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December 12 leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 19 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
627 - Battle of Nineveh : A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh .1098 - First Crusade : Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan - Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism .1408 - Order of the Dragon : The Order of the Dragon was first created on December 12, 1408 by Emperor Sigismund , then King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje following the battle for possession of Bosnia .1781 - American Revolutionary War : Second Battle of Ushant - A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory French fleet.1812 - French invasion of Russia comes to an end.1862 - USS Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River , becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman .1897 - Belo Horizonte , the first planned city of Brazil , is founded.1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland .1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India .1914 - The largest one-day percentage drop in the history of Dow Jones Industrial Average , down 24.39%.1915 - President of the Republic of China , Yuan Shikai announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China .1917 - In Nebraska , Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.1925 - The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia .1936 - Xi'an Incident : The Generalissimo of the Republic of China , Chiang Kai-shek is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang .1937 - Panay incident : Japanese aircraft shell and sink US gunboat Panay Yangtze River in China .1939 - Winter War : Battle of Tolvajärvi - Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.1940 - World War II : Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square , Sheffield as a result of a German air raid.1941 - World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines . Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.1941 - World War II: USMC F4F "Wildcats" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island .
1941 - World War II: Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria . Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States . India declares war on Japan .
1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.1946 - A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.1948 - Malayan Emergency : Batang Kali Massacre - 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.1950 - Paula Ackerman , the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States , leads the congregation in her first services.1956 - Commencement of the Irish Republican Army 's Border Campaign .1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom .1964 - Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta becomes the first President of the Republic of Kenya .1969 - Strategia della tensione Piazza Fontana bombing - The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan , are bombed.1979 - Coup d'état of December Twelfth : South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha , alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee .1979 - President of Pakistan , Zia-ul-Haq , confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz Abdus Salam .
1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe .
1982 - Women's peace protest at Greenham Common - 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 km (9 mi) perimeter fence .1984 - Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya becomes the third president of Mauritania after a coup d'etat against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the latter was attending a summit. Taya was ousted in March 2005 by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall in another coup.1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander , Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army 's 101st Airborne Division .1988 - The Clapham Junction rail crash kills thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains - one of the worst train crashes in Britain.1991 - Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR .2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore 2006 - Peugeot produces its last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry , formerly a major centre of the British motor industry .
Births
1298 - Albert II of Austria (d. 1358 )1418 - Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463 )1574 - Anne of Denmark , queen consort of James I of England (d. 1619 )1610 - Saint Vasilije (d. 1671 )1659 - Francesco Galli-Bibiena , Italian architect/designer (d. 1739 )1712 - Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine , Austrian military leader (d. 1780 )1724 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood , British admiral (d. 1816 )1745 - John Jay , 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829 )1779 - Madeleine Sophie Barat , French saint (d. 1865 )1783 - Ner Alexander Middleswarth , American politician (d. 1865 )1786 - William L. Marcy , American statesman (d. 1857 )1791 - Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria , second wife of Napoleon (d. 1847 )1799 - Karl Briullov , Russian painter (d. 1852 )1805 - William Lloyd Garrison , American abolitionist (d. 1879 )1805 - Henry Wells , Founder of American Express (d. 1878 )
