1294 – Pope Coelestinus V becomes Pope (until Dec 13th)
1508 – League of the kingdom signed (covenant against Venice)
1520 – Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg’s Elster Gate.
1541 – Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham are executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and wife of Henry VIII.
1684 – Isaac Newton’s derivation of Kepler’s laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmond Halley.
1690 – Massachusetts Bay becomes first American colonial government to borrow money
1799 – France adopts the metre as its official unit of length.
1817 – Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state.
1830 – Emily Dickinson, American poet (d. 1886) was born.
1851 – Melvil Dewey, American librarian, created the Dewey Decimal System (d. 1931) was born.
1861 – American Civil War: The Confederate States of America accept a rival state government’s pronouncement that declares Kentucky to be the 13th state of the Confederacy.
1864 – American Civil War: Sherman’s March to the Sea – Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union Army troops reach the outer Confederate defenses of Savannah, Georgia.
1868 – The first traffic lights are installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.
1884 – Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published.
1896 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish Nobel Prize ceremony on this date, dies at 63
1898 – Spanish-American War formally ended by the Treaty of Paris; US acquires Philippines, Puerto Rico & Guam
1901 – The first Nobel Prizes are awarded.
1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War, becoming the first American to win a Nobel Prize.
1907 – The worst night of the Brown Dog riots in London, when 1,000 medical students clash with 400 police officers over the existence of a memorial for animals that have been vivisected.
1909 – Selma Lagerlöf becomes the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
1909 – Red Cloud, Sioux Indian chief, dies
1911 – Calbraith Rogers completes 1st crossing of US by airplane (84 days)
1920 – Following increased Violence during the Irish Revolution the British declare Martial law in Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.
1926 – 2nd part of Hitler’s Mein Kampf published
1927 – The phrase “Grand Ole Opry” is used for the first time on-air.
1936 – Edward VIII signs Instrument of Abdication, giving up British throne to marry Wallis Simpson
1946 – German/Swiss novelist Hermann Hesse wins the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style”
1946 – Damon Runyon, US journalist/writer, dies at 66
1946 – Walter Johnson, great pitcher (Washington Senators), dies of a brain tumor at 59
1948 – The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
1948 – Jessica Cleaves, American singer (The Friends of Distinction and Earth, Wind & Fire) (d. 2014) was born.
1948 – Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (d. 2004) Birthed
1949 – Chinese Civil War: The People’s Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.
1951 – Santa Claus and angels were banned in Hungary at Christmas this year. Pictures of tractors holding gifts would replace Santa Claus and his elves. It was not entirely clear why communist officials became so provoked at Saint Nick, but it seems that they could use some of his generosity.
1952 – Susan Hallock Dey, Ill, actress (1st Love, Partridge Family, LA Law) Born
1964 – Bobby Flay, American chef and author was born.
1964 – Nobel Peace Prize presented to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. in Oslo
1965 – Greg Giraldo, American lawyer, comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2010) was born.
1965 – The Grateful Dead’s first concert performance under this new name.
1965 – J Mascis, American musician (Guitarist, Dinosaur Jr…) Born
1967 – Carl Cunningham, rocker (Bar-kays), killed in a plane crash
1967 – Jimmy King, rocker (Bar-kays), dies in a plane crash
1967 – Otis Redding, singer (Dock of Bay), dies in plane crash at 26
1967 – Phalin Jones, rocker (Bar-kays), dies in plane crash
1967 – Ron Caldwell, rocker (Bar-kays), dies in a plane crash
By 1967 the band was traveling to gigs on Redding’s Beechcraft H18. On December 9, 1967, they appeared on the Upbeat television show produced in Cleveland. They played three concerts in two nights at a small club called Leo’s Casino After a phone call with Zelma and their children, Redding’s next stop was Madison, Wisconsin; the next day they were to play at the Factory nightclub near the University of Wisconsin
Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog and despite warnings, the plane took off. Four miles from their destination at Truax Field in Madison, the pilot radioed for permission to land. Shortly thereafter, the plane crashed into Lake Monona. Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley, the accident’s only survivor, was sleeping shortly before the accident. He woke just before impact to see bandmate Phalon Jones look out a window and exclaim, “Oh, no!” Cauley said the last thing he remembered before the crash was unbuckling his seat belt. He then found himself in frigid water, grasping a seat cushion to keep afloat. A non-swimmer, he was unable to rescue the others. The cause of the crash was never determined. James Brown claimed in his autobiography, The Godfather of Soul, that he had warned Redding not to fly in the plane.
Aretha Franklin stated, “I heard it on the TV. My sister Caroline and I stopped everything and stayed glued to the TV and radio. It was a tragedy. Shocking.” Other victims were pilot Richard Fraser, drummer Matthew Kelly, lead guitarist of the Bar-Kays Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell and drummer Carl Cunningham.
Redding’s body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched. The family postponed the funeral from December 15 to 18 so that more could attend. The service took place at the City Auditorium in Macon. More than 4,500 people came to the funeral, overflowing the 3,000-seat hall, although many did not know who he was. Johnny Jenkins and Isaac Hayes did not come, fearing their reaction would be worse than Zelma Redding’s. Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Macon. Jerry Wexler delivered the eulogy. Redding died just three days after recording Dock of the Bay. He was survived by Zelma and three children, Otis III, Dexter and Karla. Otis, Dexter and cousin Mark Lockett later founded the Reddings, a band managed by Zelma. She also maintained or worked at the janitorial service Maids Over Macon, several nightclubs and booking agencies. On November 8, 1997, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace.
1968 – Japan’s biggest heist, the still-unsolved “300 million yen robbery”, is carried out in Tokyo.
1971 – Brian Nichols, American spree killer was born.
1971 – William H Rehnquist confirmed as Supreme Court justice
1974 – Space probe Helios 1 launched
1974 – Meg White, American drummer (The White Stripes) was born.
1976 – The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques.
1976 – Wings release triple album “Wings Over America”
1977 – Adolph Rupp, American basketball coach (b. 1901)
1978 – Edward D Wood Jr, director (Plan 9), dies of heart failure at 54
1978 – Brandon Novak, American skateboarder, Born
1978 – Summer Phoenix, American actress, born
1978 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1955 – Mighty Mouse Playhouse premieres on American television.
1965 – The Grateful Dead’s first concert performance under this new name.
1968 – Japan’s biggest heist, the still-unsolved “300 million yen robbery”, is carried out in Tokyo.
1976 – The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques.
1978 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1981 – The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan’s proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia.
1981 – A mysterious epidemic, consisting of two separate diseases, a form of pneumonia and skin cancer, has been found in 180 patients in 15 states since last July. It has claimed around 75 lives so far in the US and up to 92% of the victims are homosexual men. The unknown condition was eventually named as Aids (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) virus not only restricted to homosexuals and 4,000 were infected in the space of two years.
1983 – Kristen Coughlan, Canadian Webmistress for DeadlineLive.info
1985 – Bill to balance the federal budget passed by US Congress (ahem…)
1987 – Jascha Heifetz, Russia, violinist, dies at 86
1991 – IM Pei receives $5 million for design of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
1991 – Howard Spira sentenced to 2½ years in prison for trying to extort money from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
1993 – The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.
1994 – Rwandan Genocide: Maurice Baril, military advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, recommends that UNAMIR stand down.
1994 – Nobel prize awarded to Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres & Yasser Arafat (Hmmm – Only one of these 3 is still alive..)
1996 – John Duffey, bluegrass musician, dies at 62
1996 – Rwandan Genocide: Military advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations Maurice Baril recommends that the UN multi-national forces in Zaire stand down.
1999 – Rick Danko, Canadian singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (The Band) (b. 1942) died.
2004 – Gary Webb, American journalist and author (b. 1955) died.
2005 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940) died.
2005 – Eugene McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1916) Dies
2006 – Augusto Pinochet, Former Chilean dictator (b. 1915) Dies and goes straight to hell.
2006 – One million Lebanese opposition supporters gather in downtown Beirut, calling for the government to resign.
2013 – Jim Hall, American jazz guitarist, dies at 83
2013 – Uruguay becomes the first country to legalize the growth, sale, and use of marijuana