Welcome to ‘This month in History’! Before we get into history, please subscribe to my newsletter.
National Egg Nog Month
National Fruit Cake Month
1 December
World Aids Day
Rosa Parks Day (1955 Rosa Parks sets off a bus boycott in Montgomery, Georgia)
National Fried Pie Day
1934 Josef Stalin begins a purge of enemies in the Soviet Union
- Joseph Stalin on #flashbackfriday
- Coffee Cup History has an extensive write up of Stalin and the Great Purge
1942 Nationwide gasoline rationing goes into effect U.S.
1955 Rosa Parks sets off a bus boycott in Montgomery, Georgia
1958 Fire at Our Lady of Angels School grade school in Chicago leaves 100 children dead
1969 The U.S. government holds its first draft lottery since World War II ( Vietnam War )
1990 Channel Tunnel links the United Kingdom to Europe
1997 Heath High School Shooting in Paducah, Kentucky.
1999 Mapping of Human Chromosome 22 Released Into The Public Domain
2009 The Treaty of Lisbon comes into force in the European Union
2 December
National Fritters Day
Feast of St. Bibiana
1939 New York’s LaGuardia Airport Opens
1956 Cuban Revolution Begins
1959 The Malpasset Dam in France collapses leaving 400 dead
1969 The Boeing 747 ( Often Known as Jumbo Jet ) Gains FAA Airworthiness Certificate
1974 Birmingham Pub Bombing By IRA
1988 School Bus Hijack Soviet Union
1995 Dayton Accord peace plan Accepted By All Parties
2001 Enron an energy trading company filed for Chapter 11 protection
3 December
National Peppermint Latte Day
1964 800 students arrested at the University of California at Berkeley
1967 Worlds First Heart Transplant South Africa
- First human heart transplant on SA History.org
- Times LIVE focus some more on the drama behind this significant day
- Heart transplant possible for Jehova’s Witnesses as well
1984 Bhopal Chemical Accident In India
4 December
National Cookie Day (U.S.A.)
1872 Crew from the Dei Gratia, a small British brig spot the Mary Celeste
1935 Game Of Monopoly Debuted
1952 Deadly London Smog In England Leaves 1’000s dead in London
1954 first Burger King ( Insta Burger King )is opened in Miami, Florida
1998 International Space Station Assembly Begins
5 December
National Comfort Food Day
Repeal of Prohibition Day
1901 Walt Disney’s Birthday (1901 – 1966)
1933 Prohibition comes to an end
1945 Five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bombers comprising Flight 19 Lost In Bermuda Triangle
6 December
National Gazpacho Day
National Microwave Oven Day
National “Cook for Christmas” Day
1917 Munitions Ship Explodes In Halifax Harbor Killing 1,800
1922 Irish Free State is created
1962 Deadly Smog Spreads In England
1969 Altamont Rolling Stones Concert Disaster
1989 École Polytechnique massacre Montreal
7 December
National Cotton Candy Day
Ferry Floss Day(Great Britain)
1931 Ford produces the last Ford Model A
1941 Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor
1941 Letter Writing Day
- National Today has some cute ideas how to celebrate this day
- Science of People shares some more ideas
- Odd loves Company mentioned that it commemorates the death of Marcus Tullius Cicerio
