Wednesday, December 25, 2019

This Date in History - Christmas Day

Happy birthday, Baby Jesus.  Except this really happened sometime in March.  But, a lot of other nifty stuff did happen on this date.  Wait till you see...

333:  EMPEROR CONSTANTINE THE GREAT ELEVATES HIS SON TO THE RANK OF CAESAR.  

The first of many power grabs on this Christmas day.

350:  VETRANIO IS FORCED TO ABDICATE HIS TITLE OF CAESAR TO LIVE AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN ON A STATE PENSION.

And who goes up must come down.

496:  CLOVIS I, KING OF THE FRANKS, IS BAPTIZED INTO THE CATHOLIC FAITH.

Done with relish.

800:  THE CORONATION OF CHARLEMAGNE AS HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR IN ROME.

They loved to tie up Christmas day with this nonsense.

1066:  WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, DUKE OF NORMANDY IS CROWNED KING OF ENGLAND IN LONDON.

This king garbage just does not stop.

1100:  BALDWIN OF BOULOGNE IS CROWNED THE FIRST KING OF JERUSALEM.

Says he.

1130:  COUNT ROGER II OF SICILY IS CROWNED THE FIRST KING OF SICILY.

And on and on and on....

1642:  PHYSICIST ISAAC NEWTON IS BORN.

Not crowned, thank goodness.

1643:  CHRISTMAS ISLAND FOUND AND NAMED BY CAPTAIN WILLIAM MYNORS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.

He got lucky.  Two weeks earlier and it could have been Hanukah Island.

1776:  GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE CONTINENTAL ARMY CROSS THE DELAWARE RIVER AT NIGHT TO ATTACK THE BRITISH AT TRENTON THE NEXT DAY.

Working on Christmas?  That's time and a half.

1826:  THE EGGNOG RIOT AT THE US MILITARY ACADEMY CONCLUDES.

When do they start throwing around the mince pie??

1868:  US PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON GRANTS UNCONDITIONAL PARDON TO ALL CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS.

A nice thing to do on the holiday.  But no presents for them, please.

1870:  BUSINESSWOMAN HELENA RUBINSTEIN IS BORN.

And last minute gifts of make-up bearing her name would be around on Christmas from this day forward.

1899:  ACTOR HUMPHREY BOGART IS BORN.

Here's looking at you, kid.

1907:  MUSICIAN CAB CALLOWAY IS BORN.

Hi-de-ho.

1918:  EGYPTIAN POLITICIAN ANWAR SADAT IS BORN.

So it's not just a holiday for Christians....

1924:  WRITER ROD SERLING IS BORN.

We enter a dimension of space, time....all that jazz.

1932:  ACTRESS MABEL KING IS BORN.

That's what's happening.

1932:  A MAGNITUDE 7.6 EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA KILLS 275 PEOPLE.

Hope there were 275 gift receipts.

1941:  ADMIRAL CHESTER W. NIMITZ ARRIVES AT PEARL HARBOR TO ASSUME COMMAND OF THE US PACIFIC FLEET.

So, in a way, this was a coronation, too.

1945:  ACTOR GARY SANDY IS BORN.

WKRP in Cincinnati!!

1946:  ACTOR W.C. FIELDS DIES.

Whipsnade, Whipsnade.

1947:  THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA GOES INTO EFFECT.

So that 1932 earthquake didn't destroy them altogether.

1949:  ACTRESS SISSY SPACEK IS BORN.

Also known as Sissy Space Chick.

1950:  THE STONE OF SCONE, THE TRADITIONAL CORONATION STONE OF BRITISH MONARCHS, IS TAKEN FROM WESTMINSTER ABBEY BY SCOTTISH STUDENTS.

That's going to be one long detention period.

1958:  BASEBALL STAR RICKEY HENDERSON IS BORN.

Noteworthy on Christmas day only because Jesus wasn't a great base stealer.

1974:  MARSHALL FIELDS DRIVES A VEHICLE THROUGH THE GATES OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

Okay, just being clear, this has nothing to do with the Chicago department store??

1977:  PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL MENACHEM BEGIN MEETS IN EGYPT WITH PRESIDENT ANWAR SADAT.

Effectively ruining the latter's birthday.

1977:  ACTOR CHARLIE CHAPLIN DIES.

The tramp has been silenced.  Of course, understanding that he didn't talk much in his movies anyway.

1979:  ACTRESS JOAN BLONDELL DIES.

She was a big deal in the movies about two centuries earlier.

1989:  BASEBALL MANAGER BILLY MARTIN DIES.

In a car crash.   Way, way, way, way too much holiday cheer.

1991:  MIKHAIL GORBACHEV RESIGNS AS PRESIDENT OF THE SOVIET UNION.

All that wall demolition proved to be too much for him.

1995:  SINGER DEAN MARTIN DIES.

That's a morte.

2006:  SINGER JAMES BROWN DIES.

No longer feeling good.

2008:  SINGER EARTHA KITT DIES.

Santa baby, how about a casket?

2009;  UMAR FAROUK ABDULMUTUALLAB UNSUCCESSFULLY ATTEMPTS A TERRORIST ATTACK AGAINST THE US WHILE ON BOARD A FLIGHT TO DETROIT.

And he didn't even bother to pack clean underwear.

2016:  POP STAR GEORGE MICHAEL DIES.

Wham!

Dinner last night:  Some snacks after going to church service.

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