1806 - Stand Watie , American Confederate general (d. 1871 )1821 - Gustave Flaubert , French writer (d. 1880 )1845 - Bruce Price , American architect (d. 1903 )1849 - William Kissam Vanderbilt , member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1920 )1863 - Edvard Munch , Norwegian painter (d. 1944 )1864 - Paul Elmer More , American essayist (d. 1937 )1866 - Alfred Werner , Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1919 )1870 - Walter Benona Sharp , American oil baron (d. 1912 )1875 - Gerd von Rundstedt , German field marshal (d. 1953 )1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein , Olympic gold medalist (d. 1928 )1887 - Kurt Atterberg , Swedish composer (d. 1974 )1892 - Herman Potočnik aka Hermann Noordung, Slovenian rocket engineer (d. 1929 )1893 - Edward G. Robinson , American actor (d. 1973 )1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr. , American dancer (d. 1988 )1902 - Koloman Sokol , Slovak painter (d. 2003 )1903 - Dagmar Nordstrom , American composer (d. 1976 )1903 - Yasujirō Ozu , Japanese film director (d. 1963 )
1904 - Nicolas de Gunzburg , magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981 )1905 - Manès Sperber , Austrian-born writer (d. 1984 )1907 - Roy Douglas , English composer and orchestrator1909 - Karen Morley , American actress (d. 2003 )1914 - Patrick O'Brian , English author (d. 2000 )1915 - Frank Sinatra , American singer and actor (d. 1998 )1918 - Joe Williams , American singer (d. 1999 )1919 - Olivia Barclay , English astrologer (d. 2001 )1919 - Dan DeCarlo , American cartoonist (d. 2001 )
1920 - Fred Kida , American comics artist1923 - Bob Barker , American television game show host1923 - Ken Kavanagh , Australian racing driver
1924 - Ed Koch , Mayor of New York City1925 - Vladimir Shainsky , Soviet and Russian composer1925 - Ahmad Shamlou , Iranian poet (d. 2000 )
1927 - Robert Noyce , American inventor (d. 1990 )1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov , Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi , Japanese musician1929 - John Osborne , English dramatist (d. 1994 )
1930 - Bill Beutel , American journalist (d. 2006 )1931 - Lionel Blair , English actor and choreographer1932 - Bob Pettit , American basketball player1934 - Miguel de la Madrid , President of Mexico 1937 - Buford Pusser , American sheriff (d. 1974 )1938 - Connie Francis , American singer1940 - Sharad Pawar , Indian politician1940 - Dionne Warwick , American singer
1943 - Dickey Betts , American musician (The Allman Brothers Band )1943 - Grover Washington, Jr. , American saxophonist (d. 1999 )
1944 - Kenneth Cranham , Scottish actor1944 - Jean Doré , Canadian politician, mayor of Montreal
1945 - Tony Williams , American jazz drummer (d. 1997 )1946 - Emerson Fittipaldi , Brazilian race car driver and two-time F1 world champion 1946 - Paula Wagner , American film executive
1948 - Tom Wilkinson , English actor1949 - Bill Nighy , English actor1950 - Rajnikanth , Indian actor1950 - Billy Smith , Canadian ice hockey player1952 - Herb Dhaliwal , Canadian politician1952 - Cathy Rigby , American gymnast and actress
1953 - Bruce Kulick , American guitarist (Kiss )1954 - Liz Claman , American television anchor1955 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki , Greek businesswoman1956 - Johan van der Velde , Dutch cyclist1957 - Sheila E. , American musician1957 - Robert Lepage , French Canadian playwright
1958 - Sheree J. Wilson , American actress1962 - Tracy Austin , American tennis player1962 - Mike Golic , American football player
1963 - Ai Orikasa , Japanese voice actress and singer1964 - Sabu , American professional wrestler1964 - Haywood Jeffries , American football player1965 - Will Carling , English rugby union footballer1966 - Royce Gracie , Brazilian martial artist1966 - Kouichi Nagano , Japanese voice actor1967 - Yuzo Koshiro , Japanese composer1967 - Takenobu Mitsuyoshi , Japanese composer
1967 - John Randle , American football player
1968 - Kate Humble , English television presenter1968 - Rory Kennedy , American documentarian
1968 - Laurie Williams , Jamaican West Indies cricketer (d. 2002 )
1969 - Carrie Westcott , American model and actress1970 - Mädchen Amick , American actress1970 - Jennifer Connelly , American actress
1970 - Regina Hall , American actress
1972 - Nicky Eaden , English footballer1972 - Wilson Kipketer , Danish middle-distance runner
1972 - Kevin Parent , French Canadian singer and songwriter
1972 - Brandon Teena , American hate crime victim (d. 1993 )
1972 - Yeoryios Theodoridis , Greek sprinter
1972 - Hank Williams III , American musician, grandson of Hank Williams
1973 - William Hutton , American engineer1973 - Walter Otta , Argentine footballer
1974 - Nolberto Solano , Peruvian footballer1975 - Mayim Bialik , American actress1975 - Craig Moore , Australian footballer