1960 First episode of British Soap “Coronation Street”
1993 Long Island Rail Road commuter train shootings
8 December
National Brownie Day
1765 Eli Whitney’s birthday (1765 – 1825)
1941 US Enters World War II
1961 Space Needle, in Seattle, completed
– Official website for this tower
– Cassie took this beautiful picture of the Space Needle on her travels
1980 Former Beatle John Lennon was shot dead in New York
1993 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Signed into Law
2010 National Brownie Day (U.S.A.)
9 December
National Pastry Day
1884 Roller Skates Patented
1963 Studebaker Production Ends
1990 Solidarity founder Lech Walesa wins Poland’s presidential runoff
1992 Prince Charles and Princess Diana announce a formal separation
1993 Hubble Telescope Repair is a success
10 December
National Lager Day
1830 Emily Dickinson Birthday (1830 – 1886)
1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights By United Nations
1958 First US Commercial Jet Flight
2006 Augusto Pinochet Dies
2008 Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Arrested
11 December
National “Have a Bagel” Day
1936 King Edward VIII Abdicates to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson
1946 UNICEF Established
1985 The Unabomber kills his first victim, Hugh Scrutton
1990 Ivana Trump filed for divorce from real estate mogul Donald Trump
1997 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan ( Kyoto Protocol )
2005 Buncefield Oil Depot Explosions Hemel Hempstead in England
2008 Car Companies Bail Out Bill Agreed
12 December
National Cocoa Day
National Ambrosia Day
1901 Marconi sends first wireless transmission over 2000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Poldhu in Cornwall, England, to Newfoundland, Canada
1917 Father Edward Flanagan founds Boys Town
1925 first Motel opens the Milestone Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California
1955 Hovercraft Patented
1975 Balcombe Street Siege London England
1988 Clapham Junction Rail Crash South London
2003 Keiko From Free Willy dies
13 December
National Popcorn String Day
1937 Rape of Nanking
1950 James Dean who is still unknown at that time appears in a Pepsi commercial
1972 Thalidomide victims ( 50’s and 60’s Sales ) are offered a compensation deal
1995 Brixton Riots London England
2003 Saddam Hussein is captured by U.S. forces at a farmhouse in Adwar
2007 Rupert Murdoch buys Dow Jones & Co. which includes The Wall Street Journal
14 December
National Biscuits and Gravy Day
National Bouillabaisse Day
1546 Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
1905 1 in 10 are Illiterate in the United States
1911 South Pole First Reached
1947 NASCAR is formed
1962 Mariner 2 space probe becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus
1972 Last Men To Walk On The Moon
1995 Dayton Accord Signed Ending War
15 December
National Gingerbread Latte Day
National Lemon Cupcake Day
1939 Gone With The Wind Premiers
1944 Glenn Miller Killed In Plane Crash
1967 The Silver Bridge across the Ohio River collapses
16 December
Chocolate Coated Anything Day
1485 Catherine of Aragon, queen of England, was born
1653 Oliver Cromwell, British soldier and statesman, became lord protector of England
1770 Ludwig Von Beethoven’s Birthday (1770 – 1792)
- Biography
- 2 of my favourite pieces to play on the piano is Fur Elise and Ode to Joy
1773 Boston Tea Party
1775 Jane Austen was born
1838 Voortrekkers killed 3,000 Zulu at the Battle of Blood River in South Africa
1866 Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born artist, was born
1899 Sir Noel Coward, English playwright and actor, was born. He is best known for his highly polished comedies of manners.
1916 Rasputin Murdered In Russia
1917 Arthur C Clarke, British author and scientist, was born
1920 Earthquake measuring 8.5 hits the heavily populated of Gansu province of midwestern China, causing the deaths of an estimated 200,000 people
1928 Philip K Dick, American author, was born
1944 Battle of the Bulge Begins during World War II. German forces attempted to push through Allied lines in the Ardennes
1969 Death Penalty Abolished England
2009 Avatar, a science-fiction thriller, was released internationally; it went on to make more than $2.7 billion worldwide. It was directed by James Cameron
2014 Members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Pakistani branch of the Taliban, attacked a school in Peshawar, killing 150 people, at least 134 of whom were children… TRAGIC!!!! AND O SO WRONG
17 December
Maple Syrup Day
Wright Brothers Day
1398 Timur (Tamerlane) captures and sacks Delhi, defeating Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud’s armies by setting camels loaded with hay alight and charging them at the Sultans armoured elephants!!! HOW CRUEL!!!
1526 Pope Clemens VII publishes degree Cum ad zero – forms Inquisition
1760 Deborah Sampson, American Revolutionary soldier was born today. She assumed a man’s identity in order to join the 4th Massachusetts Regiment!
1778 Sir Humphry Davy, Baronet, British chemist, was born
1788 Russian army of Grigory Potemkin occupies Ocharov
1830 Simon Bolivar, Venezuelan political and military leader, died today. He was instrumental in the revolution against the Spanish in South America (born 1783)
1843 A Christmas Carol first published
- Read it here free
- Pieter Toerien Productions put it on stage in 2017
- Ghost Jacob Marley might be based off a real person Dickens knew…
1849 bowler hats were invented!!
1853 Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, one of the great figures of the English theatre and the most successful actor-manager of his time, was born in London.
1874 WL Mackenzie King, was born today. He served as prime minister of Canada (1921–26, 1926–30, 1935–48) and leader of the Liberal Party, helping preserve the unity of the country’s English and French populations (died 1950)
1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered aeroplane flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
1936 Pope Francis was born
1942 Mass executions of Jews by killing squads and in Poland
1942 Muhammadu Buhari, head of state of Nigeria, was born
1945 Chris Matthews, American journalist and political commentator, was born
1975 Milla Jovovich, actress, born today
1978 Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician, was born
1983 Harrods Department Store Bombing
1986 Mrs Davina Thompson makes medical history by having the 1st heart, lung & liver transplant at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England
1987 The Simpsons Debuts as a half-hour prime time show
1989 The Simpsons debuted as a special Christmas animated series. In 1990 it was released as a television series
- Who voices which character on The Simpsons?
- The 30 Most Popular Mechanics Moments in 30 years of The Simpsons
2010 Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire! He was harassed by municipal officials. Tunisisa’s Jasmine Revolution started and it helped inspire the Arab Spring. He died from his injuries the following month
2011 North Korean ruler Kim Jong I died; he was succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-Eun
2004 The United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations that had been in abeyance for more than 50 years
18 December
National “I Love Honey” Day
National Roast Suckling Pig Day
1892 The Nutcracker Suite Premiered
- ArtScape in Cape Town put it on stage in 2017
- New York City made the Nutcracker part of their Christmas tradition. I would love to see that one day
1946 Steven Spielberg’s Birthday
1966 Dr Seuss’ book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is made into an animated television special and shown for first time on CBS
19 December
National Hard Candy Day
National Oatmeal Muffin Day
1732 Poor Richards Almanac first published
1997 The movie “Titanic” opened in American theatres
2008 General Motors and Chrysler bailed out
20 December
National Sangria Day
1963 Berlin Wall Opened For 1 Day Passes
1968 The Zodiac killer’s first attributable murders
1989 President George Bush launches Operation Just Cause In Panama
2005 Transit Strike New York City
21 December
National French Fried Shrimp Day
1620 Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth
1913 First Cross Word Puzzle Published IN New York World.
1958 General Charles de Gaulle is elected President of France
22 December
National Date Nut Bread Day
DATE AND NUT LOAF
(wheat- and sugar-free)
50g butter
100ml molasses
1 ½ cups oat flour
2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
150g dates, chopped
150ml chopped pecan nuts
1 egg, beaten
130 ml milk
Preheat the oven to 180 C. grease and line a loaf tin.
Gently melt the butter and molasses together. Mix the dry ingredients, together with the dates and nuts. Add the milk and butter mixture and the beaten egg. Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a metal skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve with cottage cheese or grated cheese.
Makes 1 loaf. Good for the whole family.
1938 A living coelacanth was discovered
1952 The first Corvette, a production-ready prototype, is completed
2001 The shoe bomber, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives in his shoes
23 December
National Bake Day
National Pfeffernuesse Day
1947 Bell Labs demonstrates the worlds first Transistor Radio
Engineering Works video on YouTube
1956 British French Troops Withdraw From Suez Canal
1995 A fire in Dabwali, India, kills 540 people, including 170 children
2006 United Nations Security Council has unanimously imposed sanctions against Iran over its failure to halt uranium enrichment with Resolution 1737
24 December
Hanukkah
National Egg Nog Day
1865 A group of Confederate veterans convenes to form the secret society the “Ku Klux Klan.”
1903 The first car number plate ( A1 ) is issued in England
1968 Apollo 8 orbits the Moon, becoming the first manned space mission to achieve the feat.
1994 Four Islamic extremists hijack Air France Flight 8969 in Algiers
2009 The Senate passes health care reform bill
25 December
Christmas
- Top 10 Christmas monsters and scary legends
- White Christmas by Trudy J Smith the story of The Murder of the Lawson Family
National Pumpkin Pie Day
National “Kiss the Cook” Day
1952 The young Queen Elizabeth gives her first Christmas broadcast on BBC radio from the study at Sandringham House
1974 Thousands are left homeless and more than 30 people are feared dead after cyclone Tracy with winds of up to 135mph hits the northern Australian city of Darwin on Christmas Day
26 December
Boxing Day
National Candy Cane Day
1606 First performance of Aida
Wikipedia has a comprehensive write up of this beautiful opera by Verdi
1947 A severe snowstorm covers the Northeastern part of the United States, burying New York City under 25.8 inches of snow in 16 hours
2004 A tsunami caused by an earthquake under the Indian Ocean leaves 216,000 dead in 13 countries..
27 December
National Fruitcake Day
1571 Johannes Kepler’s Birthday (1571 – 1630)
1822 Louis Pasteur’s Birthday (1822 – 1895)
1932 Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City
1949 Indonesia gains it’s independence from the Netherlands after 400 years
1994 Blood Bath Begins In Rwanda between Hutu majority and the Tutsis
2001 U.S. officials announced that Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners would be held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
2007 Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto assassinated in Pakistan
28 December
National Box of Chocolates Day
1945 US Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
29 December
National “Get on the Scales” Day
National Pepper Pot Day
1940 Germany begin dropping incendiary bombs on London
1975 A terrorist bomb is exploded in the main terminal of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people.
30 December
National Bacon Day
National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
Baking Soda Day
1865 Rudyard Kipling’s Birthday (1865 – 1936)
1903 The Iroquois Theater Fire in Chicago, Illinois, claims 602 lives
1986 Canaries made redundant from British Coal Mines and replaced by modern carbon monoxide detectors.
2006 Saddam Hussein hanged in northern Baghdad for crimes against humanity.
1932 Daisy de Melke is hanged in South Africa for the murders of her husbands and son
- South Africa’s most famous poisoner {what a horrible word!!}
- South Africa’s first serial killer
- Revolvy has some interesting links to screen adaptations and literature that was inspired by her story
- Capital punishment in South Africa, the way Daisy came to her end
31 December
New Years Eve
10 New Years Eve traditions from around the world
National Champagne Day
National Vinegar Day
192 Lucius Commodus, 31, Emperor of Rome (189-192), is murdered. His mistress Marcia Chamberlain Eclectus, and praetorian prefect Laetus hired the wrestler Narcissus to Commodus after they found their names on an imperial execution list
1600 Queen Elizabeth I charters the British East India Company to carry on trade in the East Indies in competition with the Dutch. A company of 218 merchants is granted a monopoly to trade east of the Cape of Good Hope
1687 the 1st Huguenots depart France for the Cape of Good Hope
1869 Henri Matisse’s Birthday (1869 – 1954)
1908 Simon Wiesenthal, a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust who dedicated his life to tracking down former Nazis, is born in Bucharest, Ukraine
1935 Charles Darrow patents Monopoly
1937 Sir Anthony Hopkins, actor, is born in Maryam, Wales
1943 Sir Ben Kingsley, actor, is born in Snainton, England
1943 John Denver, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, activist, humanitarian, is born in Roswell, New-Mexico
1967 daredevil Evel Knievel, 29, fails in his attempt to jump Ceasar’s Palace Fountain in Las Vegas
1970 Paul McCartney files a lawsuit in London to dissolve the Beatle’s partnership
1985 Ricky Nelson, 45, singer, singer, actor, and six other people are killed when a fire breaks out aboard the DC-3 taking the group to a NYE performance in Dallas
1987 Robert Mugabe is sworn in as Zimbabwe’s first executive president
1997 former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda, 73 (accused of engineering an unsuccessful coup attempt in October and in jail since Christmas) is released and placed under house arrest
1997 pianist Floyd Cramer, 64, dies in Nashville Tennessee
1997 Michael L Kennedy, 39, (son of the late US senator Robert F Kennedy, is killed in a ski accident at Aspen, Colorado
1999 The world prepares to have a global party with fireworks and special events around the world to welcome in the third millennium
SOURCES
Rob Marsh’s Africa Crime Mysteries
SAHO South African History Online
And growin…
