Mike Pinder, 64 (born 27 December 1942)
Member of The Moody Blues.
Mick Jones, 62 (born 27 December 1944)
Member of Foreigner 'Waiting for a Girl Like You'.
Janet Street Porter, 60 (born 27 December 1946)
TV presenter and executive.
Gerard Depardieu, 58 (born 27 December 1948)
French actor who came to international fame in the film Green Card.
Karla Bonoff, 54 (born 27 December 1952)
Singer.
Religious events today...
Feast day of St John the Evangelist,
St Fabiota,
Saints Theodore and Theophanes Graptoi,
and St Nicarete.
History Test for December 27th
Opened today in 1932, which is the largest cinema in the world? -Radio City Music Hall in New York
American comedian Jack Benny died today in 1974. What was his musical trademark? -A violin
Today in 1904, 'Peter Pan' was first performed in London. Name the family featured in the story. -The Darlings
Born today in 1948, which French actor played Christopher Columbus in the film `1492: Conquest of Paradise'? -Gerard Depardieu
Born today in 1879 which British character actor made his film debut in 'The Maltese Falcon'? -Sydney Greenstreet
QUOTE “I am going to build the kind of nation that President Roosevelt hoped for, President Truman worked for and President Kennedy died for.” - Lyndon B. Johnson, US president, 1964.
Events today...
1703 The Methuen Treaty was signed between Portugal and England, giving preference to the import of Portuguese wines into England.
1831 'The Beagle' set sail with Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage of discovery.
1831 The Royal Navy vessel HMS Beagle under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy set sail from Devonport on a five-year scientific expedition round the world. The purpose of the trip was to survey the coasts of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Chile and Peru, to visit some Pacific islands and to set up a network of chronometrical stations. The official naturalist on board is recent BA graduate Charles Darwin, 22, whose task it was to study the rocks and life of the places visited and to collect specimens. The post was unpaid but provided a unique opportunity for studying a wide range of phenomena.
1834 Death of Charles Lamb, English essayist and critic.
1836 An avalanche killed 8 people in Lewis, Sussex.
1871 The Crystal Palace in south London was the venue for the world's first cat show.
1904 'Peter Pan' written by J.M Barrie opened in London at the Duke of York Theatre.
1904 The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, the first state-subsidized theatre in the world, had its opening night.
1927 Defeated in his Struggle for power against Stalin, Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.
1927 Impresario Florenz Ziegfeld had yet another hit on his hands in `Showboat’. The two-act musical, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Jerome Kern, captivated the audience at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway. The showboat of the title was Cotton Blossom, run by husband and wife team Cap'n Andy and Parthy Ann. The story, based on Edna Ferber's novel of the same title, centred on the lives and loves of the people who inhabited this floating playhouse. The unique aspect of Showboat was its unashamed American authenticity - the setting was l9th-century America and the songs used American musical idioms.
1929 The All-India National Congress in Lahore threatened civil disobedience if independence is not granted.
1932 New York's "Radio City Hall" opened.
1941 Manila in the Philippines was bombed by the Japanese.
1945 The last obstacle to the signing of the historic Bretton Woods agreements was removed when the British signified their willingness to take part in the 28-nation ratification ceremony at the State Department in Washington the following day. The Bretton Woods agreements provided for the establishment of an international monetary fund and a world bank. The purpose of the IMF was to bring about stability in the relative values of national currencies, thereby avoiding a repeat of the disastrous depreciations which followed World War I, and to free international trade from exchange control. The world bank was intended to help rebuild the economies of countries ravaged by war and supply the needs of industrially undeveloped nations.
1950 Death of Max Beckmann, German painter.
1965 In the North Sea the BP oil rig capsized with the lost of thirteen lives.
1972 Death of Lester Pearson, Canadian statesman, Liberal prime minister 1963-8, chairman of Nato and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for the part he played in settling the Suez Crisis in 1956.
1978 Death of Houari Boumbdienne, Algerian politician.
1978 With the adoption of a new constitution, Spain became a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
1979 The Soviet Union executed Afghan president Hafizullah Amin in a bid to restore order in the country. Babrak Karmal, a former deputy prime minister in exile in Czechoslovakia, was installed in his place. Thousands of Soviet troops were now heading into the countryside to deal with the Muslim rebellion which the Kremlin feared would spread to the USSR if it was not put down quickly.
1980 Egypt and Syria resumed full diplomatic relations after a ten-year break.
1981 Death of Hoagy Carmichael, aged 82, Composer 'Stardust'.
1983 Mehmet Ali Agca begged the Pope's forgiveness when the Pope visited his would-be assassin in jail.
1984 In Poland, four policemen went on trial for the murder of Father Jerzy Popieluszko.
1985 20 people died and 110 were injured in Rome and Vienna when terrorists struck.
1985 The marriage of Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran and Yasmin took place.
1989 Death of Hal Ashby, aged 59, Director 'Shampoo'.
1992 Singer Harry Connick Jnr was arrested when he was caught carrying a gun at JFK Airport.
1992 French novelist and photographer Herve Guibert died of AIDS at the age of 36.
2003 European Commission President Romano Prodi was unhurt after opening a letter bomb.
2003 Calisto Tanzi, former chairman of troubled Italian food firm Parmalat, was detained in Milan by finance police.
2003 The British team behind the Beagle 2 mission to Mars has failed to contact the landing craft for the fifth time.
2003 A total of £25,000 was offered for information to catch a man who shot dead one PC and injured another in Leeds.
2003 Actress Kate Winslet became a mother for the second time after giving birth to a son in New York.
2003 The Christmas ratings war was won by the BBC with the latest instalment of Only Fools and Horses.
2004 Ukraine's PM Yanukovych refused to admit defeat in the presidential poll, claiming election abuses.
2004 A tape attributed to Osama Bin Laden urged Iraqis to boycott general elections scheduled for 30 January.
2004 Presenter Keith Chegwin was recovering after emergency surgery to remove his appendix on Christmas Day.
BIRTHDAYS (for 27 December 2006)
Johannes Kepler, 435 (born 27 December 1571)
Died 1630. German astronomer who discovered that planetary orbits were elliptical in shape.
Louis Pasteur, 184 (born 27 December 1822)
French chemist and microbiologist whose many discoveries included the process of pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies.
Dr Louis Pasteur, 184 (born 27 December 1822)
Died 1895. French chemist.
Sydney Greenstreet, 127 (born 27 December 1879)
Died 1954. British actor who made his main claim to fame playing heavies in films such as The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.
Marlene Dietrich, 105 (born 27 December 1901)
Died 1992. German actress and entertainer who made her mark in Hollywood with films such as The Blue Angel, Shanghai Express and Destry Rides Again.
Mike Pinder, 64 (born 27 December 1942)
Member of The Moody Blues.
Mick Jones, 62 (born 27 December 1944)
Member of Foreigner 'Waiting for a Girl Like You'.
Janet Street Porter, 60 (born 27 December 1946)
TV presenter and executive.
Gerard Depardieu, 58 (born 27 December 1948)
French actor who came to international fame in the film Green Card.
Karla Bonoff, 54 (born 27 December 1952)
Singer.
Today's The Day - 26th December
26th December 2006
Boxing Day
Religious events today...
Saint Stephen's (patron of horses) Day.
Feast day of St Stephen,
St Dionysius, pope,
St Archelaus of Kashkar,
St Vicentia Lopez,
St Zosimus, pope,
and St Tathai or Athaeus.
History Test for December 26th
Born today in 1716, whose first poem was called 'Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College'? -Thomas Gray
Which American President coined the phrase: `If you can't stand the heat, keep out of the kitchen' and died today in 1972? -Harry S. Truman
What was the name of the German battlecruiser sunk by the British battleship 'Duke of York' today in 1943? -The Scharnhorst
Who directed the classic films 'The Big Sleep' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' and died today in 1977? -Howard Hawks
Born today in 1891, which American author wrote the novels 'Tropic of Cancer' and 'Tropic of Capricorn'? -Henry Miller
Events today...
1797 Death of John Wilkes, British politician and journalist.
1865 The Coffee percolator was patented by James H. Nason, Franklin, MA.
1890 Death of Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist.
1898 Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium.
1900 Auguste Strindberg's play Dance of Death was premiered in Sweden.
1904 Following months of unrest and riots, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia decreed that the conditions of the people, and particularly the peasants, would be improved.
1907 The first session of the Indian National Congress was suspended after clashes between moderates and extremists.
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.
1909 The documentary artist and reporter Frederic Remington died near Ridgefield, Connerticut. He was 40. The son of a wealthy newspaper publisher, Remington decided upon the precarious career of an artist after a trip to the West, his spiritual homeland. By his late 20s Remington had built up an enviable reputation as an illustrator of the Western scene. His work appeared in books and magazines, often as accompaniments to his own text. Remington broadened his artistic ambition in 1895 when he discovered his talent for sculpture and produced pieces such as The Bronco Buster.
1911 More than 50 people in a municipal shelter in Berlin died of poisoning.
1922 Judy Garland made her debut in showbiz as "Baby Francis".
1928 Johnny Weissmuller retired from amateur swimming and went onto become "Tarzan" in movies.
1943 The German battlecruiser Scharnhorst was sunk in the North Sea, during the Battle of North Cape.
1956 An attempt to overthrow the Batista regime by Fidel Castro failed when most of of his supporters were killed.
1957 Death of Charles Pathe, aged 94, French pioneer of motion picture equipment.
1957 Thousands of teddy bears were donated to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis by Elvis Presley.
1959 The first charity walk took place, along Icknield Way, in aid of the World Refugee Fund.
1963 The Beatles released "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the U.S.
1964 Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, the "Moors Murderers" claimed their last victim.
1967 "Magical Mystery Tour" received its British television premiere.
1972 A search for Bianca Jagger's relatives in Nicaragua after an earthquake was carried out by Mick and Bianca.
1972 Death of Harry S Truman, aged 88, 33rd US President 1945-53.
1973 The film 'The Exorcist' was first premiered.
1974 Death of American comedian Jack Benny, aged 80, whose act was based around his parsimony and his violin-playing.
1977 Death of Howard Hawks, aged 81, Movie producer/director.
1986 Death of Elsa Lanchester ,aged 84, Actress.
1989 Death of Sir Lennox Berkeley, British composer whose works include Serenade for Strings and Four Poems of St Teresa.
1989 Nobel Prize-winning Irish dramatist Samuel Beckett died in Paris at the age of 83.
1990 Gary Kasparov defeated Anatoly Karpov and retained his title of chess champion.
1990 The exiled King of Romania was back in Switzerland after spending less than 12 hours in the homeland he left at the point of a gun in 1947. Ex-King Michael, 69, landed at Bucharest airport in a private plane the day before with his wife, Princess Anne of Bourbnn-Parma, and his daughter Sophia. Two hours later, en route to the Curtea de Afges monastery where family members were buried, Michael's car was stopped by police and escorted to Bucharest. After several hours of argument over the validity of their travel documents, the family were flown back to Geneva.
1991 The Soviet Union's parliament formally voted the country out of existence.
2003 At least 20,000 people were said to have died as a big earthquake flattened a city in south-east Iran.
2003 The latest attempt to contact the Mars lander Beagle 2 failed, but scientists said they had not given up hope.
2003 An unauthorised biography of Catherine Zeta Jones was shelved after letters from her lawyers.
2003 Man Utd return to the top of the Premiership by beating Everton 3-2 at Old Trafford.
2004 Many died across Asia in massive waves triggered by the largest earthquake in 40 years.
2004 Thousands of British tourists were stranded in south and east Asia after an earthquake sent massive waves flooding across the region.
BIRTHDAYS (for 26 December 2006)
Thomas Gray, 290 (born 26 December 1716)
English poet best-known for "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard".
Charles Babbage, 214 (born 26 December 1792)
Died 1871. English professor who invented the calculating machine.
Henry Miller, 115 (born 26 December 1891)
Died 1980. American novelist who wrote Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, both originally banned as pornography.
Mao Tse-tung, 113 (born 26 December 1893)
Died 1976. Chinese Communist statesman who, as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Irene Handl, 105 (born 26 December 1901)
Died 1987. Comedic actress.
Cab Calloway, 99 (born 26 December 1907)
singer
Richard Widmark, 92 (born 26 December 1914)
American actor whose many films include The Alamo and Madigan.
Steve Allen, 85 (born 26 December 1921)
Comedian.
Denis Quilley, 79 (born 26 December 1927)
Died 2003. Actor.
Abdul "Duke" Fakir, 71 (born 26 December 1935)
Member of The Four Tops.
Phil Spector, 66 (born 26 December 1940)
American songwriter and record producer whose distinctive sound was to be heard on many records of the 1960s.
Jane Lapotaire, 62 (born 26 December 1944)
English actress
Paul Anthony Quinn, 55 (born 26 December 1951)
Member of Saxon.
Boxing Day
Religious events today...
Saint Stephen's (patron of horses) Day.
Feast day of St Stephen,
St Dionysius, pope,
St Archelaus of Kashkar,
St Vicentia Lopez,
St Zosimus, pope,
and St Tathai or Athaeus.
History Test for December 26th
Born today in 1716, whose first poem was called 'Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College'? -Thomas Gray
Which American President coined the phrase: `If you can't stand the heat, keep out of the kitchen' and died today in 1972? -Harry S. Truman
What was the name of the German battlecruiser sunk by the British battleship 'Duke of York' today in 1943? -The Scharnhorst
Who directed the classic films 'The Big Sleep' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' and died today in 1977? -Howard Hawks
Born today in 1891, which American author wrote the novels 'Tropic of Cancer' and 'Tropic of Capricorn'? -Henry Miller
Events today...
1797 Death of John Wilkes, British politician and journalist.
1865 The Coffee percolator was patented by James H. Nason, Franklin, MA.
1890 Death of Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist.
1898 Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium.
1900 Auguste Strindberg's play Dance of Death was premiered in Sweden.
1904 Following months of unrest and riots, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia decreed that the conditions of the people, and particularly the peasants, would be improved.
1907 The first session of the Indian National Congress was suspended after clashes between moderates and extremists.
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.
1909 The documentary artist and reporter Frederic Remington died near Ridgefield, Connerticut. He was 40. The son of a wealthy newspaper publisher, Remington decided upon the precarious career of an artist after a trip to the West, his spiritual homeland. By his late 20s Remington had built up an enviable reputation as an illustrator of the Western scene. His work appeared in books and magazines, often as accompaniments to his own text. Remington broadened his artistic ambition in 1895 when he discovered his talent for sculpture and produced pieces such as The Bronco Buster.
1911 More than 50 people in a municipal shelter in Berlin died of poisoning.
1922 Judy Garland made her debut in showbiz as "Baby Francis".
1928 Johnny Weissmuller retired from amateur swimming and went onto become "Tarzan" in movies.
1943 The German battlecruiser Scharnhorst was sunk in the North Sea, during the Battle of North Cape.
1956 An attempt to overthrow the Batista regime by Fidel Castro failed when most of of his supporters were killed.
1957 Death of Charles Pathe, aged 94, French pioneer of motion picture equipment.
1957 Thousands of teddy bears were donated to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis by Elvis Presley.
1959 The first charity walk took place, along Icknield Way, in aid of the World Refugee Fund.
1963 The Beatles released "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the U.S.
1964 Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, the "Moors Murderers" claimed their last victim.
1967 "Magical Mystery Tour" received its British television premiere.
1972 A search for Bianca Jagger's relatives in Nicaragua after an earthquake was carried out by Mick and Bianca.
1972 Death of Harry S Truman, aged 88, 33rd US President 1945-53.
1973 The film 'The Exorcist' was first premiered.
1974 Death of American comedian Jack Benny, aged 80, whose act was based around his parsimony and his violin-playing.
1977 Death of Howard Hawks, aged 81, Movie producer/director.
1986 Death of Elsa Lanchester ,aged 84, Actress.
1989 Death of Sir Lennox Berkeley, British composer whose works include Serenade for Strings and Four Poems of St Teresa.
1989 Nobel Prize-winning Irish dramatist Samuel Beckett died in Paris at the age of 83.
1990 Gary Kasparov defeated Anatoly Karpov and retained his title of chess champion.
1990 The exiled King of Romania was back in Switzerland after spending less than 12 hours in the homeland he left at the point of a gun in 1947. Ex-King Michael, 69, landed at Bucharest airport in a private plane the day before with his wife, Princess Anne of Bourbnn-Parma, and his daughter Sophia. Two hours later, en route to the Curtea de Afges monastery where family members were buried, Michael's car was stopped by police and escorted to Bucharest. After several hours of argument over the validity of their travel documents, the family were flown back to Geneva.
1991 The Soviet Union's parliament formally voted the country out of existence.
2003 At least 20,000 people were said to have died as a big earthquake flattened a city in south-east Iran.
2003 The latest attempt to contact the Mars lander Beagle 2 failed, but scientists said they had not given up hope.
2003 An unauthorised biography of Catherine Zeta Jones was shelved after letters from her lawyers.
2003 Man Utd return to the top of the Premiership by beating Everton 3-2 at Old Trafford.
2004 Many died across Asia in massive waves triggered by the largest earthquake in 40 years.
2004 Thousands of British tourists were stranded in south and east Asia after an earthquake sent massive waves flooding across the region.
BIRTHDAYS (for 26 December 2006)
Thomas Gray, 290 (born 26 December 1716)
English poet best-known for "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard".
Charles Babbage, 214 (born 26 December 1792)
Died 1871. English professor who invented the calculating machine.
Henry Miller, 115 (born 26 December 1891)
Died 1980. American novelist who wrote Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, both originally banned as pornography.
Mao Tse-tung, 113 (born 26 December 1893)
Died 1976. Chinese Communist statesman who, as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Irene Handl, 105 (born 26 December 1901)
Died 1987. Comedic actress.
Cab Calloway, 99 (born 26 December 1907)
singer
Richard Widmark, 92 (born 26 December 1914)
American actor whose many films include The Alamo and Madigan.
Steve Allen, 85 (born 26 December 1921)
Comedian.
Denis Quilley, 79 (born 26 December 1927)
Died 2003. Actor.
Abdul "Duke" Fakir, 71 (born 26 December 1935)
Member of The Four Tops.
Phil Spector, 66 (born 26 December 1940)
American songwriter and record producer whose distinctive sound was to be heard on many records of the 1960s.
Jane Lapotaire, 62 (born 26 December 1944)
English actress
Paul Anthony Quinn, 55 (born 26 December 1951)
Member of Saxon.
Today's The Day - 25th December - Happy Christmas!
25th December 2006
Christmas Day.
Religious events today...
Feast day of The Martyrs of Nicomedia,
St Eu enia,
St Alburga,
and St Anastasia of Sirmium.
History Test for December 25th
On Christmas Day 1950 what was stolen from Westminster Abbey? -The Stone of Scone - or Coronation Stone - from under the Coronation Chair
In which year did the Queen present her first Christmas TV broadcast? (And you're allowed two years either way.) -1957
Charlie Chaplin died on Christmas Day 1977. What was the title of his 1940 film in which he satirised Adolf Hitler? -`The Great Dictator'
Born on Christmas Day 1642, who became the first scientist to be buried in Westminster Abbey? -Sir Isaac Newton
Who acceded to the Japanese throne on Christmas Day 1925? -Hirohito
Events today...
440AD The leaders of the Christian Church decided that the date of the birth of Jesus Christ should be fixed. Some people observed it in May, some in January and some combined it with the feast of Epiphany. The date mooted was December 25, the day that the Romans celebrated the winter solstice. The Celtic and Germanic tribes as well as the Norsemen also held this period dear. The Church authorities did not want their celebration to be tainted by an association with heathen customs, however, and were thought to be engaged in the task of creating rites that would underline the differences between their faith and any of an ungodly nature.
597AD England adopted the Julian calender. 1066 At Westminster Abbey William The Conqueror was crowned King of England.
800AD In Rome, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III.
1066 William the Conqueror was crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey.
1085 King William I ordered a complete survey of England. Seven or eight groups of commissioners would gather detailed information of the accounts of the estates of the King and of those who hold land by direct services to him, his tenants-in-chief in each county of the realm. The subjects of William's "description of England" were already referring to the impending investigation as "Domesday". From each manor information was to be collected on the dimensions and the ploughing capacity of the land, the number of workers, and any extra amenities such as mills and fishponds. The King and his officers would then have an estimate of what every holder of land in the kingdom is worth.
1497 Florentine friar and charismatic preacher Giralomo Savonarola denounced the Pope for corruption and accused Leonardo da Vinci of sodomy.
1741 The centigrade (celcius) temperature scale was introduced by astronomer Anders Celcius.
1800 Britain's first Christmas tree was put up at Windsor by Queen Charlotte.
1896 John Philip Sousa composed "Stars and Stripes Forever".
1913 In New York, a couple were arrested for kissing in the street.
1914 The famous football match was played between English and German troops during World War One in "No Man's Land" during an unofficial truce on the Western Front.
1926 Hirohito acceded to the throne of Japan on the death of his father, Emperor Yoshihito.
1941 Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese.
1946 Death of W C Fields (aged 67) Comedian, US actor and screenwriter.
1950 The 15-year-old Dalai Lama, the temporal and religious leader of Tibet, was thought to have fled the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, to enlist further help for his country's struggle to maintain its status as the only country in the world entirely under the control of priests. The crisis deepened since October when China first invaded Tibet. The Indian government tried putting pressure on the Chinese to reach agreement with Tibet, but to little effect. In November the Tibetan government took the unusual step of investing the Dalai Lama with full powers of office three years before he was due to receive them. It remained to be seen whether this further legitimization of his rule would deter the Chinese from "liberating Tibet by force".
1950 The Coronation Stone was stolen from its resting place beneath the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey. Scotland Yard believed that the thieves were Scottish nationalists. The 336 lb (152 kg) Stone of Scone, on which all Scottish kings were crowned, was brought to England as a trophy by King Edward I in 1296, a symbol of the English monarch's claim to Scottish rule. Many Scots would like to see the Stone returned permanently to Scotland.
1959 A momentous day in the life on Richard Starkey when he received his first drum kit. He of course went on to become known as Ringo Starr and the rest as they say is history.
1964 Paul McCartney and Jane Asher announced their engagement (...I wonder if Jane baked a nice cake?....).
1967 Jane Fonda's movie "Barbarella" was released.
1972 The Nicaraguan capital Managua was devastated by an earthquake which killed over 10,000 people.
1977 Sir Charles Chaplin, KBE, died at his home in Switzerland. He was 88. Chaplin's career in the cinema spanned 50 years but his reputation as a comic genius was to rest most securely on a core of films made between 1916 and 1928, which included the Oscar-winning The Circus. The star's love-hate relationship with Hollywood was resolved in 1973 when, after a 20-year exile in Europe, he was awarded a special Oscar for his lifetime contribution to film and commemorated with a statue at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. In 1975 he was made KBE in the New Year's Honours list.
1983 Death of Spanish Surrealist artist Joan Miro, whose painting was infiuenced by dreams and by poetry.
1987 Israeli forces cracked down on Arab rioters.
1989 Dissident playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia.
1989 President Ceausescu and his wife were executed by the Romanian army.
1991 French actress Orane Demazis, known for her roles in Marcel Pagnol's Marseilles Trilogy, died aged 87.
1991 Unable to maintain control over a disintegrating Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation as president.
1995 Death of Dean Martin (aged 78) Singer, actor, comedian
1997 Death of Denver Pyle (aged 77) Actor.
2003 A suicide bomber killed four Israelis, as five Palestinians, including three militants, died in a strike in Gaza.
2003 Two bomb blasts killed 14 people in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, narrowly missing President Musharraf.
2003 Scientists failed to pick up a signal from the Beagle 2 spacecraft telling them it had landed safely on Mars. Anxious scientists hoped the huge Jodrell Bank telescope would tell them if the craft had landed safely on Mars.
2003 The Queen spoke of her "respect and admiration" for the armed forces in her traditional Christmas speech.
2004 Pope John Paul II used his annual Christmas message to voice his concerns about continuing global conflicts.
2004 The Queen spoke of tolerance and understanding in her traditional Christmas speech.
2004 Bookmakers lost out after snow fell on Christmas Day in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern England.
2004 Ellen MacArthur endured torrid seas as she continued her round-the-world record bid.
2004 BBC topped the Christmas Day ratings, with EastEnders and the Vicar of Dibley leading the way.
BIRTHDAYS (for 25 December 2006)
Sir Isaac Newton, 364 (born 25 December 1642)
Died 1727. English mathematician and scientist.
Charles Pathe, 143 (born 25 December 1863)
(Died 1957) French film pioneer.
Maurlce Utrillo, 123 (born 25 December 1883)
French painter, iilegitimate son of the artist Suzanne Valadon, known for his Parisian street scenes.
Humphrey Bogart, 117 (born 25 December 1889)
Died 1957. American actor whose legendary films include Casablanca, To Have and Have Not and The Maltese Falcon.
Cab Calloway, 99 (born 25 December 1907)
(Died 1994) Bandleader.
Sir Lew Grade, 99 (born 25 December 1907)
(Died 1998) Producer.
Quentin Crisp, 98 (born 25 December 1908)
Writer and gay icon.
Anwar Sadat, 88 (born 25 December 1918)
(Died 1981) Egyptian head of state.
Noele Gordon, 83 (born 25 December 1923)
(Died 1985) Actress 'Crossroads'.
Rod Serling, 82 (born 25 December 1924)
(Died 1975) of Twilight Zone fame.
Stuart Hall, 77 (born 25 December 1929)
TV presenter - 'It's a Knockout'.
O'Kelly Isley, 69 (born 25 December 1937)
(Died 1986) Member of The Isley Brothers.
Bob James, 67 (born 25 December 1939)
Jazz musician producer - wrote the 'Taxi' theme.
Kenny Everett, 62 (born 25 December 1944)
(Died 1995) DJ and TV comedian.
Noel Redding, 61 (born 25 December 1945)
Member of Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Jimmy Buffett, 60 (born 25 December 1946)
Singer 'Margaritaville'.
Barbara Mandrell, 58 (born 25 December 1948)
Country singer.
Sissy Spacek, 57 (born 25 December 1949)
American actress who appeared in Coalminer's Daughter, Badlands and The Shining among other films.
Annie Lennox, 52 (born 25 December 1954)
Singer - solo and Eurythmics - biggest solo UK hit 'No More I Love You's'.
Steve Wariner, 52 (born 25 December 1954)
Country singer.
Robin Campbell, 52 (born 25 December 1954)
Member of UB40.
Shane McGowan, 49 (born 25 December 1957)
Member of The Pogues.
Anita Dells, 35 (born 25 December 1971)
Member of 2 Unlimited.
Christmas Day.
Religious events today...
Feast day of The Martyrs of Nicomedia,
St Eu enia,
St Alburga,
and St Anastasia of Sirmium.
History Test for December 25th
On Christmas Day 1950 what was stolen from Westminster Abbey? -The Stone of Scone - or Coronation Stone - from under the Coronation Chair
In which year did the Queen present her first Christmas TV broadcast? (And you're allowed two years either way.) -1957
Charlie Chaplin died on Christmas Day 1977. What was the title of his 1940 film in which he satirised Adolf Hitler? -`The Great Dictator'
Born on Christmas Day 1642, who became the first scientist to be buried in Westminster Abbey? -Sir Isaac Newton
Who acceded to the Japanese throne on Christmas Day 1925? -Hirohito
Events today...