1976 - Dan Hawkins , English guitarist (The Darkness )1976 - Lloyd Owusu , English/Ghanaian football player
1977 - Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn Dahm , American triplet Playboy 1977 - Bridget Hall , American supermodel
1977 - Orlando Hudson , American baseball player
1977 - Colin White , Canadian ice hockey player
1978 - Monica Barladeanu , Romanian actress1978 - Jennifer Rovero Playboy Playmate1978 - Evren Genis , Turkish composer
1979 - Garrett Atkins , American baseball player1979 - Nate Clements , American football player
1979 - Sharin Foo , Danish singer and bassist
1981 - Ronnie Brown , American football player1981 - Shane Costa , American baseball player
1981 - Pedro Ríos , Spanish footballer
1981 - Jeret Peterson , American aerial skier
1981 - Yuvraj Singh , Indian cricketer
1981 - Stephen Warnock , English footballer
1982 - Dmitry Tursunov , Russian tennis player1983 - Katrina Elam , American singer1984 - Daniel Agger , Danish footballer1986 - Perparim Hetemaj , Finnish footballer1986 - Thomas Wansey , English actor
1990 - Victor Moses , an English footballer of Nigerian descent1991 - Daniel Magder , Canadian actor
Deaths
884 - Carloman, King of the West Franks 1212 - Geoffrey, Archbishop of York 1569 - Metropolitan Philip of Moscow (b. 1507 )1574 - Selim II , Ottoman Sultan (b. 1524 )1586 - Stefan Batory , King of Poland (b. 1533 )1685 - John Pell , English mathematician (b. 1610 )1751 - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke , English statesman and philosopher (b. 1678 )1754 - Wu Jingzi , Chinese writer (b. 1701 )1766 - Johann Christoph Gottsched , German writer (b. 1700 )1789 - John Ponsonby , Irish politician (b. 1713 )1790 - Mikhail Shcherbatov , Russian philosopher and writer (b. 1733 )1817 - Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I of Ethiopia , (b. about 1751)1843 - King William I of the Netherlands , (b. 1772 )1858 - Jacques Viger , antiquarian and archeologist, first mayor of Montreal (b. 1787 )1889 - Robert Browning , English poet (b. 1812 )1889 - Viktor Bunyakovsky , Russian mathematician (b. 1804 )
1894 - Sir John Thompson , fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845 )1913 - Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (b. 1844 )1923 - Raymond Radiguet , French author (b. 1903 )1926 - Jean Richepin , French poet (b. 1849 )1929 - Charles Goodnight , American cattle baron (b. 1836 )1934 - Thorleif Haug , Norwegian Nordic skier (b. 1894 )1939 - Douglas Fairbanks , American actor (b. 1883 )1941 - Cesar Basa , Philippine Air Force and World War II hero (b. 1915 )1951 - Mildred Bailey , American jazz singer (b. 1907 )1952 - Bedřich Hrozný , Czech orientalist and linguist (b. 1879 )1963 - Yasujiro Ozu , Japanese film director (b. 1903 )1968 - Tallulah Bankhead , American actress (b. 1902 )1970 - Doris Blackburn , Australian politician (b. 1889 )1971 - David Sarnoff , Russian-born American General Manager of RCA (b. 1891 )1976 - Jack Cassidy , American actor (b. 1927 )1976 - Vinko Zganec , Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890 )
1977 - Lady Spencer Churchill , wife of Winston Churchill (b. 1885 )1980 - Jean Lesage , politician, premier of Quebec (b. 1912 )1985 - Anne Baxter , American actress (b. 1923 )1985 - Ian Stewart , Scottish musician (b. 1938 )
1987 - Enrique Jorrín , Cuban musician and composer (b. 1926 )1988 - Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano , American Mafia figure (b. 1917 )1992 - Suzanne Lilar , Belgian essayist, novelist and playwright (b. 1901 )1993 - József Antall , Hungarian politician (b. 1932 )1994 - Stuart Roosa , American astronaut (b. 1933 )1996 - Vance Packard , American author (b. 1914 )1997 - Yevgeniy Landis , Russian mathematician (b. 1921 )1998 - Lawton Chiles , U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida (b. 1930 )1998 - Marco Denevi , Argentine writer (b. 1922 )
1998 - Mo Udall , American politician (b. 1922 )
1999 - Paul Cadmus , American artist (b. 1904 )1999 - Joseph Heller , American author (b. 1923 )
2000 - George Montgomery , American actor (b. 1916 )2001 - Jean Richard , French actor (b. 1921 )2002 - Dee Brown , American author (b. 1908 )2002 - Brad Dexter , American actor (b. 1917 )
2002 - Jay Wesley Neill , American convicted murderer (b. 1965 )
2003 - Keiko , Killer Whale (b. 1976 )2003 - Heydər Əliyev , President of Azerbaijan (b. 1923 )2003 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario , American Catholic prelate (b. 1926 )
2003 - Keiko , orca, star of Free Willy 1976 )
2005 - Gebran Tueni , Lebanese politician (b. 1957 )2005 - Annette Vadim , Danish actress (b. 1936 )
2005 - Robert F. Newmyer , American film producer (b. 1946 )2006 - Paul Arizin , American basketball player (b. 1928 )2006 - Peter Boyle , American actor (b. 1935 )
2006 - Kenny Davern , American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935 )
2006 - Raymond P. Shafer , 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917 )
2006 - Al Shugart , pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930 )
2007 - Ike Turner , American singer, former husband of Tina Turner (b. 1931 )
Holidays and observances
External links
