Today in History

On this Day - 12th December:
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY '"Ol' Blue Eyes".'
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1915 - Frank Sinatra

Born: Francis Albert Sinatra - December 12, 1915 - Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.
Died May 14, 1998 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Frank Sinatra American singer, actor and producer, who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century.
He was the first singer to encounter 'pop hysteria', and his single 'My Way' holds the UK longevity record of 136 weeks on the charts.
Sinatra died on 14th May 1998 after a heart attack.

Frank Sinatra - Wikipedia

 

On this Day - 14th December:
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POPEWATCH:

• 867 Adrian II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
• 872 John VIII elected as Catholic Pope
• 1124 Theobald Buccapecus elected Pope Coelestinus II (he refuses)

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1911 Norwegian Roald Amundsen
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The Norwegian's expedition is the 1st to reach the South Pole.
He beats his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott to the prize and was one of the great figures in polar exploration.

Amundsen's South Pole expedition - Wikipedia

 

On this Day - 14th December:
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TESTWATCH:

• 1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1971 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1978 - China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
• 1978 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1979 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1980 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

 

On this Day - 14th December:
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1971 - Led Zeppelin



Led Zeppelin IV was riding high in the Top 10 of the US album charts. In 2006, the album was rated No.1 on Classic Rock magazine's '100 Greatest British Albums' poll, and No.1 in a poll conducted by Guitar World.
The album has now sold over 23 million copies in the US.
The typeface for the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven, printed on the inside sleeve of the album, was Jimmy Page's contribution.
He found it in an old arts and crafts magazine from the late 19th century.
He thought the lettering was interesting and arranged for a designer to create a whole alphabet.

 

Today in History December 14th

2012 The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States

20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven years old, and six adult staff members

 

On this Day - 15th December:
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1944 Bandleader Major Glenn Miller, lost over the English Channel



Legendary bandleader Glenn Miller disappears over the English Channel

 

On this Day - 16th December:
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EARTH WATCH:

• 1631 Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts, burying many villages under lava flows and killing around 3,000 people
• 1707 Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan
• 1811 Earthquake hits New Madrid, Missouri, causing widespread damage
• 1857 Earthquake in Naples, Italy

TEST WATCH:

1920 8.5 earthquake rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000
1964 US performs nuclear test at Pacific Ocean
1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1974 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1974 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh, Semipalitinsk USSR

 

On this Day - 16th December:

1775 Englishman Richard Arkwright
= Industrialist and InventorRichard Arkwright
... receives a patent.
Lewis Paul had invented a machine for carding in 1748. Arkwright made improvements to this machine and in 1775 took out a patent for a new carding engine, which converted raw cotton to a continuous skein prior to spinning.

Richard Arkwright - Wikipedia

 

On this Day - 16th December:

1918 Jack Dempsey KOs Carl Morris in 14 seconds

Heavyweight Boxing ChampionJack Dempsey
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1927 Australian cricket's batting maestro Don Bradman makes his 1st-class debut for NSW v South Australia at the Adelaide Oval finishing Day 1 on 65 not out
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Cricket LegendDonald Bradman
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1930 Golfer Bobby Jones is the first to win the James E. Sullivan Award (best US amateur athlete)
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GolferBobby Jones
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1940 Joe Louis KOs Al McCoy in 6 for heavyweight boxing title in Chicago

Boxer and World Heavyweight ChampionJoe Louis
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1958 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid's French midfielder Raymond Kopa

wins award for best football player in Europe ahead of German winger Helmut Rahn and French forward Just Fontaine
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1973 O.J. Simpson becomes 1st NFL running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season

NFL Running Back O.J. Simpson
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2019 Drew Brees breaks Peyton Manning's NFL record (539) for career touchdown passes as New Orleans Saints rout Indianapolis Colts, 34-7; Brees 29 of 30 for 307 yards & 4 TDs for record 96.7% pass completion

NFL QuarterbackDrew Brees

 

On this Day - 16th December:

1950 Child star Shirley Temple announces her retirement from films aged 22
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . Actress and DiplomatShirley Temple

Shirley Temple - Wikipedia

 

On this Day - 16th December:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

1945 - Tony Hicks

Tony Hicks, guitarist with British pop/rock group The Hollies who have scored over 30 top 40 hits, including 'Just One Look', 'Bus Stop', 'Carrie Anne', and later 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' and 'The Air That I Breathe'.
He has been a member of the British rock/pop band since 1963, and as such was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.


1946 - Benny Andersson

Benny Andersson, Swedish musician, composer. In October 1964 he joined the Hep Stars as keyboardist and they made a breakthrough in March 1965 with their hit 'Cadillac', eventually becoming the most celebrated of the Swedish 1960s pop bands. With ABBA they scored the UK 1974 No.1 single 'Waterloo', followed by 8 other UK No.1 singles and 9 UK No.1 albums and the 1977 US No.1 single 'Dancing Queen'.
Andersson was co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!. For the 2008 film version of Mamma Mia!, he worked also as an executive producer. Since 2001, he is active with his own band Benny Anderssons orkester.

 

On this Day - 16th December:
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1991 - Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker filed a lawsuit against McDonald's in Canada seeking $14million for it's alleged use of an imitation of his voice.
The song 'The Twist' had been used on a French fries commercial.



2000 - LeAnn Rimes
The estranged father and former manager of LeAnn Rimes made embarrassing allegations during a legal battle involving millions of pounds. One fact told in court was that LeAnn paid her mother £6,700 every time she styled her hair before a show.



2013 - Miley Cyrus
It was reported that Miley Cyrus had insured her infamous tongue for $1 million.

A source told Heat magazine: "Miley's totally aware of how her tongue is getting more headlines than she is, and getting it insured is just part of her trademarked image. It's not the first time she's done something like this - when she first cut her hair short, she tried to get her new crop patented. She wanted it to become known as The Miley".

 

On this Day - 17th December:
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1538 Excommunication of King Henry VIII of England

Pope Paul III proclaimed the excommunication of King Henry VIII of England.
THE EXCOMMUNICATION OF KING HENRY VIII – Folia Magazine

 

On this Day - 17th December:
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• 1938 Discovery of nuclear fission

Nuclear fission was discovered in using uranium by chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann and physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch.
Meitner calculated that the energy released by each disintegration was approximately 200 megaelectronvolts, and Frisch observed this.

• 1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1970 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1977 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
• 1980 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1988 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

 

On this Day - 17th December:
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
1936 - Tommy Steele
English entertainer Tommy Steele. He is regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star and had the 1957 UK No.1 single 'Singing The Blues', plus over 20 other UK Top 40 singles.
The 1957 Tommy Steele Story was the first album by a UK act to reach No.1 in his native country.
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1939 - Eddie Kendricks
American singer Eddie Kendricks who with The Temptations had the 1971 US No.1 & UK No.8 single 'Just My Imagination' and the re-issued 'My Girl' which was a UK No.2 hit in 1992. Died on 5th October 1992
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1943 - David Dee
David Dee, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, (1968 UK No.1 single 'Legend Of Xanadu').
Dee died on 9th Jan 2009 at the age of 65, following a three-year battle with cancer. The singer, whose real name was David Harman, was originally a police officer and as a police cadet was called to the scene of the car crash that killed Eddie Cochrane during a UK tour in 1960

 

On this Day - 17th December:
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1968 - The Who
The Who played their Xmas party at the The Marquee Club London. Also on the bill was a new group called Yes. Members 15 shillings, ($1.80) or £1 ($2.40) on the night. Other acts appearing at the club this month included Joe Cocker, Free and Led Zeppelin
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1971 - David Bowie
David Bowie released his fourth album Hunky Dory, which was the first to feature all the members of the band that would become known the following year as Ziggy Stardust's Spiders From Mars. Two singles were released from the album: 'Changes' / 'Andy Warhol' in January 1972 and 'Life on Mars' which was released late June 1973. Bowie himself considered the album to be one of the most important in his career
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1973 - Slade
Slade were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Merry Xmas Everybody' their sixth chart topper. It has been released during every decade since 1973, and has been covered by numerous artists. In a 2007 poll, 'Merry Xmas Everybody' was voted the UK's most popular Christmas song