440AD The leaders of the Christian Church decided that the date of the birth of Jesus Christ should be fixed. Some people observed it in May, some in January and some combined it with the feast of Epiphany. The date mooted was December 25, the day that the Romans celebrated the winter solstice. The Celtic and Germanic tribes as well as the Norsemen also held this period dear. The Church authorities did not want their celebration to be tainted by an association with heathen customs, however, and were thought to be engaged in the task of creating rites that would underline the differences between their faith and any of an ungodly nature.
597AD England adopted the Julian calender. 1066 At Westminster Abbey William The Conqueror was crowned King of England.
800AD In Rome, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III.
1066 William the Conqueror was crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey.
1085 King William I ordered a complete survey of England. Seven or eight groups of commissioners would gather detailed information of the accounts of the estates of the King and of those who hold land by direct services to him, his tenants-in-chief in each county of the realm. The subjects of William's "description of England" were already referring to the impending investigation as "Domesday". From each manor information was to be collected on the dimensions and the ploughing capacity of the land, the number of workers, and any extra amenities such as mills and fishponds. The King and his officers would then have an estimate of what every holder of land in the kingdom is worth.
1497 Florentine friar and charismatic preacher Giralomo Savonarola denounced the Pope for corruption and accused Leonardo da Vinci of sodomy.
1741 The centigrade (celcius) temperature scale was introduced by astronomer Anders Celcius.
1800 Britain's first Christmas tree was put up at Windsor by Queen Charlotte.
1896 John Philip Sousa composed "Stars and Stripes Forever".
1913 In New York, a couple were arrested for kissing in the street.
1914 The famous football match was played between English and German troops during World War One in "No Man's Land" during an unofficial truce on the Western Front.
1926 Hirohito acceded to the throne of Japan on the death of his father, Emperor Yoshihito.
1941 Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese.
1946 Death of W C Fields (aged 67) Comedian, US actor and screenwriter.
1950 The 15-year-old Dalai Lama, the temporal and religious leader of Tibet, was thought to have fled the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, to enlist further help for his country's struggle to maintain its status as the only country in the world entirely under the control of priests. The crisis deepened since October when China first invaded Tibet. The Indian government tried putting pressure on the Chinese to reach agreement with Tibet, but to little effect. In November the Tibetan government took the unusual step of investing the Dalai Lama with full powers of office three years before he was due to receive them. It remained to be seen whether this further legitimization of his rule would deter the Chinese from "liberating Tibet by force".
1950 The Coronation Stone was stolen from its resting place beneath the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey. Scotland Yard believed that the thieves were Scottish nationalists. The 336 lb (152 kg) Stone of Scone, on which all Scottish kings were crowned, was brought to England as a trophy by King Edward I in 1296, a symbol of the English monarch's claim to Scottish rule. Many Scots would like to see the Stone returned permanently to Scotland.
1959 A momentous day in the life on Richard Starkey when he received his first drum kit. He of course went on to become known as Ringo Starr and the rest as they say is history.
1964 Paul McCartney and Jane Asher announced their engagement (...I wonder if Jane baked a nice cake?....).
1967 Jane Fonda's movie "Barbarella" was released.
1972 The Nicaraguan capital Managua was devastated by an earthquake which killed over 10,000 people.
1977 Sir Charles Chaplin, KBE, died at his home in Switzerland. He was 88. Chaplin's career in the cinema spanned 50 years but his reputation as a comic genius was to rest most securely on a core of films made between 1916 and 1928, which included the Oscar-winning The Circus. The star's love-hate relationship with Hollywood was resolved in 1973 when, after a 20-year exile in Europe, he was awarded a special Oscar for his lifetime contribution to film and commemorated with a statue at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. In 1975 he was made KBE in the New Year's Honours list.
1983 Death of Spanish Surrealist artist Joan Miro, whose painting was infiuenced by dreams and by poetry.
1987 Israeli forces cracked down on Arab rioters.
1989 Dissident playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia.
1989 President Ceausescu and his wife were executed by the Romanian army.
1991 French actress Orane Demazis, known for her roles in Marcel Pagnol's Marseilles Trilogy, died aged 87.
1991 Unable to maintain control over a disintegrating Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation as president.
1995 Death of Dean Martin (aged 78) Singer, actor, comedian
1997 Death of Denver Pyle (aged 77) Actor.
2003 A suicide bomber killed four Israelis, as five Palestinians, including three militants, died in a strike in Gaza.
2003 Two bomb blasts killed 14 people in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, narrowly missing President Musharraf.
2003 Scientists failed to pick up a signal from the Beagle 2 spacecraft telling them it had landed safely on Mars. Anxious scientists hoped the huge Jodrell Bank telescope would tell them if the craft had landed safely on Mars.
2003 The Queen spoke of her "respect and admiration" for the armed forces in her traditional Christmas speech.
2004 Pope John Paul II used his annual Christmas message to voice his concerns about continuing global conflicts.
2004 The Queen spoke of tolerance and understanding in her traditional Christmas speech.
2004 Bookmakers lost out after snow fell on Christmas Day in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern England.
2004 Ellen MacArthur endured torrid seas as she continued her round-the-world record bid.
2004 BBC topped the Christmas Day ratings, with EastEnders and the Vicar of Dibley leading the way.
BIRTHDAYS (for 25 December 2006)
Sir Isaac Newton, 364 (born 25 December 1642)
Died 1727. English mathematician and scientist.
Charles Pathe, 143 (born 25 December 1863)
(Died 1957) French film pioneer.
Maurlce Utrillo, 123 (born 25 December 1883)
French painter, iilegitimate son of the artist Suzanne Valadon, known for his Parisian street scenes.
Humphrey Bogart, 117 (born 25 December 1889)
Died 1957. American actor whose legendary films include Casablanca, To Have and Have Not and The Maltese Falcon.
Cab Calloway, 99 (born 25 December 1907)
(Died 1994) Bandleader.
Sir Lew Grade, 99 (born 25 December 1907)
(Died 1998) Producer.
Quentin Crisp, 98 (born 25 December 1908)
Writer and gay icon.
Anwar Sadat, 88 (born 25 December 1918)
(Died 1981) Egyptian head of state.
Noele Gordon, 83 (born 25 December 1923)
(Died 1985) Actress 'Crossroads'.
Rod Serling, 82 (born 25 December 1924)
(Died 1975) of Twilight Zone fame.
Stuart Hall, 77 (born 25 December 1929)
TV presenter - 'It's a Knockout'.
O'Kelly Isley, 69 (born 25 December 1937)
(Died 1986) Member of The Isley Brothers.
Bob James, 67 (born 25 December 1939)
Jazz musician producer - wrote the 'Taxi' theme.
Kenny Everett, 62 (born 25 December 1944)
(Died 1995) DJ and TV comedian.
Noel Redding, 61 (born 25 December 1945)
Member of Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Jimmy Buffett, 60 (born 25 December 1946)
Singer 'Margaritaville'.
Barbara Mandrell, 58 (born 25 December 1948)
Country singer.
Sissy Spacek, 57 (born 25 December 1949)
American actress who appeared in Coalminer's Daughter, Badlands and The Shining among other films.
Annie Lennox, 52 (born 25 December 1954)
Singer - solo and Eurythmics - biggest solo UK hit 'No More I Love You's'.
Steve Wariner, 52 (born 25 December 1954)
Country singer.
Robin Campbell, 52 (born 25 December 1954)
Member of UB40.
Shane McGowan, 49 (born 25 December 1957)
Member of The Pogues.
Anita Dells, 35 (born 25 December 1971)
Member of 2 Unlimited.
Today's The Day - 24th December
24th December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Gregory of Spoleto,
Saints Tharsilla and Emiliana,
St Adela,
St Irmina,
St Delphinus,
and St Sharbel Makhlouf.
History Test for December 24th
Today in 1888, Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his ear. Was it his left ear or his right ear? -His left ear
Born today in 1922 which film actress was once married to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra? -Ava Gardner
Today in 1871, the opera `Aida' was first performed in Cairo. Who composed it? -Giuseppe Verdi
Born today in 1167, which future King of England was the brother of Richard the Lionheart? -King John
Born today in 1818, which English physicist has a unit of energy named after him? -James Joule
QUOTE “I am very sorry to know and hear how unreverently that most precious jewel, the Word of God, is disputed, rhymed, sung and jangled in every ale-house and tavern, contrary to the true meaning and doctrine of the same.” - King Henry VIII comments on the translation of the Bible into English, 1545.
QUOTE “I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.” - Jane Austen, British novelist, in a letter, 1798.
Events today...
1508 London houses received piped water for the first time.
1515 Thomas Wolsey was appointed English Lord Chancellor.
1524 Death of Vasco da Gama Portuguese explorer and navigator.
1814 In Ghent representatives of Britain and America signed a peace treaty ending the two-and-a-half-year conflict between the two countries. The nub of the agreement was that the two sides were to stop fighting. This stalemate treaty was appropriate to the position on the ground in North America, where neither side had made gains. The issue of maritime rights, the main cause of the war, had been a dead letter since the ending of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, hence British willingness to settle the dispute with America.
1818 Fran Joseph Gruber composed that famous Christmas ditty "Silent Night".
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.
1851 Fire destroyed part of the Capitol building in Washington and the whole of the Library of Congress.
1863 Death of W. M. Thackeray, English novelist.
1871 After a year of delay the Italian Theatre in Cairo staged the first performance of Giuseppe Verdi's long-awaited opera Aida. The first-night audience was unequivocal in its enthusiasm for this most personal of grand operas. The work was commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, last year. Verdi had turned down several requests for a new opera from the Khedive before his interest was aroused by a 23-page synopsis of Aida devised by Mariette Bey, the eminent Egyptologist. With the Khedive's generous terms (150,000 francs/£15,000/$27,600 for the Egyptian rights) safely committed to a contract, Verdi set to work with a will, finishing the opera in under five months. The delay in the production was caused by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, which prevented the shipping of the French-made costumes and scenery to Egypt. The composer was not in Cairo to witness the triumph of his new opera. He would be present in Milan, however, for the opera's European debut seven weeks alter.
1914 The first air raid on Britain was made when a German airplane dropped a bomb on the grounds of a rectory in Dover.
1920 Opera singer Enrico Caruso gave his final public performance.
1922 The London Coliseum opened.
1924 Death of Leon Bakst, Russian painter and Stage designer.
1924 Eight people died in Britain's worst air crash as an Imperial Airways plane dived into a housing estate at Croydon immediately after take-off.
1935 Death of Alban Berg, Austrian composer.
1942 The first powered flight of a V-1 buzz bomb. Tested in Germany.
1943 President Roosevelt appointed General Dwight D. Eisenhower commander-in-chief of the invasion of Europe.
1951 King Idris I formally declared the independence of Libya in a broadcast from the balcony of the Mahara palace in Benghazi. It was just over two years since the United Nations set a time limit for Libya's independence at January 1, 1952. For the preceding six years, since the defeat of Axis forces in the area, the country had been administered by the French and the British. The new constitution of the federal democratic kingdom provided for two legislative chambers: one elected on a proportional representation basis, and the other nominated. Elections to the new parliament would be held early the following year. King Idris, 61, was chosen as ruler of the new state by a Libyan National Assembly which met in 1950.
1961 Death of Frank Richards, English writer.
1965 Elvis Presley proposed to Priscilla Beaulieu.
1965 A meteorite landed on Leicestershire; it weighed about 100lbs.
1968 The Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from the Book of Genesis (no not Phil, Mike and Tony!!).
1970 The premiere of Disney's "Aristocats".
1972 Death of Charles Atlas (aged 78) Body builder
1974 John Stonehouse, the former British Labour minister who was thought to have drowned off Miami Beach, Florida, in November, turned up in Melbourne, Australia. Police, suspicious of the Englishman who made regular trips to the post office to collect mail, apprehended Stonehouse in the belief that he was the Earl of Lucan, wanted in Britain for the murder of his children's nanny. Stonehouse disappeared after telling associates he was going for a swim. Shortly afterwards it emerged in Britain that overdrafts had been raised in his name, funds of companies he headed had been plundered and life insurance policies had been taken out. In his fight against extradition, Stonehouse was expected to claim to be a victim of blackmail and persecution in Britain. Under Australian law British MPs are entitled to enter the country freely, so the fact that Stonehouse used a forged passport would not count against him.
1974 The Beatles' partnership is legally dissolved.
1975 Death of Bernard Herrmann (aged 64) Film composer
1979 Afghanistan was invaded by Soviet troops as the Kabul govemment fell.
1980 Death of German commander Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, who was briefly Fuhrer in 1945.
1984 Death of Peter Lawford (aged 61) Actor
1989 Deposed Panamian leader Manuel Noriega gave himself up to the papal nuncio in Panama City, having dodged American troops determined to capture him.
1990 A cyclone swept the Queensland coast of Australia with wind speeds of 150 mph (241 kph).
1994 Death of Rossano Brazzi (aged 78) Actor.
2003 Air France canceled six flights between Paris and Los Angeles after US warns of 'credible threat'.
2003 A growing list of countries are banning US beef imports over the first suspected American case of "mad cow" disease.
2003 The British-built spacecraft Beagle 2 was entering the final and most risky phase of its journey to Mars.
2003 Spanish authorities said they had foiled a Basque separatist plot to blow up a train at a Madrid rail station.
2003 Italian food firm Parmalat went into administration as investigators prepared fraud charges against former executives.
2003 Rock star Bruce Springsteen was named 2003's highest-earning touring performer in the US.
2003 Tottenham agreed a deal to sign Sheffield United midfielder Michael Brown on 1st January.
2003 Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson called for the introduction of a mid-season break in England.
2004 Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven was voted the best rock song of all time by radio listeners.
BIRTHDAYS (for 24 December 2006)
King John, 839 (born 24 December 1167)
Died 1216. English monarch who was forced by his rebellious barons to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede.
Ignatius Loyola, 515 (born 24 December 1491)
Spanish founder of the Jesuit order.
Christopher "Kit" Carson, 197 (born 24 December 1809)
Died 1868. American frontiersman and Indian agent at Taos.
Michael Curtiz, 108 (born 24 December 1898)
(Died 1962) Film director - 'Casablanca'.
Howard Hughes, 101 (born 24 December 1905)
(Died 1976) Movie producer and aviator.
Frank Waxman, 100 (born 24 December 1906)
(Died 1967) German composer.
Ava Gardner, 84 (born 24 December 1922)
Died 1990. American actress who appeared in The Barefoot Contessa, The Sun Also Rises and Night of the Iguana among other films.
Lee Dorsey, 82 (born 24 December 1924)
(Died 1986) Singer - 'Working in a Coal Mine'.
Norman Rossington, 78 (born 24 December 1928)
Actor.
Jill Bennett, 75 (born 24 December 1931)
(Died 1990) Actress - 'For Your Eyes Only'.
Sir Colin Cowdrey, 74 (born 24 December 1932)
Cricketer.
Woody Herman, 62 (born 24 December 1944)
(Died 1989) Bandleader.
Lemmy, 61 (born 24 December 1945)
Lead of Motorhead.
Mike Curb, 60 (born 24 December 1946)
Singer (of Congregation fame) and president of MGM records.
Jan Akkerman, 60 (born 24 December 1946)
Dutch guitarist and member of Focus - biggest UK hit 'Sylvia'.
Ian Burden, 49 (born 24 December 1957)
Member of Human League.
Carol Vorderman, 46 (born 24 December 1960)
TV presenter.
Mary Ramsey, 43 (born 24 December 1963)
Member of 10,000 Maniacs.
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Gregory of Spoleto,
Saints Tharsilla and Emiliana,
St Adela,
St Irmina,
St Delphinus,
and St Sharbel Makhlouf.
History Test for December 24th
Today in 1888, Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his ear. Was it his left ear or his right ear? -His left ear
Born today in 1922 which film actress was once married to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra? -Ava Gardner
Today in 1871, the opera `Aida' was first performed in Cairo. Who composed it? -Giuseppe Verdi
Born today in 1167, which future King of England was the brother of Richard the Lionheart? -King John
Born today in 1818, which English physicist has a unit of energy named after him? -James Joule
QUOTE “I am very sorry to know and hear how unreverently that most precious jewel, the Word of God, is disputed, rhymed, sung and jangled in every ale-house and tavern, contrary to the true meaning and doctrine of the same.” - King Henry VIII comments on the translation of the Bible into English, 1545.
QUOTE “I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.” - Jane Austen, British novelist, in a letter, 1798.
Events today...
1508 London houses received piped water for the first time.
1515 Thomas Wolsey was appointed English Lord Chancellor.
1524 Death of Vasco da Gama Portuguese explorer and navigator.
1814 In Ghent representatives of Britain and America signed a peace treaty ending the two-and-a-half-year conflict between the two countries. The nub of the agreement was that the two sides were to stop fighting. This stalemate treaty was appropriate to the position on the ground in North America, where neither side had made gains. The issue of maritime rights, the main cause of the war, had been a dead letter since the ending of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, hence British willingness to settle the dispute with America.
1818 Fran Joseph Gruber composed that famous Christmas ditty "Silent Night".
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.
1851 Fire destroyed part of the Capitol building in Washington and the whole of the Library of Congress.
1863 Death of W. M. Thackeray, English novelist.
1871 After a year of delay the Italian Theatre in Cairo staged the first performance of Giuseppe Verdi's long-awaited opera Aida. The first-night audience was unequivocal in its enthusiasm for this most personal of grand operas. The work was commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, last year. Verdi had turned down several requests for a new opera from the Khedive before his interest was aroused by a 23-page synopsis of Aida devised by Mariette Bey, the eminent Egyptologist. With the Khedive's generous terms (150,000 francs/£15,000/$27,600 for the Egyptian rights) safely committed to a contract, Verdi set to work with a will, finishing the opera in under five months. The delay in the production was caused by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, which prevented the shipping of the French-made costumes and scenery to Egypt. The composer was not in Cairo to witness the triumph of his new opera. He would be present in Milan, however, for the opera's European debut seven weeks alter.
1914 The first air raid on Britain was made when a German airplane dropped a bomb on the grounds of a rectory in Dover.
1920 Opera singer Enrico Caruso gave his final public performance.
1922 The London Coliseum opened.
1924 Death of Leon Bakst, Russian painter and Stage designer.
1924 Eight people died in Britain's worst air crash as an Imperial Airways plane dived into a housing estate at Croydon immediately after take-off.
1935 Death of Alban Berg, Austrian composer.
1942 The first powered flight of a V-1 buzz bomb. Tested in Germany.
1943 President Roosevelt appointed General Dwight D. Eisenhower commander-in-chief of the invasion of Europe.
1951 King Idris I formally declared the independence of Libya in a broadcast from the balcony of the Mahara palace in Benghazi. It was just over two years since the United Nations set a time limit for Libya's independence at January 1, 1952. For the preceding six years, since the defeat of Axis forces in the area, the country had been administered by the French and the British. The new constitution of the federal democratic kingdom provided for two legislative chambers: one elected on a proportional representation basis, and the other nominated. Elections to the new parliament would be held early the following year. King Idris, 61, was chosen as ruler of the new state by a Libyan National Assembly which met in 1950.
1961 Death of Frank Richards, English writer.
1965 Elvis Presley proposed to Priscilla Beaulieu.
1965 A meteorite landed on Leicestershire; it weighed about 100lbs.
1968 The Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from the Book of Genesis (no not Phil, Mike and Tony!!).
1970 The premiere of Disney's "Aristocats".
1972 Death of Charles Atlas (aged 78) Body builder
1974 John Stonehouse, the former British Labour minister who was thought to have drowned off Miami Beach, Florida, in November, turned up in Melbourne, Australia. Police, suspicious of the Englishman who made regular trips to the post office to collect mail, apprehended Stonehouse in the belief that he was the Earl of Lucan, wanted in Britain for the murder of his children's nanny. Stonehouse disappeared after telling associates he was going for a swim. Shortly afterwards it emerged in Britain that overdrafts had been raised in his name, funds of companies he headed had been plundered and life insurance policies had been taken out. In his fight against extradition, Stonehouse was expected to claim to be a victim of blackmail and persecution in Britain. Under Australian law British MPs are entitled to enter the country freely, so the fact that Stonehouse used a forged passport would not count against him.
1974 The Beatles' partnership is legally dissolved.
1975 Death of Bernard Herrmann (aged 64) Film composer
1979 Afghanistan was invaded by Soviet troops as the Kabul govemment fell.
1980 Death of German commander Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, who was briefly Fuhrer in 1945.
1984 Death of Peter Lawford (aged 61) Actor
1989 Deposed Panamian leader Manuel Noriega gave himself up to the papal nuncio in Panama City, having dodged American troops determined to capture him.
1990 A cyclone swept the Queensland coast of Australia with wind speeds of 150 mph (241 kph).
1994 Death of Rossano Brazzi (aged 78) Actor.
2003 Air France canceled six flights between Paris and Los Angeles after US warns of 'credible threat'.
2003 A growing list of countries are banning US beef imports over the first suspected American case of "mad cow" disease.
2003 The British-built spacecraft Beagle 2 was entering the final and most risky phase of its journey to Mars.
2003 Spanish authorities said they had foiled a Basque separatist plot to blow up a train at a Madrid rail station.
2003 Italian food firm Parmalat went into administration as investigators prepared fraud charges against former executives.
2003 Rock star Bruce Springsteen was named 2003's highest-earning touring performer in the US.
2003 Tottenham agreed a deal to sign Sheffield United midfielder Michael Brown on 1st January.
2003 Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson called for the introduction of a mid-season break in England.
2004 Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven was voted the best rock song of all time by radio listeners.
BIRTHDAYS (for 24 December 2006)
King John, 839 (born 24 December 1167)
Died 1216. English monarch who was forced by his rebellious barons to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede.
Ignatius Loyola, 515 (born 24 December 1491)
Spanish founder of the Jesuit order.
Christopher "Kit" Carson, 197 (born 24 December 1809)
Died 1868. American frontiersman and Indian agent at Taos.
Michael Curtiz, 108 (born 24 December 1898)
(Died 1962) Film director - 'Casablanca'.
Howard Hughes, 101 (born 24 December 1905)
(Died 1976) Movie producer and aviator.
Frank Waxman, 100 (born 24 December 1906)
(Died 1967) German composer.
Ava Gardner, 84 (born 24 December 1922)
Died 1990. American actress who appeared in The Barefoot Contessa, The Sun Also Rises and Night of the Iguana among other films.
Lee Dorsey, 82 (born 24 December 1924)
(Died 1986) Singer - 'Working in a Coal Mine'.
Norman Rossington, 78 (born 24 December 1928)
Actor.
Jill Bennett, 75 (born 24 December 1931)
(Died 1990) Actress - 'For Your Eyes Only'.
Sir Colin Cowdrey, 74 (born 24 December 1932)
Cricketer.
Woody Herman, 62 (born 24 December 1944)
(Died 1989) Bandleader.
Lemmy, 61 (born 24 December 1945)
Lead of Motorhead.
Mike Curb, 60 (born 24 December 1946)
Singer (of Congregation fame) and president of MGM records.
Jan Akkerman, 60 (born 24 December 1946)
Dutch guitarist and member of Focus - biggest UK hit 'Sylvia'.
Ian Burden, 49 (born 24 December 1957)
Member of Human League.
Carol Vorderman, 46 (born 24 December 1960)
TV presenter.
Mary Ramsey, 43 (born 24 December 1963)
Member of 10,000 Maniacs.
Today's The Day - 23rd December
23rd December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of The Ten Martyrs of Crete,
St Dagobert II of Austria,
St John of Kanti,
Saints Victoria and Anatolia,
St Fritheben,
St Serwlus,
and St Thorlac.
History Test for December 23rd
American prophet Joseph Smith was born today in 1805. He founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What are its members called? -Mormons
Today in 1972, Little Jimmy Osmond reached Number One in the UK pop charts. What was the hit song? -`Long-Haired Lover from Liverpool'
Who patented his famous `safety cab' today in 1834? -Joseph Hansom
First performed today in 1893, which opera by Humperdinck is based on a story about two children and a gingerbread house? -`Hansel and Gretel'
Which song took Band Aid II to the top of the UK pop charts today in 1989? -`Do They Know It's Christmas'
Events today...
1631 Death of Michael Drayton, English poet.
1834 Death of Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist.
1834 English architect Joseph Hansom patented his 'safety cab' better known as the Hansom cab.
1863 Death of William Makepeace Thackeray (aged 52) Novelist 'Vanity Fair'
1872 Death of George Catlin, US painter and explorer.
1886 William Makepeace Thackeray, author of the best-selling novel Vanity Fair died in England at the age of 52. He was born in Calcutta, but his family sent him home to be educated at Charterhouse, the Trinity College Cambridge.
1888 Following a quarrel with Paul Gauguin, Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his own earlobe in a fit of madness.
1912 The release of the first Keystones Kops movies "Hoffmeyer's Legacy".
1922 In Britain, the world's first regular radio broadcasts, intended purely for entertainment were transmitted by the BBC.
1930 Actress Bette Davis arrived in Hollywood to start her movie career.
1938 Whilst shooting the movie "The Wizard of Oz" a costume worn by actress Margaret Hamilton caught fire.
1939 Death of Anthony Herman Gerard Fokker (aged 49) Dutch aircraft designer
1944 Death of Charles Dana Gibson, US artist and illustrator.
1948 General Tojo and six other Japanese military leaders were executed, having been found guilty of crimes against humanity.
1953 Soviet secret police chief Lavcenti Beria and six of his associates were shot for treason following a secret trial.
1964 At the start of a tour Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys suffered a nervous breakdown.
1965 A 70-mph speed limit was introduced in Britain.
1966 The final episode of the pop show "Ready Steady Go" on ITV.
1968 Astronauts Borman, Lovell and Anders became the first to orbit the Moon and see the Dark side.
1972 Survivors from an air crash were rescued after 70 days. They had survived by resorting to cannibalism.
1973 Charles Atlas, the original strongman, died at the age of 79.
1973 The Shah of Iran doubled oil prices.
1981 Geoffrey Boycott became the leading run-scorer in Test matches with 8033 runs.
1982 Death of Jack Webb (aged 62) Actor 'Dragnet'
1986 Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager made the first non-stop flight around the world without refuelling, piloting the US plane Voyager.
1986 Soviet dissident and physicist Dr Andrei Sakharov and his wife Yelena Bonner returned to Moscow on this day, after being released from the closed city of Gorky on December the 19th.
1987 Death of Henry Cotton, British golfer.
1989 The Romanian army announced the capture of President Ceausescu and his wife Elena.
1990 Elections in Yugoslavia ended, leaving four of six republics with non-Communist govemments. The republic of Slovenia voted in favour of becoming an independent state.
1991 Viennese-born composer Ernst Krenek, best-known for the jazz opera Jonny Spielt Auf , died in California, aged 91.
1996 Death of Ronnie Scott (aged 69) Jazz performer
1997 Death of Toshiro Mifune (aged 77) Japanese actor.
2003 Italian food company Parmalat went into administration after it became embroiled in an Enron-style crisis.
2003 Released British hostage Mark Henderson was preparing to fly home in time for Christmas with his family.
2003 One person was killed and about 51 injured as a coach was involved in a head-on collision in Surrey.
2003 Singer Michael Jackson was ordered to supply "documented confirmation" that he planned to visit the UK.
2003 Rock star Ozzy Osbourne was moved out of intensive care two weeks after a serious quad bike accident.
2003 The quality of programmes on ITV1, Channel 4 and Five came under fire from the ITC in its final report.
2003 Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters announced that they were to get married.
2003 Fulham insisted striker Louis Saha was going nowhere, despite interest from Man Utd and a number of other clubs.
2004 The dollar fell to a new record low against the euro as data fueled new concerns about the US economy.
BIRTHDAYS (for 23 December 2006)
Sir Richard Arkwright, 274 (born 23 December 1732)
English inventor and industrialist who invented mechanized spinning processes such as the spinning frame powered by water.
Alexander 1st, 229 (born 23 December 1777)
Russian tsar who defeated Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812.
Joseph Smith, 201 (born 23 December 1805)
American founder of the Mormons.
Samuel Smiles, 194 (born 23 December 1812)
English writer who wrote biographies of Josiah Wedgewood and George Stephenson, but is best known for self-improvement books such as Self-Help and Thrift.
Maurice Denham, 97 (born 23 December 1909)
British stage and screen actor whose many films include Sunday, Bloody Sunday, Our Man in Havana, and Julia.
Helmut Schmidt, 84 (born 23 December 1922)
German statesman and former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Ruth Roman, 82 (born 23 December 1924)
Actress 'Long Hot Summer' 'Knots Landing'.
Harry Guardino, 81 (born 23 December 1925)
(Died 1995) Actor.
Chet Baker, 77 (born 23 December 1929)
(Died 1988) Jazz trumpeter.
Esther Phillips, 71 (born 23 December 1935)
(Died 1984) Singer.
Johnny Kidd, 67 (born 23 December 1939)
(Died 1966) Singer of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates.
Eugene Records, 66 (born 23 December 1940)
Member of The Chi-Lites 'Have you Seen Her'.
Tim Hardin, 65 (born 23 December 1941)
(Died 1980) Singer songwriter.
Harry Shearer, 63 (born 23 December 1943)
Actor comedian - voice of Simpsons' Mr Burns.
Bill Rogers, 59 (born 23 December 1947)
marathon runner.
Dave Murray, 48 (born 23 December 1958)
Member of Iron Maiden.
William Sinnott, 46 (born 23 December 1960)
(Died 1991) Member of The Shamen.
Carol Smillie, 45 (born 23 December 1961)
TV presenter.
Eddie Vedder, 40 (born 23 December 1966)
Member of Pearl Jam.
Jamie Murphy, 31 (born 23 December 1975)
Member of Space.
Religious events today...
Feast day of The Ten Martyrs of Crete,
St Dagobert II of Austria,
St John of Kanti,
Saints Victoria and Anatolia,
St Fritheben,
St Serwlus,
and St Thorlac.
History Test for December 23rd
American prophet Joseph Smith was born today in 1805. He founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What are its members called? -Mormons
Today in 1972, Little Jimmy Osmond reached Number One in the UK pop charts. What was the hit song? -`Long-Haired Lover from Liverpool'
Who patented his famous `safety cab' today in 1834? -Joseph Hansom
First performed today in 1893, which opera by Humperdinck is based on a story about two children and a gingerbread house? -`Hansel and Gretel'
Which song took Band Aid II to the top of the UK pop charts today in 1989? -`Do They Know It's Christmas'
Events today...
1631 Death of Michael Drayton, English poet.
1834 Death of Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist.
1834 English architect Joseph Hansom patented his 'safety cab' better known as the Hansom cab.
1863 Death of William Makepeace Thackeray (aged 52) Novelist 'Vanity Fair'
1872 Death of George Catlin, US painter and explorer.
1886 William Makepeace Thackeray, author of the best-selling novel Vanity Fair died in England at the age of 52. He was born in Calcutta, but his family sent him home to be educated at Charterhouse, the Trinity College Cambridge.
1888 Following a quarrel with Paul Gauguin, Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his own earlobe in a fit of madness.
1912 The release of the first Keystones Kops movies "Hoffmeyer's Legacy".
1922 In Britain, the world's first regular radio broadcasts, intended purely for entertainment were transmitted by the BBC.
1930 Actress Bette Davis arrived in Hollywood to start her movie career.
1938 Whilst shooting the movie "The Wizard of Oz" a costume worn by actress Margaret Hamilton caught fire.
1939 Death of Anthony Herman Gerard Fokker (aged 49) Dutch aircraft designer
1944 Death of Charles Dana Gibson, US artist and illustrator.
1948 General Tojo and six other Japanese military leaders were executed, having been found guilty of crimes against humanity.
1953 Soviet secret police chief Lavcenti Beria and six of his associates were shot for treason following a secret trial.
1964 At the start of a tour Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys suffered a nervous breakdown.
1965 A 70-mph speed limit was introduced in Britain.
1966 The final episode of the pop show "Ready Steady Go" on ITV.
1968 Astronauts Borman, Lovell and Anders became the first to orbit the Moon and see the Dark side.
1972 Survivors from an air crash were rescued after 70 days. They had survived by resorting to cannibalism.
1973 Charles Atlas, the original strongman, died at the age of 79.
1973 The Shah of Iran doubled oil prices.
1981 Geoffrey Boycott became the leading run-scorer in Test matches with 8033 runs.
1982 Death of Jack Webb (aged 62) Actor 'Dragnet'
1986 Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager made the first non-stop flight around the world without refuelling, piloting the US plane Voyager.
1986 Soviet dissident and physicist Dr Andrei Sakharov and his wife Yelena Bonner returned to Moscow on this day, after being released from the closed city of Gorky on December the 19th.
1987 Death of Henry Cotton, British golfer.
1989 The Romanian army announced the capture of President Ceausescu and his wife Elena.
1990 Elections in Yugoslavia ended, leaving four of six republics with non-Communist govemments. The republic of Slovenia voted in favour of becoming an independent state.
1991 Viennese-born composer Ernst Krenek, best-known for the jazz opera Jonny Spielt Auf , died in California, aged 91.
1996 Death of Ronnie Scott (aged 69) Jazz performer
1997 Death of Toshiro Mifune (aged 77) Japanese actor.
2003 Italian food company Parmalat went into administration after it became embroiled in an Enron-style crisis.
2003 Released British hostage Mark Henderson was preparing to fly home in time for Christmas with his family.
2003 One person was killed and about 51 injured as a coach was involved in a head-on collision in Surrey.
2003 Singer Michael Jackson was ordered to supply "documented confirmation" that he planned to visit the UK.
2003 Rock star Ozzy Osbourne was moved out of intensive care two weeks after a serious quad bike accident.
2003 The quality of programmes on ITV1, Channel 4 and Five came under fire from the ITC in its final report.
2003 Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters announced that they were to get married.
2003 Fulham insisted striker Louis Saha was going nowhere, despite interest from Man Utd and a number of other clubs.
2004 The dollar fell to a new record low against the euro as data fueled new concerns about the US economy.
BIRTHDAYS (for 23 December 2006)
Sir Richard Arkwright, 274 (born 23 December 1732)
English inventor and industrialist who invented mechanized spinning processes such as the spinning frame powered by water.
Alexander 1st, 229 (born 23 December 1777)
Russian tsar who defeated Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812.
Joseph Smith, 201 (born 23 December 1805)
American founder of the Mormons.
Samuel Smiles, 194 (born 23 December 1812)
English writer who wrote biographies of Josiah Wedgewood and George Stephenson, but is best known for self-improvement books such as Self-Help and Thrift.
Maurice Denham, 97 (born 23 December 1909)
British stage and screen actor whose many films include Sunday, Bloody Sunday, Our Man in Havana, and Julia.
Helmut Schmidt, 84 (born 23 December 1922)
German statesman and former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Ruth Roman, 82 (born 23 December 1924)
Actress 'Long Hot Summer' 'Knots Landing'.
Harry Guardino, 81 (born 23 December 1925)
(Died 1995) Actor.
Chet Baker, 77 (born 23 December 1929)
(Died 1988) Jazz trumpeter.
Esther Phillips, 71 (born 23 December 1935)
(Died 1984) Singer.
Johnny Kidd, 67 (born 23 December 1939)
(Died 1966) Singer of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates.
Eugene Records, 66 (born 23 December 1940)
Member of The Chi-Lites 'Have you Seen Her'.
Tim Hardin, 65 (born 23 December 1941)
(Died 1980) Singer songwriter.
Harry Shearer, 63 (born 23 December 1943)
Actor comedian - voice of Simpsons' Mr Burns.
Bill Rogers, 59 (born 23 December 1947)
marathon runner.
Dave Murray, 48 (born 23 December 1958)
Member of Iron Maiden.
William Sinnott, 46 (born 23 December 1960)
(Died 1991) Member of The Shamen.
Carol Smillie, 45 (born 23 December 1961)
TV presenter.
Eddie Vedder, 40 (born 23 December 1966)
Member of Pearl Jam.
Jamie Murphy, 31 (born 23 December 1975)
Member of Space.
19.12.06
Today's The Day - 22nd December
22nd December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Flavian of Tuscany,
St Zeno,
St Chaeremon and Others,
and St Ischyrion.
History Test for December 22nd
Which radio show, first broadcast today in 1967, features speakers who mustn't hesitate, deviate or repeat themselves? -`Just A Minute'
Born Mary Ann Evans, who wrote the novels `The Mill on the Floss' and 'Silas Marner' and died today in 1880? -George Eliot
Born today in 1907 who won an Oscar for her role as Mrs Moore in the film `A Passage today India'? -Dame Peggy Ashcroft
Today in 1808, Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth symphonies were premiered in Leipzig. In which city was Beethoven born? -Bonn
Which members of the Bee Gees were twin brothers, born today in 1949? -Maurice and Robin Gibb
Events today...
1715 James Edward Stuart, son of James II, the deposed Roman Catholic King of England, landed at Peterhead in north-east Scotland to lead a Jacobite rebellion.
1810 The British frigate Minotaur sank and 480 died.
1870 Jules Janssen flew in a balloon to study a solar eclipse.
1880 Death of George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), English novelist who wrote Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda.
1894 Alfred Dreyfus, the French officer who was falsely convicted for selling military secrets, was sent to Devil's Island.
1895 Willhelm Rontgen photographed his wife's hand to reveal the bones underneath the skin using his newly discovered X-rays. This discovery was made quite by accident while Rontgen was experimenting with electrical discharges in an evacuated glass tube. In the experiment electrons were accelerated to high velocities, then struck the walls of the tube, giving rise to penetrating radiation. It seemed this invisible electromagnetic radiation was of much shorter wavelengths than visible light. X-rays could pass through objects or substances with a low density but are stopped by heavier or denser materials, so skin and muscles allow rays to pass through, while bone reflects them. The medical applications for this discovery had already sparked much interest.
1910 In Lancashire, 350 miners lost their lives in Britain's second worst mining disaster.
1910 In Leipzig, British officers Lieutenant Trench and Captain Brandon were found guilty of spying.
1917 The Bolshevik government began peace talks with Germany at Brest-Litovsk while the Allies made accusations of Russian betrayal.
1919 British prime minister David Lloyd George announced that Ireland would have self-government with two parliaments.
1921 The US Congress set up a $20 million (£10.8 million) fund to aid the 20 million Soviet citizens facing starvation.
1940 American novelist Nathaniel West, author of The Day of the Locust and Miss Lonely-Hearts, died with his wife in a car crash.
1943 Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit and many other well loved children's book characters, died. Born an only child of wealthy parents, Miss Potter was never sent to school and as a result led a lonely life as a child. To amuse herself, she taught herself to draw and paint small natural objects. Her first book, the Tale of Peter Rabbit, was written for the son of her former governess in 1893, in the form of letters. Beatrix Potter illustrated the book herself and went on to write many more books. She lived at Sawrey in the Lake District from 1905 and in 1913 married William Heelis, a solicitor in the area. The rest of her life was chiefly devoted to her farms and to the newly established National Trust which aimed to preserve Britain's heritage.
1944 Death of Harry Langdon (aged 60) Silent movie comedian
1961 US soldier James Davis became the first American to die in Vietnam since America's involvement in the conflict. US involvement was initially limited to military advisers - some 200 Air Force members were joined by 700 Army training personnel in providing military advice, including bomber training. However, President Kennedy announced that the US would increase the number of advisers by as many as 16,000 over the following two years, giving rise to fears that American participation in the war would become entrenched and that direct military activity would soon follow.
1965 The speed limit of 70 m.p.h. was introduced in Britain.
1965 Death of Richard Dimbleby, British broadcaster.
1975 Palestinian terrorists seized more than 70 hostages at the Austrian Opec summit held in Vienna. Led by Venezuelan killer Carlos, the terrorists took a number of oil ministers and demanded a plane to fly them to an undisclosed destination. It seemed that the authorities were willing to comply with the terrorists' wishes.
1978 Kenny Jones joined The Who and replaced Keith Moon who had died.
1979 Death of Darryl F Zanuck (aged 77) Movie Mogul
1981 General Galtieri was sworn in as Argentine President.
1983 Egyptian leader Mubarak and PLO leader Yasser Arafat met for talks.
1984 "Like a Virgin" by Madonna went to number one in the U.S. and stayed in that position for 6 weeks. This was her first big international hit.
1984 Dom Mintoff resigned as prime minister of Malta.
1988 South Africa, Angola and Cuba signed treaties for the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola.
1989 Death of Samuel Beckett, Irish author and dramatist.
1989 The civil war in Romania ended, with it the 24-year-long reign of terror by one of Europe's worst dictators, Nicolae Ceausescu. The dictator and his wife fled from the roof of their burning palace by helicopter to an unknown destination. Their flight followed the fighting which exploded after Laszlo Tokes, a priest, was threatened with arrest in Timisoara. Around 5000 were killed in Timisoara alone, but accurate numbers of fatalities on both sides was difficult to determine. Securitate forces had been fighting the Romanian army, who supported the protesters, leaving hundreds dead. Tanks were deployed to try to quell the uprising but the protesting forces held the TV and radio stations, and set up a Committee for National Salvation. The previous night Ceausescu spoke to the people from the balcony of his palace demanding the return of peace, but was met with jeers from the crowd.
1990 Lech Walesa was sworn in a Poland's President.
1991 Eleven of the 12 Soviet republics (excluding Georgia) agreed, in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, on the creation of a Commonwealth of Independent States.
1995 Borge Ousland reached the South Pole. He had achieved the record for skiing to both Poles alone and without aid.
1999 After losing his libel case against Mohamed Al Fayed, former MP Neil Hamilton faced legal fees of £1million.
1999 Scottish Widows agreed to a £7billion takeover by Lloyds TSB.
1999 A Korean Cargo plane caught fire and crashed in woods after takeoff from San Francisco, killing all four crew.
2003 Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher was taken to hospital after a confrontation with angry Palestinians in Jerusalem.
2003 A Briton and four Israeli hostages were released by their Colombian rebel captors after three months.
2003 Fifteen people went on trial in Serbia, accused of direct involvement in the murder of PM Zoran Djindjic.
2003 The final instalment of The Lord of the Rings made more than $125m (£71m) in five days in the US.
2003 Substitute Antoine Sibierski's late equaliser earned Man City a 1-1 draw against Leeds.
2003 Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved was named European Footballer of the Year.
2003 Crystal Palace named former Oldham boss Iain Dowie as their new manager.
2004 A former landscape gardener who cut rare maps from atlases at the National Library of Wales was jailed.
2004 Little Britain and Ant and Dec were among the winners at the 15th British Comedy Awards.
2004 TV stars Jill Halfpenny and her dance partner won a live festive edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
2004 The sixth Potter book topped bookseller Amazon's chart less than 24 hours after its release date was announced.
BIRTHDAYS (for 22 December 2006)
Giacomo Puccini, 148 (born 22 December 1858)
Died 1924. Italian composer of operas such as La Boheme, Tosca and Manon Lescaut.
Lord J Arthur Rank, 118 (born 22 December 1888)
(Died 1972) Film producer.
Dame Peggy Ashcroft, 99 (born 22 December 1907)
Died 1991. English stage and screen actress superlative both in classical roles and in films such as David Lean's A Passage to India.
Patricia Hayes, 95 (born 22 December 1911)
(Died 1997) Actress.
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson, 94 (born 22 December 1912)
wife of Lyndon Baines.
Hector Elizondo, 70 (born 22 December 1936)
Actor - Chicago Hope's Dr Philip Walters.
Noel Edmunds, 58 (born 22 December 1948)
Ubiquetous TV presnter
Maurice Gibb, 57 (born 22 December 1949)
(Died 2003) A Bee Gee.
Robin Gibb, 57 (born 22 December 1949)
Another Bee Gee (twin of Maurice).
Alan Williams, 56 (born 22 December 1950)
Member of The Rubettes - biggest UK hit 'Sugar Baby Love'.
Chris Mills, 49 (born 22 December 1957)
Founder of Quiztime UK
Ralph Fiennes, 44 (born 22 December 1962)
Actor 'English Patient' 'Quiz Show'.
Richey Edwards, 39 (born 22 December 1967)
Member of Manic Street Preachers (the one who disappeared in Wales in '95!).
Vanessa Paradis, 34 (born 22 December 1972)
Singer/model - biggest UK hit 'Joe le Taxi'.
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Flavian of Tuscany,
St Zeno,
St Chaeremon and Others,
and St Ischyrion.
History Test for December 22nd
Which radio show, first broadcast today in 1967, features speakers who mustn't hesitate, deviate or repeat themselves? -`Just A Minute'
Born Mary Ann Evans, who wrote the novels `The Mill on the Floss' and 'Silas Marner' and died today in 1880? -George Eliot
Born today in 1907 who won an Oscar for her role as Mrs Moore in the film `A Passage today India'? -Dame Peggy Ashcroft
Today in 1808, Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth symphonies were premiered in Leipzig. In which city was Beethoven born? -Bonn
Which members of the Bee Gees were twin brothers, born today in 1949? -Maurice and Robin Gibb
Events today...
1715 James Edward Stuart, son of James II, the deposed Roman Catholic King of England, landed at Peterhead in north-east Scotland to lead a Jacobite rebellion.
1810 The British frigate Minotaur sank and 480 died.
1870 Jules Janssen flew in a balloon to study a solar eclipse.
1880 Death of George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), English novelist who wrote Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda.
1894 Alfred Dreyfus, the French officer who was falsely convicted for selling military secrets, was sent to Devil's Island.
1895 Willhelm Rontgen photographed his wife's hand to reveal the bones underneath the skin using his newly discovered X-rays. This discovery was made quite by accident while Rontgen was experimenting with electrical discharges in an evacuated glass tube. In the experiment electrons were accelerated to high velocities, then struck the walls of the tube, giving rise to penetrating radiation. It seemed this invisible electromagnetic radiation was of much shorter wavelengths than visible light. X-rays could pass through objects or substances with a low density but are stopped by heavier or denser materials, so skin and muscles allow rays to pass through, while bone reflects them. The medical applications for this discovery had already sparked much interest.
1910 In Lancashire, 350 miners lost their lives in Britain's second worst mining disaster.
1910 In Leipzig, British officers Lieutenant Trench and Captain Brandon were found guilty of spying.
1917 The Bolshevik government began peace talks with Germany at Brest-Litovsk while the Allies made accusations of Russian betrayal.
1919 British prime minister David Lloyd George announced that Ireland would have self-government with two parliaments.
1921 The US Congress set up a $20 million (£10.8 million) fund to aid the 20 million Soviet citizens facing starvation.
1940 American novelist Nathaniel West, author of The Day of the Locust and Miss Lonely-Hearts, died with his wife in a car crash.
1943 Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit and many other well loved children's book characters, died. Born an only child of wealthy parents, Miss Potter was never sent to school and as a result led a lonely life as a child. To amuse herself, she taught herself to draw and paint small natural objects. Her first book, the Tale of Peter Rabbit, was written for the son of her former governess in 1893, in the form of letters. Beatrix Potter illustrated the book herself and went on to write many more books. She lived at Sawrey in the Lake District from 1905 and in 1913 married William Heelis, a solicitor in the area. The rest of her life was chiefly devoted to her farms and to the newly established National Trust which aimed to preserve Britain's heritage.
1944 Death of Harry Langdon (aged 60) Silent movie comedian
1961 US soldier James Davis became the first American to die in Vietnam since America's involvement in the conflict. US involvement was initially limited to military advisers - some 200 Air Force members were joined by 700 Army training personnel in providing military advice, including bomber training. However, President Kennedy announced that the US would increase the number of advisers by as many as 16,000 over the following two years, giving rise to fears that American participation in the war would become entrenched and that direct military activity would soon follow.
1965 The speed limit of 70 m.p.h. was introduced in Britain.
1965 Death of Richard Dimbleby, British broadcaster.
1975 Palestinian terrorists seized more than 70 hostages at the Austrian Opec summit held in Vienna. Led by Venezuelan killer Carlos, the terrorists took a number of oil ministers and demanded a plane to fly them to an undisclosed destination. It seemed that the authorities were willing to comply with the terrorists' wishes.
1978 Kenny Jones joined The Who and replaced Keith Moon who had died.
1979 Death of Darryl F Zanuck (aged 77) Movie Mogul
1981 General Galtieri was sworn in as Argentine President.
1983 Egyptian leader Mubarak and PLO leader Yasser Arafat met for talks.
1984 "Like a Virgin" by Madonna went to number one in the U.S. and stayed in that position for 6 weeks. This was her first big international hit.
1984 Dom Mintoff resigned as prime minister of Malta.
1988 South Africa, Angola and Cuba signed treaties for the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola.
1989 Death of Samuel Beckett, Irish author and dramatist.
1989 The civil war in Romania ended, with it the 24-year-long reign of terror by one of Europe's worst dictators, Nicolae Ceausescu. The dictator and his wife fled from the roof of their burning palace by helicopter to an unknown destination. Their flight followed the fighting which exploded after Laszlo Tokes, a priest, was threatened with arrest in Timisoara. Around 5000 were killed in Timisoara alone, but accurate numbers of fatalities on both sides was difficult to determine. Securitate forces had been fighting the Romanian army, who supported the protesters, leaving hundreds dead. Tanks were deployed to try to quell the uprising but the protesting forces held the TV and radio stations, and set up a Committee for National Salvation. The previous night Ceausescu spoke to the people from the balcony of his palace demanding the return of peace, but was met with jeers from the crowd.
1990 Lech Walesa was sworn in a Poland's President.
1991 Eleven of the 12 Soviet republics (excluding Georgia) agreed, in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, on the creation of a Commonwealth of Independent States.
1995 Borge Ousland reached the South Pole. He had achieved the record for skiing to both Poles alone and without aid.
1999 After losing his libel case against Mohamed Al Fayed, former MP Neil Hamilton faced legal fees of £1million.
1999 Scottish Widows agreed to a £7billion takeover by Lloyds TSB.
1999 A Korean Cargo plane caught fire and crashed in woods after takeoff from San Francisco, killing all four crew.
2003 Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher was taken to hospital after a confrontation with angry Palestinians in Jerusalem.
2003 A Briton and four Israeli hostages were released by their Colombian rebel captors after three months.
2003 Fifteen people went on trial in Serbia, accused of direct involvement in the murder of PM Zoran Djindjic.
2003 The final instalment of The Lord of the Rings made more than $125m (£71m) in five days in the US.
2003 Substitute Antoine Sibierski's late equaliser earned Man City a 1-1 draw against Leeds.
2003 Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved was named European Footballer of the Year.
2003 Crystal Palace named former Oldham boss Iain Dowie as their new manager.
2004 A former landscape gardener who cut rare maps from atlases at the National Library of Wales was jailed.
2004 Little Britain and Ant and Dec were among the winners at the 15th British Comedy Awards.
2004 TV stars Jill Halfpenny and her dance partner won a live festive edition of Strictly Come Dancing.
2004 The sixth Potter book topped bookseller Amazon's chart less than 24 hours after its release date was announced.
BIRTHDAYS (for 22 December 2006)
Giacomo Puccini, 148 (born 22 December 1858)
Died 1924. Italian composer of operas such as La Boheme, Tosca and Manon Lescaut.
Lord J Arthur Rank, 118 (born 22 December 1888)
(Died 1972) Film producer.
Dame Peggy Ashcroft, 99 (born 22 December 1907)
Died 1991. English stage and screen actress superlative both in classical roles and in films such as David Lean's A Passage to India.
Patricia Hayes, 95 (born 22 December 1911)
(Died 1997) Actress.
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson, 94 (born 22 December 1912)
wife of Lyndon Baines.
Hector Elizondo, 70 (born 22 December 1936)
Actor - Chicago Hope's Dr Philip Walters.
Noel Edmunds, 58 (born 22 December 1948)
Ubiquetous TV presnter
Maurice Gibb, 57 (born 22 December 1949)
(Died 2003) A Bee Gee.
Robin Gibb, 57 (born 22 December 1949)
Another Bee Gee (twin of Maurice).
Alan Williams, 56 (born 22 December 1950)
Member of The Rubettes - biggest UK hit 'Sugar Baby Love'.
Chris Mills, 49 (born 22 December 1957)
Founder of Quiztime UK
Ralph Fiennes, 44 (born 22 December 1962)
Actor 'English Patient' 'Quiz Show'.
Richey Edwards, 39 (born 22 December 1967)
Member of Manic Street Preachers (the one who disappeared in Wales in '95!).
Vanessa Paradis, 34 (born 22 December 1972)
Singer/model - biggest UK hit 'Joe le Taxi'.
Today's The Day - 21st December
21st December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Thomas the Apostle,
Saints Themistocles and Dioscorus,
St John Vincent,
St Anastasius II of Ancioch,
St Peter Canisius,
and St Glycerius.
History Test for December 21st
Who played TV's Dr.Finlay in the sixties and seventies and died today in 1986? -Bill Simpson
Today in 1980 Fred Housego won the 'Mastermind' title. What was his occupation? -Taxi-driver
Born today in 1804, Benjamin Disraeli accepted a peerage in 1876. What title did he take? -Earl of Beaconsfield
What was first published in the New York World today in 1913? -A crossword
Author F Scott Fitzgerald died today in 1940. Name his best known novel, made into a film starring Robert Redford.-`The Great Gatsby'
Events today...
1375 Death of Giovanni Boccaccio, Italain writer and poet who wrote Decameron, a collection of a hundred stories told by people escaping the plague in Florence in 1348.
1620 The Pilgrim Fathers, aboard the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.
1824 Death of James Parkinson, British neurologist.
1846 Anaesthetic was used for the first time in a British hospital by Scottish physician Robert Liston. (He amputated a leg at University College hospital in London.)
1879 Ibsen's A Doll's House was first performed in Copenhagen, with a revised happy ending.
1909 American doctor and explorer Frederick Cook was publicly disgraced when his claim to be the first to reach the North Pole was rejected by experts in favour of Commander Robert Peary.
1910 An explosion kills 344 mine workers in Hulton.
1914 The first full length silent movie was released. It was called "Tillie's Punctured Romance" starring Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler and Mabel Normand.
1925 Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin was first shown in Moscow.
1930 The former British Labour government minister, Oswald Mosley, published a set of policy proposals, which he was convinced would provide an answer to the country’s economic ills.
1932 5 year old Shirley Temple was signed to a studio contract.
1937 Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was shown in Los Arsgeles, the first full-length animated talking picture.
1940 Death of F. Scott Fitzgerald, aged 44, American author who chronicled the Jazz Age in books such as Tender Is the Night and The Great Gatsby.
1945 Death of General Patton (aged 60) Warfare expert
1946 An earthquake struck Japan and 1,086 were killed.
1958 Charles de Gaulle became President of France.
1961 The Beatles record "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Reddy Teddy".
1963 Death of Jack Hobbs, English cricketer.
1964 Britain banned the death penalty.
1968 David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash premiered in California.
1969 Diana Ross made her final television as one of The Supremes on the "Ed Sullivan Show".
1983 Fifteen French soldiers died in Beirut when a lorry carrying bombs was driven into their post.
1988 En route from Heathrow to New York, a Pan American jumbo jet blew up and crashed in the Scottish border town of Lockerbie (killing all 259 passengers on board and at least 11 people on the ground, making this) the worst air disaster Britain has suffered.
1988 Soviet cosmonauts Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov returned to Earth after a record 365 days in space.
1989 American troops invaded Panama and ousted dictator Manuel Noriega, installing a new government led by Guillermo Endara.
1990 In a German television interview, Saddam Hussein declared that he would not withdraw from Kuwait by the UN deadline.
1991 Actress Jane Fonda married media tycoon Ted Turner at a ceremony held at Turner’s Capp’s Florida ranch.
1992 Death of Albert King (aged 69) Blues singer
1995 Jack Charlton quit as manager of the Ireland Football Team.
1999 Former MP Neil Hamilton lost his libel case against Mohamed Al Fayed.
2003 Libya's decision to abandon its WMD programmes prompted calls from Arab states for Israel to follow suit.
2003 John O'Shea and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored as Man Utd beat Spurs 2-1.
2004 An inquiry found that David Blunkett did speed up his ex-lover's nanny's visa application - leading the Tories to attack "grubby" Labour.
2004 More than £20m was stolen in a raid at a bank's headquarters in Belfast.
2004 The sixth Harry Potter book was complete and ready to be published on 16 July the following year.
2004 Velimir Zajec was confirmed as the new manager of Portsmouth.
2004 England completed their eighth straight Test win in the series opener against South Africa.
2004 Darren Bent's 89th-minute strike put Ipswich top of the Championship.
BIRTHDAYS (for 21 December 2006)
Benjamin Disraeli, 202 (born 21 December 1804)
(Died 1881) Former British P.M.
Joseph Stalin, 127 (born 21 December 1879)
(Died 1953) Russian Head of State.
Pat Hughes, 104 (born 21 December 1902)
(Died 1997) Tennis player.
Anthony Powell, 101 (born 21 December 1905)
British novelist best-known for the novel sequence `The Music of Time'.
Heinrich Böll, 89 (born 21 December 1917)
German Noble Prize-winning novelist whose books include The Train Was on Time and The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum.
Paul Winchell, 84 (born 21 December 1922)
Actor - the voice of Dick Dastardly Tigger!.
Phil Donahue, 71 (born 21 December 1935)
US talk show host.
Peter Tinniswood, 70 (born 21 December 1936)
author
Jane Fonda, 69 (born 21 December 1937)
American actress whose many fin films include Coming Home, The China Syndrome and On Golden Pond.
Greville Starkey, 67 (born 21 December 1939)
jockey
Frank Zappa, 66 (born 21 December 1940)
Died 1993. American rock musician and singer.
Albert Lee, 63 (born 21 December 1943)
Guitarist.
Michael Tilson Thomas, 62 (born 21 December 1944)
conductor
Doug Walters, 61 (born 21 December 1945)
cricketer
Carl Wilson, 60 (born 21 December 1946)
(Died 1998) Member of the Beach Boys.
Samuel L Jackson, 58 (born 21 December 1948)
Actor.
Steve Perryman, 55 (born 21 December 1951)
footballer/coach
Betty Wright, 53 (born 21 December 1953)
soul singer
Chris Evert-Lloyd, 52 (born 21 December 1954)
Tennis player.
Katherine Rogers, 46 (born 21 December 1960)
Actress - Firewoman Josie Ingham in 'London's Burning'.
Martin Bayfield, 40 (born 21 December 1966)
Rugby Star
Keifer Sutherland, 40 (born 21 December 1966)
Actor 'Young Guns' 'Lost Boys'.
Jamie Theakston, 36 (born 21 December 1970)
Live and Kicking presenter
Delious Kennedy, 36 (born 21 December 1970)
Member of All 4 One.
Jamie Theakston, 36 (born 21 December 1970)
TV presenter - 'Live and Kicking'.
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Thomas the Apostle,
Saints Themistocles and Dioscorus,
St John Vincent,
St Anastasius II of Ancioch,
St Peter Canisius,
and St Glycerius.
History Test for December 21st
Who played TV's Dr.Finlay in the sixties and seventies and died today in 1986? -Bill Simpson
Today in 1980 Fred Housego won the 'Mastermind' title. What was his occupation? -Taxi-driver
Born today in 1804, Benjamin Disraeli accepted a peerage in 1876. What title did he take? -Earl of Beaconsfield
What was first published in the New York World today in 1913? -A crossword
Author F Scott Fitzgerald died today in 1940. Name his best known novel, made into a film starring Robert Redford.-`The Great Gatsby'
Events today...
1375 Death of Giovanni Boccaccio, Italain writer and poet who wrote Decameron, a collection of a hundred stories told by people escaping the plague in Florence in 1348.
1620 The Pilgrim Fathers, aboard the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.
1824 Death of James Parkinson, British neurologist.
1846 Anaesthetic was used for the first time in a British hospital by Scottish physician Robert Liston. (He amputated a leg at University College hospital in London.)
1879 Ibsen's A Doll's House was first performed in Copenhagen, with a revised happy ending.
1909 American doctor and explorer Frederick Cook was publicly disgraced when his claim to be the first to reach the North Pole was rejected by experts in favour of Commander Robert Peary.
1910 An explosion kills 344 mine workers in Hulton.
1914 The first full length silent movie was released. It was called "Tillie's Punctured Romance" starring Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler and Mabel Normand.
1925 Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin was first shown in Moscow.
1930 The former British Labour government minister, Oswald Mosley, published a set of policy proposals, which he was convinced would provide an answer to the country’s economic ills.
1932 5 year old Shirley Temple was signed to a studio contract.
1937 Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was shown in Los Arsgeles, the first full-length animated talking picture.
1940 Death of F. Scott Fitzgerald, aged 44, American author who chronicled the Jazz Age in books such as Tender Is the Night and The Great Gatsby.
1945 Death of General Patton (aged 60) Warfare expert
1946 An earthquake struck Japan and 1,086 were killed.
1958 Charles de Gaulle became President of France.
1961 The Beatles record "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Reddy Teddy".
1963 Death of Jack Hobbs, English cricketer.
1964 Britain banned the death penalty.
1968 David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash premiered in California.
1969 Diana Ross made her final television as one of The Supremes on the "Ed Sullivan Show".
1983 Fifteen French soldiers died in Beirut when a lorry carrying bombs was driven into their post.
1988 En route from Heathrow to New York, a Pan American jumbo jet blew up and crashed in the Scottish border town of Lockerbie (killing all 259 passengers on board and at least 11 people on the ground, making this) the worst air disaster Britain has suffered.
1988 Soviet cosmonauts Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov returned to Earth after a record 365 days in space.
1989 American troops invaded Panama and ousted dictator Manuel Noriega, installing a new government led by Guillermo Endara.
1990 In a German television interview, Saddam Hussein declared that he would not withdraw from Kuwait by the UN deadline.
1991 Actress Jane Fonda married media tycoon Ted Turner at a ceremony held at Turner’s Capp’s Florida ranch.
1992 Death of Albert King (aged 69) Blues singer
1995 Jack Charlton quit as manager of the Ireland Football Team.
1999 Former MP Neil Hamilton lost his libel case against Mohamed Al Fayed.
2003 Libya's decision to abandon its WMD programmes prompted calls from Arab states for Israel to follow suit.
2003 John O'Shea and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored as Man Utd beat Spurs 2-1.
2004 An inquiry found that David Blunkett did speed up his ex-lover's nanny's visa application - leading the Tories to attack "grubby" Labour.
2004 More than £20m was stolen in a raid at a bank's headquarters in Belfast.
2004 The sixth Harry Potter book was complete and ready to be published on 16 July the following year.
2004 Velimir Zajec was confirmed as the new manager of Portsmouth.
2004 England completed their eighth straight Test win in the series opener against South Africa.
2004 Darren Bent's 89th-minute strike put Ipswich top of the Championship.
BIRTHDAYS (for 21 December 2006)
Benjamin Disraeli, 202 (born 21 December 1804)
(Died 1881) Former British P.M.
Joseph Stalin, 127 (born 21 December 1879)
(Died 1953) Russian Head of State.
Pat Hughes, 104 (born 21 December 1902)
(Died 1997) Tennis player.
Anthony Powell, 101 (born 21 December 1905)
British novelist best-known for the novel sequence `The Music of Time'.
Heinrich Böll, 89 (born 21 December 1917)
German Noble Prize-winning novelist whose books include The Train Was on Time and The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum.
Paul Winchell, 84 (born 21 December 1922)
Actor - the voice of Dick Dastardly Tigger!.
Phil Donahue, 71 (born 21 December 1935)
US talk show host.
Peter Tinniswood, 70 (born 21 December 1936)
author
Jane Fonda, 69 (born 21 December 1937)
American actress whose many fin films include Coming Home, The China Syndrome and On Golden Pond.
Greville Starkey, 67 (born 21 December 1939)
jockey
Frank Zappa, 66 (born 21 December 1940)
Died 1993. American rock musician and singer.
Albert Lee, 63 (born 21 December 1943)
Guitarist.
Michael Tilson Thomas, 62 (born 21 December 1944)
conductor
Doug Walters, 61 (born 21 December 1945)
cricketer
Carl Wilson, 60 (born 21 December 1946)
(Died 1998) Member of the Beach Boys.
Samuel L Jackson, 58 (born 21 December 1948)
Actor.
Steve Perryman, 55 (born 21 December 1951)
footballer/coach
Betty Wright, 53 (born 21 December 1953)
soul singer
Chris Evert-Lloyd, 52 (born 21 December 1954)
Tennis player.
Katherine Rogers, 46 (born 21 December 1960)
Actress - Firewoman Josie Ingham in 'London's Burning'.
Martin Bayfield, 40 (born 21 December 1966)
Rugby Star
Keifer Sutherland, 40 (born 21 December 1966)
Actor 'Young Guns' 'Lost Boys'.
Jamie Theakston, 36 (born 21 December 1970)
Live and Kicking presenter
Delious Kennedy, 36 (born 21 December 1970)
Member of All 4 One.
Jamie Theakston, 36 (born 21 December 1970)
TV presenter - 'Live and Kicking'.
Today's The Day - 20th December
20th December 2006
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Dominic of Silos,
St Ammon and his Companions,
St Ursicinus,
and St Philogonius.
History Test for December 20th
Born today in 1952, Jenny Agutter played Bobby in the film `The Railway Children'. Who played her mother? -Dinah Sheridan
Today in 1986, which group reached Number One in the UK pop charts with `Caravan of Love'? -The Housemartins
The novel `Of Mice and Men' was written by which American author, who died today in 1968? -John Steinbeck
Born today in 1901, which American physicist invented a high-voltage electrostatic generator? -Robert van de Graaff
Who resigned as Soviet Foreign Minister today in 1990? -Edvard Shevardnadze
QUOTE “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse to rest on inference.” - Thomas Jefferson, US statesman, in a letter, 1787.
Events today...
1192 Richard the Lionheart was captured in Vienna.
1560 The first General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was held.
1803 The United States and France concluded the biggest land deal in history - some 831,321 square miles were bought from France for a mere £8.2 million, doubling the size of the United States in the stroke of a pen. The Louisiana Purchase, as it was called, was offered for sale by French foreign Minister Talleyrand in a surprise move.
1828 The Cherokees ceded their lands in Arkansas to the USA and agreed to migrate west of the Mississippi.
1860 South Carolina seceded from the American Union, and joined the Confederacy.
1892 The pneumatic tyre was patented.
1915 The ANZACS, Australian and New Zealand forces with British troops were evacuated from Gallipoli, after their expedition against the Turks went seriously wrong.
1920 Bob Hope became a U.S. citizen. He was born in Great Britain.
1924 Adolf Hitler was paroled after serving eight months of a prison sentence imposed for high treason.
1928 Harry Ramsden started his fish and chip restaurant in a hut near Bradford, which soon became the most famous in the world
1933 The smash hit film Flying Down to Reo looked as though it would make stars of its leading man and lady, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. A former vaudeville song and dance man who teamed up with his sister Adele on stage, Astaire didn't look to have the stuff stars are made of - the verdict of his Hollywood screen test was "can't act, slightly bald, can dance a bit". But Astaire managed to get a part opposite Joan Crawford in Dancing Ladies, then was paired with new-comer Ginger Rogers for Rio with undeniably fantastic results.
1937 Death of Erich Ludendorff, German general.
1954 Death of James Hilton, English novelist.
1957 Elvis Presley, at the height of his stardom, received his draft papers.
1963 21 guards from the Auschwitz. went on trial.
1963 The Berlin Wall opened for the first time to West Berliners.
1967 The group Jethro Tull was formed by Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick.
1968 Death of American novelist John Steinbeck, aged 66, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature for books such as The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden.
1971 Death of Roy Disney (aged 78) Walt's brother and co-founder of Disney empire
1971 The movie "A Clockwork Orange" was released. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick.
1973 Death of Bobby Darin (aged 37) Singer
1981 Poland's ambassador to the US is granted political asylum in Washington.
1982 Death of Arthur Rubinstein (aged 95) Polish classical pianist
1982 Two Townsend Thoresen ferries collided off Harwich with the loss of six lives.
1983 Death of Bill Brandt, British photographer.
1983 Yasser Arafat, leader of the split and beleaguered Palestinian Liberation Organization, retreated from Lebanon. Surrounded by the Syrian army and rebel Palestinian guerillas, Arafat and 4000 of his loyal followers left their last Lebanese stronghold in Tripoli. This evacuation came at the end of three weeks' fighting in the camps, leaving 700 dead. The UN Security Council arranged the safe passage out of the camps for Arafat and his men, in an attempt to bring the fighting to an end.
1988 Harrods in London was fire bombed by animal rights activists.
1989 At the end of a year noted for the resurgence of nationalist feeling throughout the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian Communist Party voted to break away from the Soviet Communist Party.
1989 General Noriega, Panama's former dictator, was overthrown by a US invasion force invited by the new civilian government.
1989 Troops surrender to demonstrators in the Romanian city of Timisoara after 4000 people are killed.
1990 Drugs trafficker, Kathryn Smith (aged 19), was sentenced to 25 years in Thailand.
1990 Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze, one of Mikhail Gorbachev's closest allies, resigned, citing incipient dictatorship of the Soviet Union as his reason.
1990 The Football Association banned referees Graham Pooley and Mangel Singh over misinterpretation of the professional foul after sending off players for handball in league and reserve team matches respectively.
1990 The UN passed a vote of censure against Israel for the killing of 21 Arab rioters by Israeli troops on Temple Mount in October 1989.
1991 It was announced that American and Egyptian archaeologists had discovered a fleet of 500-year-old ships buried 8 miles (13 km) from the Nile.
1991 President Boris Yeltsin announced that Russia wanted to join Nato.
1991 Yugoslav midfielder Dejan Savicevic was sold for a then world record £11.5million to AC Milan from Atletico Madrid. Under the deal, Savicevic would receive about £7m over four years
1994 Gordon Taylor, of the Football Association, said that Nottingham Forest captain Stuart Pearce was to apologise for allegedly racist remarks made to Manchester United's Paul Ince.
1996 Middlesbrough cancelled their Premiership game with Blackburn as manager Bryan Robson claimed he had 23 players ill or injured, but the club were later punished at an inquiry and had three points deducted.
1996 The Ulster Unionists - vital to the Conservatives' Commons survival - announced a link-up with Sir James Goldsmith's anti-EU Referendum Party.
2003 At least 90 were feared dead in landslides triggered by heavy rains in remote parts of the southern Philippines.
2003 Sudan's Government and rebel leaders agreed to share oil resources, paving the way for a deal to end the civil war.
2003 At least 12 people were killed in Belgium when a German coach hit a motorway barrier near a French border crossing.
2003 Libya's pledge to give up its weapons of mass destruction was hailed as "courageous" by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
2003 A Virgin Atlantic pilot was charged with attempting to operate an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol.
2003 Glaswegian Michelle McManus won the final of Pop Idol, beating rival Mark Rhodes.
2003 Substitute Henrik Pedersen grabbed a deserved late equaliser for Bolton in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal. But Hernan Crespo's winner against Fulham puts Chelsea level on points with Arsenal.
2004 A play that led to violent protests among the Sikh community was dropped by a Birmingham theatre.
2004 Exeter University's ruling council voted to close its chemistry and music departments.
2004 Coronation Street bosses gave actor Jimmi Harkishin time off to seek help after revelations about his private life.
2004 Actor Jimmy Nail lost his bid for an increase in £30,000 libel damages at the Court of Appeal.
2004 Barcelona's Ronaldinho was named FIFA World Player of the Year.
BIRTHDAYS (for 20 December 2006)
George Galvin (Dan Leno), 146 (born 20 December 1860)
(Died 1904) English music hall comedian.
Harvey Samuel Firestone, 138 (born 20 December 1868)
US industrialist.
Sir Robert Menzies, 112 (born 20 December 1894)
Australian statesman, prime minister as leader of the United Australia Party and then the Liberal Party.
Irene Dunne, 105 (born 20 December 1901)
(Died 1990) Actress.
George Roy Hill, 84 (born 20 December 1922)
Film director - 'Great Waldo Pepper' 'Butch Cassidy' 'Sting'.
James Leasor, 83 (born 20 December 1923)
English author
Errol John, 82 (born 20 December 1924)
Trinidadian dramatist and actor who wrote Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.
Lord Howe of Aberavon, 80 (born 20 December 1926)
former Cabinet Minister Sir Geoffrey Howe
Uri Geller, 60 (born 20 December 1946)
Israeli psychic/illusionist
Patti Smith, 60 (born 20 December 1946)
Singer - biggest UK hit 'Because the Night'.
Leslie Judd, 60 (born 20 December 1946)
Former Blue Peter presenter.
Malcolm Cooper, 59 (born 20 December 1947)
Olympic gold-medal marksman
Jenny Agutter, 54 (born 20 December 1952)
British actress whose films include `I Start Counting’, `The Railway Children’ and `Walkabout’.
Jimmy Nicholl, 50 (born 20 December 1956)
football manager
Bo Derek, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
actress
Anita Baker, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
Singer - biggest UK hit 'Sweet Love'.
Anita Ward, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
Disco singer - biggest UK hit 'Ring My Bell'.
Billy Bragg, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
Singer - biggest UK hit 'She's Leaving Home'.
Simon Hughes, 47 (born 20 December 1959)
cricketer/journalist
Ian Sharrock, 47 (born 20 December 1959)
Actor - Jackie Merrick in 'Emmerdale'.
Chris Robinson, 40 (born 20 December 1966)
Member of Black Crowes.
Religious events today...
Feast day of St Dominic of Silos,
St Ammon and his Companions,
St Ursicinus,
and St Philogonius.
History Test for December 20th
Born today in 1952, Jenny Agutter played Bobby in the film `The Railway Children'. Who played her mother? -Dinah Sheridan
Today in 1986, which group reached Number One in the UK pop charts with `Caravan of Love'? -The Housemartins
The novel `Of Mice and Men' was written by which American author, who died today in 1968? -John Steinbeck
Born today in 1901, which American physicist invented a high-voltage electrostatic generator? -Robert van de Graaff
Who resigned as Soviet Foreign Minister today in 1990? -Edvard Shevardnadze
QUOTE “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse to rest on inference.” - Thomas Jefferson, US statesman, in a letter, 1787.
Events today...
1192 Richard the Lionheart was captured in Vienna.
1560 The first General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was held.
1803 The United States and France concluded the biggest land deal in history - some 831,321 square miles were bought from France for a mere £8.2 million, doubling the size of the United States in the stroke of a pen. The Louisiana Purchase, as it was called, was offered for sale by French foreign Minister Talleyrand in a surprise move.
1828 The Cherokees ceded their lands in Arkansas to the USA and agreed to migrate west of the Mississippi.
1860 South Carolina seceded from the American Union, and joined the Confederacy.
1892 The pneumatic tyre was patented.
1915 The ANZACS, Australian and New Zealand forces with British troops were evacuated from Gallipoli, after their expedition against the Turks went seriously wrong.
1920 Bob Hope became a U.S. citizen. He was born in Great Britain.
1924 Adolf Hitler was paroled after serving eight months of a prison sentence imposed for high treason.
1928 Harry Ramsden started his fish and chip restaurant in a hut near Bradford, which soon became the most famous in the world
1933 The smash hit film Flying Down to Reo looked as though it would make stars of its leading man and lady, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. A former vaudeville song and dance man who teamed up with his sister Adele on stage, Astaire didn't look to have the stuff stars are made of - the verdict of his Hollywood screen test was "can't act, slightly bald, can dance a bit". But Astaire managed to get a part opposite Joan Crawford in Dancing Ladies, then was paired with new-comer Ginger Rogers for Rio with undeniably fantastic results.
1937 Death of Erich Ludendorff, German general.
1954 Death of James Hilton, English novelist.
1957 Elvis Presley, at the height of his stardom, received his draft papers.
1963 21 guards from the Auschwitz. went on trial.
1963 The Berlin Wall opened for the first time to West Berliners.
1967 The group Jethro Tull was formed by Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick.
1968 Death of American novelist John Steinbeck, aged 66, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature for books such as The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden.
1971 Death of Roy Disney (aged 78) Walt's brother and co-founder of Disney empire
1971 The movie "A Clockwork Orange" was released. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick.
1973 Death of Bobby Darin (aged 37) Singer
1981 Poland's ambassador to the US is granted political asylum in Washington.
1982 Death of Arthur Rubinstein (aged 95) Polish classical pianist
1982 Two Townsend Thoresen ferries collided off Harwich with the loss of six lives.
1983 Death of Bill Brandt, British photographer.
1983 Yasser Arafat, leader of the split and beleaguered Palestinian Liberation Organization, retreated from Lebanon. Surrounded by the Syrian army and rebel Palestinian guerillas, Arafat and 4000 of his loyal followers left their last Lebanese stronghold in Tripoli. This evacuation came at the end of three weeks' fighting in the camps, leaving 700 dead. The UN Security Council arranged the safe passage out of the camps for Arafat and his men, in an attempt to bring the fighting to an end.
1988 Harrods in London was fire bombed by animal rights activists.
1989 At the end of a year noted for the resurgence of nationalist feeling throughout the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian Communist Party voted to break away from the Soviet Communist Party.
1989 General Noriega, Panama's former dictator, was overthrown by a US invasion force invited by the new civilian government.
1989 Troops surrender to demonstrators in the Romanian city of Timisoara after 4000 people are killed.
1990 Drugs trafficker, Kathryn Smith (aged 19), was sentenced to 25 years in Thailand.
1990 Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze, one of Mikhail Gorbachev's closest allies, resigned, citing incipient dictatorship of the Soviet Union as his reason.
1990 The Football Association banned referees Graham Pooley and Mangel Singh over misinterpretation of the professional foul after sending off players for handball in league and reserve team matches respectively.
1990 The UN passed a vote of censure against Israel for the killing of 21 Arab rioters by Israeli troops on Temple Mount in October 1989.
1991 It was announced that American and Egyptian archaeologists had discovered a fleet of 500-year-old ships buried 8 miles (13 km) from the Nile.
1991 President Boris Yeltsin announced that Russia wanted to join Nato.
1991 Yugoslav midfielder Dejan Savicevic was sold for a then world record £11.5million to AC Milan from Atletico Madrid. Under the deal, Savicevic would receive about £7m over four years
1994 Gordon Taylor, of the Football Association, said that Nottingham Forest captain Stuart Pearce was to apologise for allegedly racist remarks made to Manchester United's Paul Ince.
1996 Middlesbrough cancelled their Premiership game with Blackburn as manager Bryan Robson claimed he had 23 players ill or injured, but the club were later punished at an inquiry and had three points deducted.
1996 The Ulster Unionists - vital to the Conservatives' Commons survival - announced a link-up with Sir James Goldsmith's anti-EU Referendum Party.
2003 At least 90 were feared dead in landslides triggered by heavy rains in remote parts of the southern Philippines.
2003 Sudan's Government and rebel leaders agreed to share oil resources, paving the way for a deal to end the civil war.
2003 At least 12 people were killed in Belgium when a German coach hit a motorway barrier near a French border crossing.
2003 Libya's pledge to give up its weapons of mass destruction was hailed as "courageous" by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
2003 A Virgin Atlantic pilot was charged with attempting to operate an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol.
2003 Glaswegian Michelle McManus won the final of Pop Idol, beating rival Mark Rhodes.
2003 Substitute Henrik Pedersen grabbed a deserved late equaliser for Bolton in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal. But Hernan Crespo's winner against Fulham puts Chelsea level on points with Arsenal.
2004 A play that led to violent protests among the Sikh community was dropped by a Birmingham theatre.
2004 Exeter University's ruling council voted to close its chemistry and music departments.
2004 Coronation Street bosses gave actor Jimmi Harkishin time off to seek help after revelations about his private life.
2004 Actor Jimmy Nail lost his bid for an increase in £30,000 libel damages at the Court of Appeal.
2004 Barcelona's Ronaldinho was named FIFA World Player of the Year.
BIRTHDAYS (for 20 December 2006)
George Galvin (Dan Leno), 146 (born 20 December 1860)
(Died 1904) English music hall comedian.
Harvey Samuel Firestone, 138 (born 20 December 1868)
US industrialist.
Sir Robert Menzies, 112 (born 20 December 1894)
Australian statesman, prime minister as leader of the United Australia Party and then the Liberal Party.
Irene Dunne, 105 (born 20 December 1901)
(Died 1990) Actress.
George Roy Hill, 84 (born 20 December 1922)
Film director - 'Great Waldo Pepper' 'Butch Cassidy' 'Sting'.
James Leasor, 83 (born 20 December 1923)
English author
Errol John, 82 (born 20 December 1924)
Trinidadian dramatist and actor who wrote Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.
Lord Howe of Aberavon, 80 (born 20 December 1926)
former Cabinet Minister Sir Geoffrey Howe
Uri Geller, 60 (born 20 December 1946)
Israeli psychic/illusionist
Patti Smith, 60 (born 20 December 1946)
Singer - biggest UK hit 'Because the Night'.
Leslie Judd, 60 (born 20 December 1946)
Former Blue Peter presenter.
Malcolm Cooper, 59 (born 20 December 1947)
Olympic gold-medal marksman
Jenny Agutter, 54 (born 20 December 1952)
British actress whose films include `I Start Counting’, `The Railway Children’ and `Walkabout’.
Jimmy Nicholl, 50 (born 20 December 1956)
football manager
Bo Derek, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
actress
Anita Baker, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
Singer - biggest UK hit 'Sweet Love'.
Anita Ward, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
Disco singer - biggest UK hit 'Ring My Bell'.
Billy Bragg, 49 (born 20 December 1957)
Singer - biggest UK hit 'She's Leaving Home'.
Simon Hughes, 47 (born 20 December 1959)
cricketer/journalist
Ian Sharrock, 47 (born 20 December 1959)
Actor - Jackie Merrick in 'Emmerdale'.
Chris Robinson, 40 (born 20 December 1966)
Member of Black Crowes.
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