1901 – Guglielmo Marconi sends the first transatlantic radio signal, from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, Canada
1925 – Arthur Heinman coins term “motel”; opens Motel Inn, San Luis Obispo
1939 – Russ Indigirka capsizes in blizzard off Japanese coast; 750 die
1955 – 1st prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell
1961 – Adolf Eichmann is found guilty of war crimes in Israel
1963 – Argentina asks for extradition of ex-President Juan Perón
1969 – Offices of Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed, killing 14
1988 – 3 trains collide in London, 40 die
1992 – 58th Heisman Trophy Award: Gino Torretta, U of Miami (QB)
1997 – Red Sox sign Pedro Martinez to record 6 year $69 million contract
Author: gil7
Today in History for 12th December 2021
Historical Events
1956 – Commencement of the Irish Republican Army’s Border Campaign.
1957 – Willem J Kolff and his team at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic removed the heart from a dog and replaced it with a pneumatic pump which kept the dog alive for 90 minutes, proving the viability of the artificial heart
1979 – President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq, confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
1992 – Julia Kurotchkina, 18, of Russia, crowned 42nd Miss World
1997 – Florida releases Alex Arias, the last original Marlin
2017 – Democrat Doug Jones defeats Republican Roy Moore for Alabama Senate seat in upset win marked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore
Famous Birthdays
1937 – Philip Ledger, British organist, composer, conductor, and academic (King’s College Cambridge), born in Bexhill-on-Sea, England (d. 2012)
1949 – Ricardo Luis Carreras, American bantamweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1972), born in NYC, New York
1970 – Mädchen Amick, American actress (Shelly Johnson-Twin Peaks), born in Reno, Nevada
1971 – Toni Hodgkinson, 800m (Olympics 1996), born in Auckland, New Zealand
1976 – Lloyd Owusu, English-Ghanaian football player, born in Slough, England
1990 – Victor Moses, Nigerian footballer, born in Lagos, Nigeria
Famous Deaths
1858 – Jacques Viger, French Canadian politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (1833-36), dies at 71
1933 – Theodore Moses Tobani, German composer, dies at 78
1968 – Walter Robins, cricketer (19 Tests for England 64 wkts), dies
1977 – Baroness Clementine Spencer-Churchill (nee Hozier), widow of Sir Winston, dies at 92
1995 – James Altgens, JFK assassination photographer, dies at 76
2007 – Ike Turner, American musician (“Rocket 88”; Ike and Tina Turner – “A Fool in Love”; “Proud Mary”), dies of cocaine overdose at 76
Famous Deaths for 11th December 2021
384 – Pope Saint Damasus I, Pope of the Catholic Church, dies
1226 – Robert de Ros, northern English Nobleman (one of the Twenty-five barons appoints under the Magna Carta) (b. 1177)
1282 – Michael VIII, Paleologus, Byzantine emperor (1259-82), dies
1686 – Louis II Condé, Duke of Bourbon (Rocroy), dies at 65
1797 – Richard Brocklesby, English physician (b. 1722)
1942 – Jochen Klepper, German writer, commits suicide at 39
1955 – Johan C. Altorf, Dutch sculptor (October 3 Monument), dies at 79
1967 – Victor De Sabata, Italian conductor and composer (II Macigno), dies at 75
2006 – Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian (oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death), dies at 116
2007 – Ashleigh Aston Moore, Canadian child actress (Now and Then), dies of a drug overdose at 26
Historical Events for 11th December 2021
1665 – “Messiah” Sjabtai Tswi festival in Smyrna
1882 – Victorien Sardous play “Fedora” with Sarah Bernhardt premieres in Paris
1907 – New Zealand Parliament Buildings almost completely destroyed by fire
1937 – 25th CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Toronto Argonauts claim their 4th Championship; beat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 4-3
1949 – WOAI (now KMOL) TV channel 4 in San Antonio, TX (NBC) 1st broadcast
1958 – 4th (last) Dutch government of Drees falls
1969 – Libya adopts constitution
2004 – 70th Heisman Trophy Award: Matt Leinart, USC (QB)
2005 – The Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead, England, is rocked by explosions, causing a huge oil fire.
2009 – Tiger Woods announces an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage.
Today in History for 11th December 2021
Historical Events
1908 – Frederick Delius’ orchestral work “In a Summer Garden” premieres in London
1946 – Spain suspended from UN
1951 – Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement from baseball
1970 – Start of the 1st Test match at the WACA, Australia v England
1975 – Great Yankee trade getting Willie Randolph, Dock Ellis and Ken Brett from Pirates for George “Doc” Medich
1980 – The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (known as either CERCLA or Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
Famous Birthdays
1838 – Emil Rathenau, German industrialist (AEG), born in Berlin (d. 1915)
1922 – Dilip Kumar [Muhammad Yusuf Khan], Indian Bollywood actor known as the “Tragedy King” and one of the greatest actors in Indian cinema (Jwar Bhata), born in Peshawar, British India
1931 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian leader of the Rajneesh movement, born in Kuchwada Village, Raisen district, Bhopal State, British India (d. 1990)
1954 – Sylvester Clarke, West Indian cricket fast bowler (11 Tests, 42 wickets), born in Christ Church, Barbados (d. 1999)
1973 – Valentina Lisitsa, Ukrainian-American concert, pianist born in Kiev, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
1979 – Rider Strong, American actor, writer and director (Boy Meets World), born in San Francisco, California
Famous Deaths
1573 – Alardus/Eilard de Waterlant, duke of Alva, hanged
1959 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player, dies at 59
1978 – Paul O’Dea, American baseball player (b. 1920)
2014 – Hans Wallat, German opera conductor, dies at 85
2017 – Aline Griffith, American-born Spanish aristocrat, Countess of Romanones, spy and author, dies at 94
2017 – Keith Chegwin, English television presenter and actor, dies at 60
Famous Deaths for 10th December 2021
1524 – Henry van Zutphen, Dutch Augustine/Luthern minister, burned to death
1805 – Friedrich Franz Hurka, composer, dies at 43
1926 – Nikola Pašić, Kingdom of Serbia and Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes prime minister (b. 1845)
1945 – Theodor Dannecker, SS officer and an associate of Adolf Eichmann, dies at 32
1946 – Damon Runyon, American journalist and writer (Guys and Dolls-based on his work), dies at 66
1967 – Brasílio Itiberê da Cunha Luz, Brazilian composer, dies at 71
1983 – Dorothy Cummings, actress (Dancing Mothers), dies at 84
1995 – Gillian Rose, philosopher/writer, dies at 48
2001 – Ashok Kumar [Dadamoni, Kumudlal Kunjilal Ganguly], Indian actor (Mahal, Afsana), dies from chronic asthma at 90
2008 – Didith Reyes, Filipino singer (b. 1948)
Historical Events for 10th December 2021
1887 – Austria-Hungary, Italy and Great Britain sign Balkan military treaty
1936 – Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Carlos Saavedra Lamas for mediating end to Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, 1st Latin American to win
1938 – Italian scientist Enrico Fermi receives the Nobel Prize for Physics (work on reduced radioactivity)
1939 – National Football League Championship, Dairy Bowl, West Allis, Wisconsin: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 27-0; Packers 5th title
1954 – Linus Pauling wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1961 – US performs nuclear test at Carlsbad New Mexico (underground)
1965 – Test Cricket debut of Doug Walters v England at the Gabba
1970 – Soviet novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn chooses not to claim his Nobel Prize in Literature for fear that the USSR would prevent his return afterwards. Accepts in 1974 after he was deported.
1994 – 60th Heisman Trophy Award: Rashaan Salaam, Colorado (RB)
2001 – “The Fellowship of the Ring” Lord of the Rings film directed by Peter Jackson and starring Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen premieres in London
Today in History for 10th December 2021
Historical Events
1938 – CFL Grey Cup: In repeat of last year, Toronto Argonauts defeat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 30-7 to retain Championship
1982 – CDC report on a transfusion recipient who developed AIDS symptoms
1986 – Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel accepts 1986 Nobel Peace Prize
1995 – Ricky Ponting makes 96 on Test Cricket debut (Aust v Sri Lanka, WACA)
2001 – “The Fellowship of the Ring” Lord of the Rings film directed by Peter Jackson and starring Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen premieres in London
2016 – Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature at a ceremony he does not attend in Stockholm
Famous Birthdays
1805 – Joseph Škoda, Bohemian physician, born in Pilsen, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1881)
1822 – César Franck, Belgian composer and organist (Symphonic Variations), born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1890)
1934 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist (Nobel 1975), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
1951 – Ellen Nikolaysen, Norwegian singer (You Made Me Feel I Could Fly), born in Oslo, Norway
1965 – (Joseph) “J” Mascis, American rock singer and guitarist (Dinosaur Jr), born in Amherst, Massachusetts
1972 – Dimitri Tikovoi, French pop, rock, and dance musician and record producer, born in Paris
Famous Deaths
949 – Herman I, Duke of Swabia
1938 – Mario Pilati, Italian composer, dies at 35
1968 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologist/minister (Kirchliche Dogma), dies at 82
1988 – Dick Clair, American comedian (Clair and McMahon, Facts of Life), dies of AIDS
1994 – Robert Blum, Swiss composer, dies at 94
2000 – Marie Windsor [Emily Marie Bertelson], American actress (The Bounty Hunter, Double Deal), dies of congestive heart failure at 80
Famous Deaths for 9th December 2021
1827 – François Léonard Rouwyzer, composer, dies at 90
1854 – Almeida Garrett, Portuguese writer (b. 1799)
1937 – [Nils] Gustaf Dalén, Swedish physicist and industrialist (AGA, Nobel Prize in Physics 1912), dies at 68
1975 – William A Wellman, American director (Ox Bow Incident), dies at 79
1982 – Leon Jaworski, American Watergate scandal special prosecutor, dies at 77
1982 – Fritz Usinger, German writer (Song against Death), dies at 87
2002 – Ian Hornak, American Painter, Draughtsman and Sculptor (b. 1944)
2003 – Norm Sloan, American basketball coach (b. 1926)
2004 – Lea De Mae, Czech actress (b. 1976)
2012 – Jenni Rivera, Mexican-American singer-songwriter, dies in a plane crash at 43
Historical Events for 9th December 2021
1851 – 1st Young Men’s Christian Association in North America set up in Montreal
1908 – The German Reichstag adopts a progressive social law restricting hours of factory work by young people and women
1934 – National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: New York Giants defeat Chicago Bears, 30-13
1936 – Australia all out for 58 v England, Bradman out for a duck
1939 – 1940 NFL Draft: George Cafego from University of Tennessee first pick by Chicago Cardinals
1953 – Montreal Canadiens (106) and Toronto Maple Leafs (98) combine for 204 penalty minutes
1960 – 1st broadcast of “Coronation Street” on British ITV
1985 – Argentinian Junta leaders Jorge Rafael Videla and Emilio Eduardo Massera sentenced to life imprisonment for human rights violations in Buenos Aires
1987 – Palestine uprising begin in Israeli-occupied West Bank
1993 – Ivory Coast Premier Ouattara resigns