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1982 - Karen Carpenter
Karen Carpenter made her last live appearance with The Carpenters when she performed in Sherman, California. Carpenter suffered from anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder which was a little-known illness at the time. She died at the age of 32 from heart failure, on February 4, 1983 caused by complications related to her illness
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On this Day - 17th December:
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2004 - Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley agreed to sell 85% of his estate to businessman Robert Sillerman in a deal worth $100m.
Sillerman would run Presley's Memphis home Graceland, and own Elvis' name and the rights to all revenue from his music and films.
In the deal Lisa Marie would retain possession of Graceland and many of her father's ‘personal effects.’

2005 - U2
U2 had the top-grossing tour of 2005, according to Billboard.
More than three million people watched the band's sell-out 90-date Vertigo tour which grossed $260m (£146.6m).
The Eagles, took $117m (£66m) from 77 shows and Neil Diamond grossed more than $71m (£40m).
Kenny Chesney was fourth with $63m (£35.5m), Paul McCartney $60m (£33.8m), Rod Stewart with $49m (£27m), Elton John with $45.5m (£25.6m), Dave Matthews Band with $45m (£25.3m), Jimmy Buffett with $41m (£23m) and Green Day with $36.5m (£20.5m).

 

On this Day - 18th December:
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TESTWATCH:

• 1962 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
• 1964 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1966 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1968 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh, Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1969 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1978 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
• 1978 USSR performs underground nuclear test

 

On this Day - 18th December:
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1972 - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan starting filming his role in the American western drama Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid along with James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson.
Dylan composed the score and songs for the film, most prominently 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Wikipedia

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2000 - Justin Timberlake
*NSYNC fan Danielle McGuire filed suit against group member Justin Timberlake, alleging that he harassed and verbally assaulted her.
McGuire, 15, filed suit in St. Louis, Missouri, charging Timberlake with false imprisonment of a minor.
McGuire quietly dropped the matter (with none of the fanfare accompanying her initial complaint).
McGuire's lawyer, John S. Wallach, told us that the teen, "wanted no more publicity regarding this case.
She chose to drop the case...because it was personally difficult to go forward. Believe me, I wish it was still going. It was a good case." Of course, it's not hard to imagine that McGuire didn't exactly endear herself to fellow 'N Sync fans--a rabid lot--and her high school classmates by leveling charges against pop's leading heartthrob

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2000 - Kirsty MacColl
UK singer, songwriter Kirsty MacColl was killed in a boating accident off the coast of Mexico when a speedboat hit her. MacColl was aged 41.
McColl and her sons were diving at the Chankanaab reef, of Cozumel, Mexico in a designated diving area that watercraft were restricted from entering.
MacColl saw the boat coming before her sons did; Louis (then 13) was not in the boat's path, but Jamie (then 15) was.
She was able to push him out of the way (he sustained minor head and rib injuries) but in doing so, she was hit by the boat and killed instantly.



Kirsty MacColl - Wikipedia

 

On this Day - 19th December:
.HAPPY BIRTHDAY=
1915 - Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf, French cabaret singer, songwriter and actress and one of France's greatest international stars.
Her well known songs include, 'La Vie en rose' (1946), 'Non, je ne regrette rien' (1960),

and 'Hymne à l'amour' (1949).
After years of alcohol abuse Piaf died on 10 October 1963.
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Édith Piaf - Wikipedia
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1944 - Alvin Lee
Alvin Lee, guitar vocals, Ten Years After, (1970 UK No.10 single 'Love Like A Man').
Lee died on 6 March 2013. According to his website, he died from "unforeseen complications following a routine surgical procedure", he was 68.

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Alvin Lee - Wikipedia