Historical Events
1902 – Pope Leo XIII, at his annual Christmas reception, endorses the Christian Democratic movement now emerging in Europe as an attempt to offer an alternative to more radical movements
1905 – V Herbert/H Blossoms musical “Mlle Modiste” premieres in NYC
1947 – Constitution of the Republic of China comes into effect
1959 – Sony brings transistor TV 8-301 to the market
1987 – Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, who escaped 2 days earlier, recaptured
2009 – Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo sentenced to 11 years in prison in Beijing, China for “inciting subversion of state power”
Famous Birthdays
1808 – Stephen Cleeg Rowan, Commander (Union Navy), (d. 1890)
1907 – Mike Mazurki, Austrian-American actor and professional wrestler (Some Like It Hot, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World), born in Tarnopol, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1990)
1942 – Mani Kaul, director (Idiot, Nazar, Dhrupad, Duvidha)
1944 – Kenny Everett [Maurice James Christopher Cole], British DJ and TV personality (Kenny Everett Show), born in Seaforth, Lancashire, England (d. 1995)
1956 – Mansoor Akhtar, Pakistani cricket batsman (19 Tests, 1 x 100, 3 x 50s; 41 ODIs; UBL, Sind, Karachi), born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
1975 – Marcus Trescothick, English cricket batsman (76 Tests, 14 x 100s, HS 219; 123 ODIs; Somerset CCC), born in Keynsham, England
Famous Deaths
1883 – Marek Konrad Sokolowski, Polish guitarist and composer, dies at 65
1895 – Raul Pompeia, Brazilian writer (O Ateneu), dies at 32
1973 – İsmet İnönü, Turkish statesman (b. 1884)
1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress (Real McCoys), dies of leukemia at 73
1990 – Marguerite N Wittenberg, entertainer, dies of cancer at 77
1999 – Peter Jeffrey, British character actor (Dr Phibes Rides Again, Twinsanity), dies at 70