From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are eight days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 962 – Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo
• 1493 – Georg Alt's German translation of Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle is published.
• 1783 – George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.
• 1793 – The Battle of Savenay, decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in Revolt in the Vendée during the French Revolution.
• 1893 – The opera Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed.
• 1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve.
• 1914 – World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.
• 1916 – World War I: Battle of Magdhaba – Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
• 1921 – Visva-Bharati University is inaugurated.
• 1936 – Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1937 – First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.
• 1938 – Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa.
• 1940 – World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis (Υ-2) sinks the Italian motor ship Antonietta.
• 1941 – World War II: The Japanese Imperial Army occupies Wake Island.
• 1947 – The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.
• 1948 – Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.
• 1954 – The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1958 – Dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world's highest self-supporting iron tower.
• 1968 – The United States wins the release of 82 sailors by issuing a written apology to North Korea for spying on the Communist country. The apology was immediately retracted after their release.
• 1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world.
• 1972 – A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.
• 1972 – The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism.
• 1979 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
• 1982 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.
• 1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.
• 1990 – History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88% of Slovenia's population vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
• 2002 – A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.
• 2003 – PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234.
• 2004 – An 8.1 magnitude earthquake hits Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean.
• 2005 – Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashes shortly after takeoff killing 23 people.
• 2005 – Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.

