1956 ~ The United Nations Emergency Force takes over in Egypt after British and French forces withdraw from Port Said and Port Fuad ending the Suez Crisis.

__________________
Eudaimonia

1986 The experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

1995 ~ 16 members of the Solar Temple sect were found in a clearing near Grenoble, France. 14 were presumed shot by two of the group, who then committed suicide


1783 ~ George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army.


1788 ~ Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the District of Columbia.


1823 ~ The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ("'Twas the night before Christmas"), written by either Clement C. Moore or Maj. Henry Livingston, Jr., was published in the Troy Sentinel of New York.


1947 ~ The transistor was invented by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, and William Shockley.

__________________
The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

Christmas Eve! My guy, Joey Smallwood was born today.

1900-1991

journalist, politician, born on this day at Mint Brook, just outside Gambo, Newfoundland; died at St. John's Dec. 17, 1991.

Smallwood worked as a left-wing journalist in New York from 1920-25, and campaigned for the Progressive Party; 1925 returned to Newfoundland to serve as a union organizer and radio broadcaster; 1933 failed to win a seat in the election; 1943-46 ran a piggery at the Gander air base; 1946 elected to the Newfoundland Convention and tirelessly campaigned for admission into Canada; July 22, 1948 won second of two hard-fought and close referenda using the bait of family allowances; April 1, 1949 became interim Premier, May 1949 won election as Newfoundland's first provincial Premier, a post he held until 1971; Oct. 1971 defeated by the Conservatives led by Frank Moores; 1977 left politics to write his 5 volume Encyclopedia of Newfoundland, but only lived to see publication of three volumes. It was completed in 1994.

1781 CANADA'S FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE

Sorel Quebec - Friedrich, Baron von Riedesel 1738-1800 erects Canada's first Christmas tree for the garrison in Fort Sorel.

1962 ~ The last of more than 1,000 men taken prisoner at the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was returned to the United States.

__________________
Eudaimonia

1914 ~ The first EVER German bomb was dropped on Britain!! A bit unsporting, old boy..what??


1524 ~ Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama died in Cochin, India. Hope he got his prezzies first!!


1814 ~ The War of 1812 between America and Britain ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Now, THAT'S what christmas should be about, isn't it?


1818 ~ "Silent Night" was composed by Franz Joseph Gruber. Been hearing this all week!


1865 ~ The Ku Klux Klan was formed in Pulaski, Tennessee. They should ALL be Damned, just for this!! (Just a thought!)


1871 ~ Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida premiered in Cairo, Egypt, at the opening of the Suez Canal. *wonders if dicksbro has seen that one?*


1992 ~ President Bush pardoned former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal. Just one of the boys, y'know??

__________________
The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

I'm not going to post anything today, mainly cos in the sources I use, there's NOTHING even remotely amusing or uplifting!!

So, instead, I'll just say.....


MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYPIXIE!!!



DM

__________________
The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

1991 ~ Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as Soviet Union breaks up. "…as a result of the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent states I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" .

__________________
Eudaimonia

Merry Christmas, DM!

It's hard to believe Gorbachev has only been gone for 12 years.

(sorry, I had no new news besides his resignation, either )

Here's a surprising one . . . I would have thought a Prime Minister of Britain met or spoke with the Americans before this:

On Dec. 26, 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress.

2000 ~ A gunman opened fire at an internet firm in Wakefield in the the U.S., killing seven people.


1492 ~ Christopher Columbus established the first Spanish settlement in the New World.


1776 ~ George Washington defeated the Hessians at Trenton.


1865 ~ James H. Nason invented the coffee percolator.


1972 ~ The 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo.

__________________
The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

1979 ~ Soviet forces seize control of Afghanistan. The resulting civil war lasted 10 years, and gave rise to the Taliban.


1831 ~ Darwin began his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.


1871 ~ The world's first cat show was held at the Crystal Palace in London.


1932 ~ Radio City Music Hall in New York City opened.


1945 ~ The World Bank was created with an agreement signed by 28 nations.


1996 ~ Rwanda's first genocide trial opened for the 1994 slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis.


2001 ~ The U.S. announced plans to hold Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.


2001 ~ Also on this day, President Bush permanently normalized trade relations with China.

__________________
The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

1985 ~ 16 people are killed and more than 100 injured during twin terrorist attacks at Rome and Vienna airports.

__________________
Eudaimonia

1979

Just to add to the Afghanistan fact - President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, was replaced by Babrak Karmal.

Kind of a BUSY day, today!!


1983 ~ The only Beach Boy who could actually surf, Dennis Wilson, died after diving into a Californian dock


1065 ~ Westminster Abbey consecrated.


1832 ~ John C. Calhoun became the first vice president in U.S. history to resign from office.


1846 ~ Iowa became the 29th state in the United States.


1869 ~ William F. Semple patented chewing gum.


1895 ~ The Lumiere Brothers gave the first movie show at the Grand Cafe in Paris.


1937 ~ Composer Maurice Ravel died in Paris at age 62.


1945 ~ Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.


1981 ~ Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, Va.

__________________
The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind