History Blog

Category Archives: History

December 11

Happy Birthday RIP “Ron Carey”(Ronald Cicenia 1935–2007) Maila Syrjäniemi(“Vampira” 1922–2008) ; “Rita Moreno”(Rosita Alverio)–93 Donna Mills(Miller)–84 John Kerry–81 Lynda Day George–80 Terry “Teri” Garr–80 Robert “Ben” Browder–62 Monica “Monique” Imes–57 Jason “Rusty” Joiner–52 ; 1946 – UNICEF (the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) was established

December 10

Happy Birthday RIP “Dorothy Lamour”(Mary Slaton 1914–1996) Harold Gould(Goldstein 1923–2010) Makoto Iwamatsu(“Mako” 1933–2006) Michael Clarke Duncan(1957–2012) ; Fionnghuala Flanagan–83 Gloria Goff(“Loring ”)–78 Susan Dey(Smith)–72 Paul Hardcastle–67 Kenneth Branagh–64 Virenia “Nia” Peeples–63 Patrick Flueger–41 Raven-Symoné Pearman–39 ; 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

December 9

Happy Birthday RIP Emmett Kelly(1898–1979) Margaret Hamilton(1902–1985) “Redd Foxx”(John Sanford 1922–1991) Douglas Fairbanks Jr.(1909–2000) Richard “Dick” Van Patten(1928–2015)“Kirk Douglas”(Issur Demsky 1916–2020) Buck Henry Zuckerman 1930–2020) Richard “Dick” Butkus(1942–2023); Dame Judith Dench–90 Lloyd “Beau” Bridges III–83 Michael Dorn–72 John Malkovich–71 Donald “Donny” Osmond–67 Mario Cantone–65 Felicity Huffman–62 Lori Greiner–55 Jesse Metcalfe–46 Simon Helberg–44 ; 1851 – The first YMCA in North America is established in Montreal ; 1960 – The first episode of “Coronation Street”, the world’s longest-running television soap opera, is broadcast in the United Kingdom(still in production today)

December 8

Happy Birthday RIP Samuel “Sammy” Davis(1925–1990) Clerow “Flip” Wilson(1933–1998) John “David” Carradine(1936–2009) James Morrison(1943–1971) Samuel Kinison(1953–1992) Gregory Allman(1947–2017) Sinéad O’Connor(1966–2023); Kimila “Kim” Basinger–71 Teri Hatcher–60 Dominic Monaghan–48 Ian Somerhalder–46 “Nicki Minaj”(Onika Maraj)–42 ; 1980 – John Lennon, an English musician and peace activist, is murdered by Mark David Chapman, a mentally unstable fan, in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. He is still in prison in Green Haven Correctional Facility in NY

December 7

Happy Birthday RIP Tadeus Konopka(“Ted Knight” 19231–1986) ; “Ellen Burstyn”(Edna Gillooly)–92 Thomas Waits–75 Priscilla Barnes–71 Larry Bird–68 Christopher Thomas Howell–58 Shiri Appleby–46 Emily Browning–36 Nicholas Hoult–35 ; 1941 – Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans were killed ; 1963 – Instant replay (video/television) makes its debut during an American Army–Navy football game

December 6

Happy Birthday RIP Alfred Eisenstaedt(1898–1995) Agnes Moorehead(1900–1974) Robert Stein(“Bobby Van” 1928–1980) Ryan White(1971–1990) ; James Naughton–79 Margaret JoBeth Williams–76 Craig Newmark(Founder of Craigslist)–72 Gina Hecht–71 Thomas Hulce–71 Steven Wright–69 Andrew Cuomo–67 Janine Turner(Gauntt)–62 Lindsay Price–48 Ryan Kennedy–42 ; 1768 – The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published ; 1877 – The first edition of The Washington Post is published.

December 5

Happy Birthday RIP Walter Elias Disney(1901–1966) Little Richard Penniman(1932–2020) Joan Didion(1934–2021) ; “Morgan Brittany”(Suzanne Cupito)–73 Amanda Lepore–57 Margaret Moran Cho–56 Amy Acker–48 Nicolas “Nick” Stahl–45 Adan Canto–43 Francisco “Frankie” Muñiz IV–39 ; 1933 – Prohibition in the United States ends with 21st Amendment to the Constitution ; 1955 – E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott ; 1969 – The four node ARPANET network is established (beginnings of internet between four colleges). Yes it’s my birthday as well.

December 4

Happy Birthday RIP Horst Buchholz(1933–2003) ; Winston“Wink” Martindale–91 Max Baer, Jr.–87 Jeffrey Bridges–75 Patricia Wettig–73 Marisa Tomei–60 Kevin Sussman–54 Tyra Banks–51 ; 1881 – The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published. ; 1945 – By a vote of 65 to 7, the US Senate approved United States of America as an active participant in the United Nations

December 3

Happy Birthday RIP Howard “Andy” Williams(1927–2012) ; Mary “Jaye P.” Morgan–93 John “Ozzy” Osbourne–76 Del Shores–67 “Julianne Moore”(Julie Smith)–64 Daryl Hannah–64 Brendan Fraser–56 Bruno Campos–51 Anna Chlumsky–44 Brian Bonsall–43 Michael Angarano–37 ; 1910 – First modern neon lighting is first demonstrated by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show ; 1992 – A test engineer for Sema Group uses a personal computer to send the world’s first text message via the Vodafone network to the phone of a colleague

December 2

Happy Birthday RIP Herman “Ray” Walston(1914–2001) William “Bill” Erwin(1914–2010) Giovanni Versace(1946–1997) ; Cathy Lee Crosby–80 Stone Phillips–70 Esteban Echevarria(“Steven Bauer”)–68 Daniel Gauthier–61 Lucy Liu(劉玉玲)–56 Nelly Furtado–46 Britney Spears–43 Daniela Ruah–41 ; 1939 – New York City’s La Guardia Airport opens to the public ; 1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations