Today’s Important Historical Events

1776 Thomas Paine publishes his 1st “American Crisis” essay beginning “These are the times that try men’s souls” (date disputed)

1783 William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest ever British Prime Minister at age 24

1932 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) begins transmitting overseas

1958 1st radio broadcast from space, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower Christmas message “to all mankind, America’s wish for peace on Earth and goodwill to men everywhere”

1984 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration to transfer Hong Kong back to China in 1997

Today’s Historical Events

324 Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.

401 St Anastasius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope

1055 Seldjuken under Toghril Beg occupy Baghdad

1154 King Henry II of England crowned King of England

1487 Opening ceremony of the sixth Great Temple of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) 4,000 prisoners of war are sacrificed to Aztec gods over four days [1]

1551 Dutch west coast hit by hurricane

1562 Battle at Dreux: Anne de Montmorency & huguenots under Condé captured

1642 4 of Abel Tasman‘s crew killed at Wharewharangi (Murderers) Bay by Māori; Tasman’s ships depart without landing

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1946 Noël Coward‘s musical “Pacific 1860” premieres in London

1949 WJW TV channel 8 in Cleveland, Ohio (CBS) begins broadcasting

1953 KFYR TV channel 5 in Bismarck, ND (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting

1957 Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man”, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 1375 performances, wins 5 Tony and a Grammy Award

1964 “Gertrud”, Danish film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, starring Nina Pens Rode, Bendt Rothe and Ebbe Rode, is released in France

1968 WCWB (now WMGT) TV channel 41 in Macon, GA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1971 CBS airs “Homecoming A Christmas Story,” (introducing the Waltons)

1971 Stanley Kubrick‘s X-rated film “A Clockwork Orange” based on the book by Anthony Burgess and starring Malcolm McDowell premieres

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1881 Opera “Hérodiade” by Jules Massenet is produced in Brussels

1955 Carl Perkins records “Blue Suede Shoes”

1960 Frank Sinatra‘s 1st session with Reprise Records (“Ring-A-Ding-Ding”)

1969 Beatle’s 7th Christmas fan-club single is released

1971 “Inner City” opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 97 performances

1973 “Molly” closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 68 performances

1975 British guitarist Ron Wood joins The Rolling Stones

1984 33 unknown Bach keyboard works found in Yale library [1]

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1891 Canadian Rugby Union forms

1904 Dawson City hockey team begins 9 day walk to get a boat to Seattle to catch a train to Ottawa to play in Stanley Cup on Jan 13 1905

1913 Jack Johnson fights fellow African-American Jim Johnson to a draw in 10 rounds for the vacant world heavyweight boxing title in Paris, 1st time two black fighters compete for the title

1917 1st NHL game played on artificial ice in Toronto

1917 Quebec Bulldogs play their 1st professional hockey game

1920 1st US indoor curling rink opens (Brookline, Mass)

1924 Test Cricket debut of Bill Ponsford, who scored 110 in 1st innings

1926 National Football League Championship: Frankford Yellow Jackets (14-1-2) win first past the post title