Events 619 - Boniface V becomes Pope 1620 - Construction of Plymouth Colony begins 1823 - A Visit From St. Nicholas, attributed to Clement Moore, is first published 1909 - Albert I of Belgium becomes King 1913 - The Federal Reserve Act becomes law 1916 - The Battle of Magdhaba, Sinai peninsula 1947 - The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories. 1972 - Terry Bradshaw throws the Immaculate Reception pass "to" Franco Harris 1973 - A French Caravalle jet crashes in Morocco killing 106 1979 - Military units of the Soviet Union occupy Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. 1982 - The Environmental Protection Agency recommends the evacuation of Times Beach, Missouri due to dangerous levels of dioxin contamination. 1990 - Slovenia votes to secede from Yugoslavia 2012 - The Mayan calendar comes to an end. Births 1537 - John III of Sweden, King of Sweden 1582 - Severo Bonini, composer († 1663) 1790 - Jean François Champollion, egyptologist, deciphered the Rosetta Stone († 1832) 1805 - Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints († 1844) 1822 - Wilhelm Bauer, engineer († 1875) 1862 - Connie Mack, baseball executive († 1956) 1885 - Pierre Brissaud, French artist († 1964) 1891 - Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter/photographer († 1956) 1918 - Helmut Schmidt, German Bundeskanzler 1974-1982 1918 - José Greco, dancer († 2000) 1922 - Calder Willingham, writer († 1995) 1923 - James Stockdale, United States Navy admiral 1926 - Robert Bly, American poet 1933 - Akihito, Emperor of Japan 1935 - Paul Hornung, American football star 1940 - Jorma Kaukonen, musician 1943 - Silvia, Queen of Sweden 1944 - Wesley Clark, US General and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander 1946 - Susan Lucci, soap opera actress 1948 - Jack Ham, American football star 1956 - Dave Murray, musician (Iron Maiden) 1958 - Victoria Williams, singer 1961 - Carol Smillie, British television personality 1964 - Eddie Vedder, musician (Pearl Jam) 1970 - Catriona LeMay Doan, Canadian speed skater 1971 - Corey Haim, actor 1971 - Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite 1976 - Jacqlyn D., orthorectifier 1978 - Ken Hidaka, character in Weiss Kreuz Deaths 913 - Conrad of Franconia 1872 - Theophile Gautier, poet, novelist 1939 - Anthony Fokker, aircraft manufacturer 1948 - Hideki Tojo (Prime Minister of Japan), hanged for war crimes 1953 - Lavrenty Beria, Soviet Communist leader 1970 - Charles Ruggles, actor 1973 - Charles Atlas, bodybuilder 1973 - Irna Phillips, soap opera writer, director, producer 1979 - Peggy Guggenheim, art collector 1982 - Jack Webb, actor, producer, director 1992 - Eddie Hazel, guitarist, originally with Funkadelic 2000 - Victor Borge, Danish/Americann humorist and pianist 2000 - Billy Barty, actor Holidays and Observances Sweden - Birthday of Queen Silvia, an official flag day Roman Empire - Larentalia, a festival in honor of Larenta Ancient Latvia - Ziemassvetki held Seinfeld - The traditional day for Festivus. See Also: December 22 - December 24 - November 23 - January 23 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December\n
December 22 - December 24 - November 23 - January 23 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December\n