Births

• 245 – Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra
• 1173 – Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1231)
• 1513 – Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (d. 1577)
• 1537 – King John III of Sweden (d. 1592)
• 1582 – Severo Bonini, Italian composer (d. 1663)
• 1597 – Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet (d. 1639)
• 1613 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish soldier (d. 1676)
• 1621 – Edmund Berry Godfrey, English magistrate (d. 1678)
• 1621 – Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, Lord Chancellor of England (d. 1682)
• 1689 – Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, French composer (d. 1755)
• 1732 – Richard Arkwright, English industrialist and inventor (d. 1792)
• 1743 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet (d. 1803)
• 1750 – King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (d. 1827)
• 1758 – Nathan Wilson U.S. Representative from New York (d. 1834)
• 1777 – Tsar Alexander I of Russia (d. 1825)
• 1790 – Jean François Champollion, French Egyptologist (d. 1832)
• 1804 – Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic (d. 1869)
• 1805 – Joseph Smith, Jr., American religious leader (d. 1844)
• 1819 – Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (d. 1889)
• 1822 – Wilhelm Bauer, German engineer (d. 1875)
• 1843 – Richard Conner, American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient (d. 1924)
• 1854 – Henry B. Guppy, British botanist (d. 1926)
• 1864 – Zorka of Montenegro, Princess of Serbia (d. 1890)
• 1867 – Madam C.J. Walker, American philanthropist and tycoon (d. 1919)
• 1878 – Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-born mechanical engineer (d. 1972)
• 1885 – Pierre Brissaud, French artist (d. 1964)
• 1891 – Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (d. 1956)
• 1900 – Otto Soglow, American comics artist (d. 1975)
• 1902 – Norman Maclean, American author (d. 1990)
• 1907 – Manuel Lopes, Cape Verdean writer and poet (d. 2005)
• 1907 – Avraham Stern, Polish-born Zionist leader (d. 1942)
• 1908 – Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born, Canadian portrait photographer (d. 2002)
• 1910 – Kurt Meyer, German SS officer (d. 1961)
• 1911 – Niels Kaj Jerne, English-born immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1994)
• 1911 – James Gregory, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1916 – Dino Risi, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of Germany
• 1918 – José Greco, Italian-born flamenco dancer (d. 2001)
• 1918 – Kumar Pallana, Indian-born American actor
• 1919 – Kenneth M. Taylor, American pilot (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Guy Beaulne, French Canadian actor and theatre director (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician (d. 2001)
• 1923 – Onofre Marimón, Argentine racing driver (d. 1954)
• 1923 – Günther Schifter, Austrian music journalist
• 1923 – Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
• 1923 – James Stockdale, American admiral (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Duncan Hallas, British political figure
• 1925 – Rayner Unwin, British book publisher (d. 2000)
• 1926 – Robert Bly, American poet
• 1928 – Chronis Aidonidis, Greek singer
• 1929 – Chet Baker, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1988)
• 1929 – Dick Weber, American professional tenpin bowler (d. 2005)
• 1931 – Ronnie Schell, American actor
• 1933 – Akihito, Emperor of Japan
• 1935 – Paul Hornung, American football player
• 1935 – Esther Phillips, American singer (d. 1984)
• 1936 – Frederic Forrest, American actor
• 1937 – Barney Rosenzweig, American television producer
• 1937 – Edward Irving Wortis, American author
• 1938 – Bob Kahn, American Internet pioneer
• 1940 – Jorma Kaukonen, American musician (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna)
• 1940 – Robert Labine, French-Canadian politician
• 1940 – Eugene Record, American singer (The Chi-Lites) (d. 2005)
• 1941 – Tim Hardin, American musician (d. 1980)
• 1941 – Serge Reding, Belgian weightlifter (d. 1975)
• 1942 – John Peterman, American fashion designer
• 1943 – Mikhail Gromov, Russian-born mathematician
• 1943 – Harry Shearer, American actor
• 1943 – Ron Allen, American baseball player
• 1943 – Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (d. 1987)
• 1943 – Silvia Sommerlath, Queen of Sweden
• 1944 – Wesley Clark, American military officer
• 1945 – Ron Bushy, American drummer (Iron Butterfly)
• 1946 – Edita Gruberova, Slovak operatic soprano
• 1946 – Susan Lucci, American actress
• 1947 – Graham Bonnet, English musician
• 1948 – Jack Ham, American football player
• 1948 – Leslie Moonves, American television executive
• 1949 – Adrian Belew, American musician
• 1950 – Michael C. Burgess, American politician
• 1950 – Ilchi Lee, Korean educator and author
• 1951 – Anthony Phillips, British musician (Genesis)
• 1952 – William Kristol, American political commentator
• 1953 – Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia
• 1956 – Michele Alboreto, Italian Formula one driver (d. 2001)
• 1957 – Dan Bigras, Canadian singer
• 1957 – Trisha Goddard, English television presenter
• 1958 – Victoria Williams, American singer
• 1958 – Joan Severance, American actress
• 1958 – Dave Murray, English musician (Iron Maiden)
• 1959 – Geoff Willis, British engineer
• 1961 – Carol Smillie, British television personality
• 1961 – Ezzat el Kamhawi, Egyptian novelist.
• 1962 – Bertrand Gachot, Belgian racing driver
• 1962 – Kang Je-gyu, South Korean film director
• 1962 – Great Muta, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1963 – Jim Harbaugh, American football player
• 1963 – Donna Tartt, American author
• 1964 – Eddie Vedder, American musician (Pearl Jam)
• 1967 – Carla Bruni, Italian-French model and singer
• 1967 – Tim Fountain, British playwright
• 1967 – Otis Grant, Jamaican-Canadian Professional Boxer
• 1968 – Quincy Jones III, Swedish-American musician
• 1969 – Greg Biffle, American racecar driver
• 1969 – Martha Byrne, American actress
• 1969 – Rob Pelinka, American sports agent
• 1970 – Catriona LeMay Doan, Canadian speed skater
• 1970 – Raymont Harris, American football player
• 1971 – Corey Haim, Canadian actor
• 1971 – Masayoshi Yamazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1971 – Michalis Klokidis, Greek footballer
• 1971 – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite
• 1971 – Wim Vansevenant, Belgian cyclist
• 1974 – Agustín Delgado, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1975 – Sky Lopez, American actress
• 1975 – Vadim Sharifijanov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1976 – Brad Lidge, American baseball player
• 1976 – Dimitris Mavrogenidis, Greek footballer
• 1976 – Jamie Noble, American professional wrestler
• 1977 – Alge Crumpler, American football player
• 1977 – Jari Mäenpää, Finnish guitarist and singer
• 1977 – Paul Shirley, American basketball player
• 1978 – Andra Davis, American football player
• 1978 – Esthero, Canadian musician and singer
• 1978 – Jodie Marsh, British glamour model
• 1978 – Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1978 – Estella Warren, Canadian model and actress
• 1979 – Summer Altice, American model and actress
• 1979 – Scott Gomez, American ice hockey player
• 1979 – Holly Madison, American model
• 1979 – Kenny Miller, Scottish football player
• 1980 – Cody Ross, American baseball player
• 1981 – Beth, Spanish singer
• 1981 – Yuriorkis Gamboa, Cuban boxer
• 1981 – Maritza Correia, American swimmer
• 1982 – Brad Nelson, American baseball player
• 1983 – Michael Chopra, English footballer
• 1983 – Hanley Ramírez, Dominican baseball player
• 1983 – Carlos Jimenez, Spanish ice hockey player
• 1985 – Harry Judd, British drummer (McFly)
• 1985 – Luke O'Loughlin, Australian actor
• 1988 – Eri Kamei, Japanese singer
• 1990 – Anna Maria Perez de Taglé, American actress, model, and singer

