Historical Events
1862 – -Dec 20th] Battle of Kelly’s Ford, VA
1917 – Cheka formed – Soviet state security force and forerunner to the KGB, under Felix Dzerzhinsky after decree by Lenin
1941 – Free France under adm Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquelon
1949 – Maurice Ravel and John Cranko’s ballet “Beauty and the Beast” premieres
1963 – “Contempt” film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Brigitte Bardot and Jack Palance, is released
1966 – Nuclear Planning Group forms in Brussels
Famous Birthdays
1729 – Franz Xaver Thomas Pokorny, Czech composer, born in Městec Králové (d. 1794)
1894 – Robert Menzies, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (United Australia Party: 1939-41, Liberal: 1949-66) and its longest-serving, born in Jeparit, Victoria (d. 1978)
1902 – George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent, born in York Cottage, United Kingdom (d. 1942)
1925 – Benito Lorenzi, Italian footballer, born in Buggiano, Italy (d. 2007)
1963 – Pam Casale, American tennis player (Marco Island finals 1985), born in Camden, New Jersey
1983 – Adrián Varela, Mexican singer, born in Culiacán, Mexico
Famous Deaths
1812 – Sacagawea, Shoshone interpreter for the Lewis and Clark expedition, dies at 24
1936 – Baron De Borchgrave, Belgian ambassador, murdered in Madrid
1962 – Erik William Gustav Leidzen, Swedish American composer, dies at 68
1994 – J C “Jody” Bateman, fiddler, dies at 75
2015 – Patricia Elliott, American actress (Renee-Empire, One Life to Live), dies at 77
2017 – Bernard Francis Law, Disgraced American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church (1982-2002), dies at 86