Deaths

• 668 – Mor Gabriel, Syriac Orthodox Saint (b. 594)
• 679 – Dagobert II, King of Austrasia (b. c. 650)
• 910 – Naum of Preslav, Bulgarian scholar
• 918 – Conrad I of Germany
• 1230 – Berengaria of Navarre, queen of Richard I of England
• 1556 – Nicholas Udall, English playwright (b. 1504)
• 1568 – Roger Ascham, tutor of Elizabeth I of England
• 1575 – Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese warrior (hanged) (b. 1531)
• 1588 – Henry I, Duke of Guise, French Catholic leader (b. 1550)
• 1631 – Michael Drayton, English poet (b. 1563)
• 1646 – François Maynard, French poet (b. 1582)
• 1652 – John Cotton, English-born founder of Boston, Massachusetts (b. 1585)
• 1675 – Caesar, duc de Choiseul, French marshal and diplomat (b. 1602)
• 1722 – Pierre Varignon, French mathematician (b. 1654)
• 1771 – Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, Canadian saint (b. 1701)
• 1761 – Alestair Ruadh MacDonnell, Scottish Jacobite spy
• 1779 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, British admiral and politician (b. 1724)
• 1789 – Charles-Michel de l'Épée, French philanthropist (b. 1712)
• 1793 – Johann Adolph Hasse, German composer (b. 1699)
• 1793 – Antoine François Prévost, French author and novelist (b. 1697)
• 1795 – Henry Clinton, British general (b. 1730)
• 1805 – Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and naturalist (b. 1723)
• 1834 – Thomas Malthus, English demographer and economist (b. 1766)
• 1846 – Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent, French naturalist (b. 1780)
• 1902 – Frederick Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1821)
• 1912 – Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist (b. 1850)
• 1931 – Wilson Bentley, American scientist (b. 1865)
• 1939 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch aircraft manufacturer (b. 1890)
• 1946 – John A. Sampson, American gynecologist (b. 1873)
• 1948 – Akira Muto, Japanese army commander (hanged) (b. 1883)
• 1948 – Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan (hanged) (b. 1884)
• 1953 – Lavrenty Beria, Soviet Communist leader (b. 1899)
• 1954 – René Iché, French sculptor (b. 1897)
• 1961 – Kurt Meyer, German SS officer (b. 1910)
• 1970 – Charles Ruggles, American actor (b. 1886)
• 1971 – Pasha Hristova, Bulgarian singer (b. 1946)
• 1972 – Andrei Tupolev, Soviet aircraft designer (b. 1888)
• 1973 – Charles Atlas, Italian-born bodybuilder (b. 1892)
• 1973 – Irna Phillips, American television writer, director, and producer (b. 1901)
• 1979 – Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Jack Webb, American actor, producer, and director (b. 1920)
• 1983 – Colin Middleton, Northern Irish artist (b. 1910)
• 1984 – Joan Lindsay, Australian author (b. 1896)
• 1992 – Vincent Fourcade, French American interior designer and socialite (b. 1934)
• 1992 – Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (Funkadelic) (b. 1950)
• 1994 – Sebastian Shaw, English actor (b. 1905)
• 1997 – Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (b. 1908)
• 1998 – Michelle Thomas, American actress (b. 1968)
• 2000 – Billy Barty, American actor (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Victor Borge, Danish-born comedian and pianist (b. 1909)
• 2000 – Noor Jehan, Pakistani singer and actress (b. 1926)
• 2001 – Bola Ige, Nigerian politician (b. 1930)
• 2004 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Lajos Baróti, Hungarian footballer and coach (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Norman D. Vaughan, American polar explorer and dogsled driver (b. 1905)
• 2006 – Charlie Drake, English comedian (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Timothy J. Tobias, American composer and musician (b. 1952)
• 2006 – Marilyn Waltz, American actress and Playboy Playmate (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Johnny Vincent, English footballer (b. 1947)
• 2007 – William Francis Ganong, American physiologist (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Michael Kidd, American film and stage choreographer (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist and composer (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Robert L. Howard, highly decorated officer of the United States Army (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Edward Schillebeeckx, Belgian Roman Catholic theologian (b. 1914)
• 2009 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Tibetan senior official (b. 1910)

Holidays and observances

• Roman festivals – Larentalia, a festival in honour of Larenta
• R.C. Saints – O Emmanuel, John Cantius ; Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland
• Japan – The Emperor's Birthday – Birthday of Akihito, the current Emperor of Japan
• Ancient Latvia – Ziemassvētki held
• Sweden – Birthday of Queen Silvia, an official flag day
• Oaxaca – Night of the Radishes
• Secular humanism (American) – HumanLight observed
• Saint Abassad, in the Coptic Church
• Saint Psote, in the Coptic Church
• Festivus, a holiday made popular by the sitcom Seinfeld.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
~ Joseph Brackett ~

• selected by Kalki

2005

Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way . . . out of that a new holiday was born . . . a Festivus for the rest of us! ~ Jerry Stiller as "Frank Costanza" in Seinfeld (Festivus holiday)

• proposed by UDScott

2006

The final frontier is perhaps the most difficult, but it's also the most important — and that's the frontier of the human spirit. For too long, people have allowed differences on the surface — differences of color, ethnicity, and gender — to tear apart the common bonds they share. And the human spirit suffers as a result.
Imagine a world in which we saw beyond the lines that divide us, and celebrated our differences, instead of hiding from them. Imagine a world in which we finally recognized that, fundamentally, we are all the same. And imagine if we allowed that new understanding to build relations between people and between nations. ~ Wesley Clark

• proposed by Kalki

2007

I think we should be very clear on this... this country was founded on the principles of the Enlightenment... It was the idea that people could talk, reason, have dialogue, discuss the issues. It wasn't founded on the idea that someone would get struck by a divine inspiration and know everything right from wrong. I mean, people who founded this country had religion, they had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, in dialogue, in civil discourse. We can’t lose that in this country. We've got to get it back. ~ Wesley Clark (born 23 December 1944)

• proposed by Kalki

2008

Working together, we can build a world in which the rule of law — not the rule of force — governs relations between states. A world in which leaders respect the rights of their people, and nations seek peace, not destruction or domination. And neither we nor anyone else should live in fear ever again. ~ Wesley Clark

• proposed by Kalki

2009 

Rank or add further suggestions…

Ranking system:

4 : Excellent - should definitely be used.

3 : Very Good - strong desire to see it used.

2 : Good - some desire to see it used.

1 : Acceptable - but with no particular desire to see it used.

0 : Not acceptable - not appropriate for use as a quote of the day.

Suggestions

It's a Festivus miracle! ~ Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, celebrating this "holiday" on this date.

• 2 ~ UDScott 21:51, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
• 1 - --Mister Six 11:10, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 20:15, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change. ~ Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

• 3 Zarbon 05:52, 8 December 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 18:26, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

No laws, however stringent, can make the idle industrious, the thriftless provident, or the drunken sober. ~ Samuel Smiles

• 4 Zarbon 05:52, 8 December 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 18:26, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

"Heaven helps those who help themselves" is a well tired maxim, embodying in a small compass the results of a vast human experience. The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national vigour and strength. ~ Samuel Smiles

• 3 Zarbon 05:52, 8 December 2008 (UTC)
• 4 Kalki (talk · contributions) 07:22, 13 December 2009 (UTC) * 3 Kalki 18:26, 21 December 2008 (UTC) but would extend this to end with:

Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates. Whatever is done for men or classes, to a certain extent takes away the stimulus and necessity of doing for themselves; and where men are subjected to over-guidance and over-government, the inevitable tendency is to render them comparatively helpless.

Nothing could be a more serious violation of public trust than to consciously make a war based on false claims. ~ Wesley Clark

• 2 Zarbon 05:52, 8 December 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 18:26, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. ~ Samuel Smiles

• 3 Kalki 18:26, 21 December 2008 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
• 2 Zarbon 15:01, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Articles detailing events that are related to December 23. This may include the release of games or systems, the founding of a video game related company or some other important event.

From Familypedia

December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 8 days remaining until the end of the year.

It is the first day of the Winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern Hemisphere, the last day of the spring season.

Events

• 1493 - Georg Alt's German translation of Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle is published.
• 1783 - George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis.
• 1793 - The Battle of Savenay, decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in Revolt in the Vendée during the French Revolution.
• 1823 - The poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (AKA The Night Before Christmas) is published in the Sentinel.
• 1888 - Vincent van Gogh cuts off the lower part of his left ear, takes it to a brothel, and gives it to a prostitute named Rachel.
• 1911 - Stanislavski and Craig's seminal production of Hamlet opened at the Moscow Arts Theatre.
• 1913 - The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve.
• 1914 - World War I: The Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo.
• 1916 - World War I: Battle of Magdhaba - Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
• 1921 - Visva-Bharati University inaugurated.
• 1936 - Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1937 - First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.
• 1938 - South Africa Discovery of the first modern coelacanth.
• 1940 - World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis (Υ-2) sinks the Italian motor ship Antonietta.
• 1941 - World War II: Japanese Imperial Army occupied Wake Island.
• 1947 - The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.
• 1948 - Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East were executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.
• 1954 - The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston.
• 1958 - Dedication of Tokyo Tower, world's highest self-supporting iron tower.
• 1972 - The Nicaraguan capital of Managua is struck by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake, killing more than 10,000.
• 1972 - The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism.
• 1972 - The Pittsburgh Steelers win their first ever post-season NFL game, defeating the Oakland Raiders 13-7, on a last second play that would become known as The Immaculate Reception.
• 1979 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
• 1982 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach.
• 1986 - Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California and becomes the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world.
• 1990 - History of Slovenia: 88% of Slovenia's population vote for independence from Yugoslavia in a referendum.
• 2002 - A MQ-1 Predator was shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.
• 2004 - Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean is hit by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake.
• 2005 - Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashed shortly after takeoff killing 23 people.
• 2005 - Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18th attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.

Births

• 245- Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra
• 1173 - Louis I (d. 1231)
• 1513 - Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (d. 1577)
• 1537 - King John III of Sweden (d. 1592)
• 1582 - Severo Bonini, Italian composer (d. 1663)
• 1597 - Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet (d. 1639)
• 1613 - Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish soldier (d. 1676)
• 1621 - Edmund Berry Godfrey, English magistrate (d. 1678)
• 1621 - Heneage Finch, Lord Chancellor of England (d. 1682)
• 1689 - Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, French composer (d. 1755)
• 1732 - Richard Arkwright, English industrialist and inventor (d. 1792)
• 1743 - Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet (d. 1803)
• 1750 - King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (d. 1827)
• 1777 - Tsar Alexander I of Russia (d. 1825)
• 1790 - Jean François Champollion, French Egyptologist (d. 1832)
• 1804 - Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic (d. 1869)
• 1805 - Joseph Smith, American founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1844)
• 1819 - Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (d. 1889)
• 1822 - Wilhelm Bauer, German engineer (d. 1875)
• 1843 - Richard Conner, American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient (d. 1924)
• 1854 - Henry B. Guppy, British botanist (d. 1926)
• 1864 - Zorka of Montenegro, Princess of Serbia (d. 1890)
• 1867 - Madam C.J. Walker, American philanthropist and tycoon(d. 1919)
• 1878 - Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-born mechanical engineer (d. 1972)
• 1885 - Pierre Brissaud, French artist (d. 1964)
• 1891 - Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (d. 1956)
• 1900 - Otto Soglow, American comics artist (d. 1975)
• 1902 - Norman Maclean, American author (d. 1990)
• 1907 - Avraham Stern, Polish-born Zionist leader (d. 1942)
• 1908 - Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born, Canadian portrait photographer (d. 2002)
• 1911 - Niels Kaj Jerne, English-born immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1994)
• 1911 - James Gregory, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1918 - Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of Germany
• 1918 - José Greco, Italian-born flamenco dancer (d. 2001)
• 1921 - Guy Beaulne, French Canadian actor and theatre director (d. 2001)
• 1922 - Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician (d. 2001)
• 1923 - Günther Schifter, Austrian music journalist
• 1923 - Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
• 1923 - James Stockdale, U.S. Navy admiral (d. 2005)
• 1923 - Onofre Marimón, Argentine racing driver (d. 1954)
• 1926 - Robert Bly, American poet
• 1928 - Chronis Aidonidis, Greek singer
• 1929 - Chet Baker, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1988)
• 1931 - Ronnie Schell, American actor
• 1933 - Akihito, Emperor of Japan
• 1935 - Paul Hornung, American football player
• 1935 - Esther Phillips, American singer (d. 1984)
• 1936 - Frederic Forrest, American actor
• 1937 - Barney Rosenzweig, American television producer
• 1938 - Bob Kahn, American Internet pioneer
• 1940 - Jorma Kaukonen, American musician
• 1940 - Robert Labine, former mayor of old city of Gatineau
• 1940 - Eugene Record, American singer (The Chi-Lites) (d. 2005)
• 1941 - Tim Hardin, American musician (d. 1980)
• 1942 - John Peterman, American fashion designer
• 1943 - Mikhail Gromov, Russian-born mathematician
• 1943 - Harry Shearer, American actor
• 1943 - Ron Allen, baseball player
• 1943 - Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (d. 1987)
• 1943 - Silvia Sommerlath, Queen of Sweden
• 1944 - Wesley Clark, U.S. general and NATO Supreme Allied Commander
• 1945 - Ron Bushy, American drummer (Iron Butterfly)
• 1946 - Edita Gruberova, Slovak operatic soprano
• 1946 - Susan Lucci, American actress
• 1947 – Heikki Lahtinen, Finnish race walker
• 1948 - Jack Ham, American football player
• 1949 - Adrian Belew, American musician
• 1950 - Michael C. Burgess, American politician
• 1950 - Ilchi Lee, Korean educator and author
• 1951 - Anthony Phillips, British guitarist (Genesis)
• 1952 - William Kristol, American political commentator
• 1956 - Dave Murray, English guitarist (Iron Maiden)
• 1956 - Michele Alboreto, Italian Formula one driver (d. 2001)
• 1957 - Dan Bigras, Canadian singer
• 1957 - Trisha Goddard, English television presenter
• 1958 - Victoria Williams, American singer
• 1958 - Joan Severance, American actress
• 1959 - Geoff Willis, British engineer
• 1961 - Carol Smillie, British television personality
• 1962 - Keiji Muto, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1962 - Bertrand Gachot, Belgian racing driver
• 1963 - Jim Harbaugh, American football player
• 1963 - Donna Tartt, American author
• 1964 - Eddie Vedder, American musician (Pearl Jam)
• 1968 - Carla Bruni, Italian-French model, songwriter and singer
• 1969 - Martha Byrne, American actress
• 1970 - Catriona LeMay Doan, Canadian speed skater
• 1970 - Raymont Harris, American football player
• 1971 - Corey Haim, Canadian actor
• 1971 - Masayoshi Yamazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1971 - Michalis Klokidis, Greek footballer
• 1971 - Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite
• 1974 - Agustín Delgado, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1975 - Sky Lopez, American actress
• 1975 - Vadim Sharifijanov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1976 - Brad Lidge, American baseball player
• 1976 - Dimitris Mavrogenidis, Greek footballer
• 1976 - Jamie Noble, American professional wrestler
• 1977 - Alge Crumpler, American football player
• 1977 - Jari Mäenpää, Finnish guitarist and singer
• 1977 - Paul Shirley, American basketball player
• 1978 - Andra Davis, American football player
• 1978 - Esthero, Canadian musician and singer
• 1978 - Jodie Marsh, British pornographic model
• 1978 - Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1978 - Estella Warren, Canadian model and actress
• 1979 - Summer Altice, American model and actress
• 1979 - Scott Gomez, American ice hockey player
• 1981 - Beth, Spanish singer
• 1983 - Michael Chopra, English footballer
• 1983 - Hanley Ramírez, Dominican baseball player
• 1985 - Harry Judd, British drummer (McFly)
• 1985 - Luke O'Loughlin, Australian actor
• 1988 - Eri Kamei, Japanese singer
• 1990 - Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress, model, and singer

Deaths

• 910 - Naum of Preslav, Bulgarian scholar
• 913 - Conrad of Franconia
• 918 - Conrad I of Germany
• 1230 - Berengaria of Navarre, queen of Richard I of England
• 1556 - Nicholas Udall, English playwright (b. 1504)
• 1568 - Roger Ascham, tutor of Elizabeth I of England
• 1575 - Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese warrior (hanged) (b. 1531)
• 1588 - Henry I, French Catholic leader (b. 1550)
• 1631 - Michael Drayton, English poet (b. 1563)
• 1646 - François Maynard, French poet (b. 1582)
• 1652 - John Cotton, founder of Boston, Massachusetts (b. 1585)
• 1675 - Caesar, French marshal and diplomat (b. 1602)
• 1722 - Pierre Varignon, French mathematician (b. 1654)
• 1771 - Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, Canadian saint (b. 1701)
• 1761 - Alestair Ruadh MacDonnell, Scottish Jacobite spy
• 1779 - Augustus Hervey, British admiral and politician (b. 1724)
• 1789 - Charles-Michel de l'Épée, French philanthropist and developer of signed French (b. 1712)
• 1793 - Johann Adolph Hasse, German composer (b. 1699)
• 1793 - Antoine François Prévost, French author and novelist (b. 1697)
• 1795 - Henry Clinton, British general (b. 1730)
• 1805 - Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and naturalist (b. 1723)
• 1834 - Thomas Malthus, English demographer and economist (b. 1766)
• 1846 - Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent, French naturalist (b. 1780)
• 1902 - Frederick Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1821)
• 1912 - Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist (b. 1850)
• 1931 - Wilson Bentley, American scientist
• 1939 - Anthony Fokker, Dutch aircraft manufacturer (b. 1890)
• 1946 - John A. Sampson, American gynecologist (b. 1873)
• 1948 - Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan (hanged) (b. 1884)
• 1948 - Akira Muto, Japanese army commander (hanged) (b. 1883)
• 1953 - Lavrenty Beria, Soviet Communist leader (b. 1899)
• 1954 - René Iché, French sculptor (b. 1897)
• 1970 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (b. 1886)
• 1972 - Andrei Tupolev, Soviet aircraft designer (b. 1888)
• 1973 - Charles Atlas, Italian-born bodybuilder (b. 1892)
• 1973 - Irna Phillips, American television writer, director, and producer (b. 1901)
• 1979 - Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (b. 1898)
• 1982 - Jack Webb, American actor, producer, and director (b. 1920)
• 1983 - Colin Middleton, Northern Irish artist (b. 1910)
• 1992 - Vincent Fourcade, French American interior designer and socialite (b. 1934)
• 1992 - Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (Funkadelic) (b. 1950)
• 1994 - Sebastian Shaw, English actor (b. 1905)
• 1997 - Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (b. 1908)
• 2000 - Noor Jehan, Mallika-e-Tarranum (Queen of Melody) (b. 1926)
• 2000 - Billy Barty, American actor (b. 1924)
• 2000 - Victor Borge, Danish-born comedian and pianist (b. 1909)
• 2004 - P. V. Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India (b. 1921)
• 2005 - Norman D. Vaughan, polar explorer and dogsled driver (b. 1905)
• 2005 - Lajos Baróti, Hungarian footballer and coach (b. 1914)
• 2006 - Charlie Drake, English comedian (b. 1925)
• 2006 - Marilyn Waltz, American actress, model & Playboy Playmate (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances

• Roman festivals - Larentalia, a festival in honour of Larenta
• R.C. Saints - O Emmanuel, John Cantius ; Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland
• Japan - The Emperor's Birthday - Birthday of Akihito, the current Emperor of Japan
• Ancient Latvia - Ziemassvētki held
• Sweden - Birthday of Queen Silvia, an official flag day
• Oaxaca - Night of the Radishes
• Secular humanism (American) - HumanLight observed
• Saint Abassad, in the Coptic Church
• Saint Psote, in the Coptic Church
• Festivus, a holiday made popular by the sitcom Seinfeld.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada