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1942–Frank Sinatra opens at New York’s Paramount Theatre for what was scheduled to be a four-week engagement (his shows turned out to be so popular that he was booked for an additional four weeks). An estimated 400 policemen are called out to help curb the excitement. It is said that some of the teenage girls were hired to scream, but many more screamed for free. Sinatra was dubbed “The Sultan of Swoon,” “The Voice that Thrills Millions,” and just “The Voice.” His teenage fans became known as “bobby soxers” (because of the current style of bobby socks with penny loafers that the girls were wearing). It was on this day that modern pop hysteria was born.


39–Roman Emperor Titus, is born in Rome, Italy. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father, Vespasian, upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own biological father. As Emperor, he is best known for completing the Colosseum and for his generosity in relieving the suffering caused by two disasters, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, and a fire in Rome in 80.

274–Pope Felix I dies in Rome, Roman Empire.

1066–A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, Spain, crucifies Jewish vizier, Joseph ibn Naghrela, and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.

1371–Vasily I of Moscow is born Vasily I Dmitriyevich in Moscow, Grand Duchy of Moscow.

1419–The Battle of La Rochelle begins during the Hundred Years' War.

1460–The Battle of Wakefield takes place during the Wars of the Roses.

1591–Pope Innocent IX dies in Rome, Papal States, at age 72.

1702–During Queen Anne's War, James Moore, Governor of the Province of Carolina, abandons the Siege of St. Augustine.

1813–In the War of 1812, British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York.

1816–The Treaty of St. Louis is proclaimed between the United States and the united Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes.

1816–Two-and-a-half years after eloping to Switzerland, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and Percy Bysshe Shelley are married, upon learning that Shelley's first wife has drowned herself.

1825–The Treaty of St. Louis is proclaimed between the United States and the Shawnee Nation.

1851–Asa Griggs Candler, the developer of Coca-Cola, is born in Villa Rica, Georgia. He also served as the 44th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 1916 to 1919.

1853–The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.

1896–Filipino patriot and reform advocate, José Rizal, is executed by a Spanish firing squad in Manila.

1896–Canadian ice hockey player, Ernie McLea, scores the first hat-trick in Stanley Cup play, and the Cup-winning goal as the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6-5.

1897–The British Colony of Natal annexes Zululand.

1903–A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois, kills at least 605 people.

1905–Former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated at the front gate of his home in Caldwell, Idaho.

1906–The All-India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India. It would lay the foundations of Pakistan.

1910–Novelist, poet, and composer, Paul Bowles, is born in New York City. He studied music with Aaron Copeland. In 1931, Bowles and Copeland went to Tangiers, where Bowles would later live most of his life. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he had a highly successful career as a composer for ballet, theater, and films. He wrote his most famous novel in 1949, after having a dream about a story that would take place in the Sahara desert, called The Sheltering Sky.

1911–Actress, Jeanette Nolan, is born in Los Angeles, California. Nolan made more than 300 television appearances, which included The Rebel, Have Gun Will Travel, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, The Virginian, The Real McCoys, Perry Mason, and Thriller. She appeared in the films Macbeth, Words and Music, The Happy Time, The Big Heat, April Love, The Rabbit Trap, The Great Imposter, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Twilight of Honor, My Blood Runs Cold, and The Horse Whisperer. She was married to actor, John McIntire, and their son is actor, Tim McIntire.

1914–Actress, Jo Van Fleet, is born in Oakland, California. She appeared in the films East of Eden, The Rose Tattoo, I’ll Cry Tomorrow, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, This Angry Age, Wild River, Cool Hand Luke, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas, 80 Steps to Johah, The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, Satan’s School for Girls, The Tenant, and Seize the Day.

1914–Radio and television personality, Bert Parks, is born Bertram Jacobson in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. He also hosted the game shows Stop the Music, Double of Nothing, Masquerade Party, The Big Payoff, and the pilot for The Hollywood Squares.

1916–The last coronation in Hungary is performed for King Charles IV and Queen Zita.

1916–Grigory Rasputin, dies by assassination in Petrograd, Russia, at age 47. The story is that he was first shot, then dumped while still alive into the frozen Neva River. He was a Russian peasant, mystical faith healer, and a trusted friend to the Tsar's family. Despite his lack of social status, he rose through the ranks to have a powerful influence over the Tsar’s wife, Alexandra.

1919–Lincoln's Inn in London, England, admits its first female bar student.

1920–Actor, Jack Lord, is born John Joseph Patrick Ryan in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his starring role on the TV series Hawaii Five-O.

1922–The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed.

1924–Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galactic systems.

1927–The Ginza Line, the first subway line in Asia, opens in Tokyo, Japan.

1928–Blues musician, Bo Diddley, is born Ellas Otha Bates McDaniel in McComb, Mississippi. He played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll, influencing a host of acts, including The Animals, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Parliament Funkadelic, The Velvet Underground, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles. His hits include Bo Diddley, Who Do You Love, and Hey! Bo Diddley.

1930–Pedal steel guitarist, Red Rhodes, is born Orville J. Rhodes in Alton, Illinois. He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1960, and became a session musician. He is best known for his work with Michael Nesmith’s solo albums in the early 1970s. He also worked with The Monkees, James Taylor, The Beach Boys, Seals and Crofts, The Byrds, and The Carpenters.

1932–Skeeter Davis, is born Mary Frances Penick in Dry Ridge, Kentucky, at age 72. Her biggest hit was The End of the World in 1963. She was married to disc jockey, Ralph Emery.

1934–Singer, Del Shannon, is born Charles Weedon Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His hits include Runaway, Hats Off to Larry, Little Town Flirt, and Handy Man.

1934–Actor, Russ Tamblyn, is born Russell Irving Tamblyn in Los Angeles, California. He appeared in the films The Boy with Green hair, Samson and Delilah, Father of the Bride, As Young as You Feel, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Hit the Deck, The Fastest Gun Alive, The Young Guns, Peyton Place, High School Confidential!, Tom Thumb, West Side Story, How the West Was Won, Follow the Boys, and The Haunting.

1935–Baseball player and sportscaster, Sandy Koufax, is born Sanford Braun in Brooklyn, New York. He pitched 12 seasons for the Brooklyn-Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966. He was an All-Star for six seasons and was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1963. In 1972, Koufax became the youngest player ever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at age 36.

1935–Actor, Jack Riley, is born John Albert Riley, Jr. in Cleveland, Ohio. He is best known for the role of Elliot Carlin on The Bob Newhart Show.

1936–The United Auto Workers union stages its first sitdown strike.

1937–Musician, John Hartford, is born John Cowen Harford in New York, New York. He was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo. He is best known as a regular on the variety shows The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. He had his first major songwriting hit with Gentle On My Mind.

1937–(Noel) Paul Stookey, of Peter, Paul & Mary, is born in Baltimore, Maryland. He took the stage name "Paul" as part of the trio Peter, Paul and Mary, but he has been known as Noel otherwise, throughout his life. He has a solo hit with The Wedding Song (There Is Love). The trio’s biggest hit was Puff the Magic Dragon.

1938–The electronic television system is patented.

1939–Felix Pappalardi, bassist with Mountain, is born Felix A. Pappalardi, Jr. in the Bronx, New York.

1940–The Arroyo Seco Parkway, the forerunner of the Pasadena Freeway (between Los Angeles and Pasadena), is dedicated by Los Angeles Mayor, Fletcher Bowron. It is the first freeway in the western U.S.

1942–Frank Sinatra opens at New York’s Paramount Theatre for what was scheduled to be a four-week engagement (his shows turned out to be so popular that he was booked for an additional four weeks). An estimated 400 policemen are called out to help curb the excitement. It is said that some of the teenage girls were hired to scream, but many more screamed for free. Sinatra was dubbed “The Sultan of Swoon,” “The Voice that Thrills Millions,” and just “The Voice.” His teenage fans became known as “bobby soxers” (because of the current style of bobby socks with penny loafers that the girls were wearing). It was on this day that modern pop hysteria was born.

1942–Musician, (Robert) Michael Nesmith, is born in Houston, Texas. He was a member of The Monkees, and then he went on to a solo career in country rock. His known by his fans as Nez or Papa Nez. He also invented and pioneered the idea of music television with his program Popclips. The show was later bought by Warner Bros. and developed into MTV. His solo hits include Tapioca Tundra, Joanne, Silver Moon, and Rio. His mother, Bette Nesmith, invented Liquid Paper.

1943–Subhas Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.

1944–King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving the throne vacant.

1945–Davy Jones, of The Monkees, is born David Thomas Jones in Manchester, England. Davy was a jockey before starring in the musical Oliver on Broadway. He was one of the biggest teen idols of the 1960s. He had hits with The Monkees singles Daydream Believer, Valleri, and I Wanna Be Free. He had a big solo hit with Girl.

1947–King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union-backed Communist government of Romania.

1947–Jeff Lynne, of Electric Light Orchestra and The Traveling Wilburys, is born in Shard End, Birmingham, England. ELO had hits with All Over the World, Strange Magic, and Evil Woman.

1948–The Cole Porter Broadway musical, Kiss Me, Kate, opens at the New Century Theatre and becomes the first show to win the Best Musical Tony Award.

1953–The first NTSC color television sets go on sale from RCA, priced at about $1,175 each.

1957–Television journalist, Matt Lauer, is born Matthew Todd Lauer in New York, New York. He is best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show and as a contributor for Dateline NBC.

1958–The Guatemalan Air Force sinks several Mexican fishing boats alleged to have breached maritime borders, killing three people and sparking international tension.

1959–Comedienne-singer, Tracey Ullman, is born Trace Ullman in Slough, Buckinghamshire, England. She emigrated from the United Kingdom to America, where she starred in her own network TV comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show, from 1987 until 1990. She later produced programs for HBO, including Tracey Takes On... She appeared in the films Give My Regards to Broad Street, Plenty, I Love You to Death, Death Becomes Her, Bullets Over Broadway, Ready to Wear, and Into the Woods.

1961–Radio and television commentator, Sean (Patrick) Hannity, is born in New York, New York. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the U.S. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity, on Fox News Channel.

1965–Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines.

1967–A chart topper: Hello Goodbye by The Beatles.

1967–Brill Building songwriter, Bert Berns, dies of heart failure from rheumatic fever at age 38. His songs include Twist and Shout, Piece of My Heart, Brown Eyed Girl, Hang on Sloopy, and Under the Boardwalk.

1969–The ITV television program, Man of the Decade, is broadcast in England. The three people selected are John Lennon, John F. Kennedy, and Mao Tse-tung.

1970–Boxer, Sonny Liston, dies of lung congestion and heart failure in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some people thought it was from a heroin overdose and many believed that Liston was murdered. A long-avoided contender, he became World Heavyweight Champion in 1962, by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, but he lost to underdog Cassius Clay amid controversary in 1964.

1972–The United States halts its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.

1975–Professional golfer, Tiger Woods, is born Eldrick Tont Woods in Cypress, California. He was a child prodigy, introduced to golf before the age of two, by his athletic father, Earl, a single-figure handicap amateur golfer. Following an outstanding amateur and two-year college golf career, Woods turned professional at age 20, in the late summer of 1996. By April 1997, he won his first major, the 1997 Masters, in a record-breaking performance, winning the tournament by 12 strokes and pocketing $486,000.

1976–The Smothers Brothers play their last show at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and retire as a team from show business.

1978–Emerson, Lake & Palmer announces their break-up.

1979–Composer, songwriter, playwright, Richard Rodgers, dies of cancer of the jaw in New York, New York, at age 77. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II (as Rogers & Hammerstein). He composed of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. His work includes Jumbo, Babes in Arms, Oklahoma!, Carousel, State Fair, South Pacific, The King and I, Cinderella, Flower Drum Song, and The Sound of Music. His songs include My Romance, Where or When, My Funny Valentine, The Lady Is a Tramp, and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.

1980–The Wonderful World of Disney is broadcast for the last time on NBC-TV.

1985–IBM-PC DOS Version 3.2 is released.

1986–Singer, Ellie Goulding, is born Elena Jane Goulding in Hereford, England. Her hits include Under the Sheets, Guns and Horses, Lights, Anything Could Happen, Burn, and On My Mind.

1993–Israel and Vatican City establish diplomatic relations. It also upgrades to full diplomatic relations with Ireland.

1993–Talent agent, “Swifty” Lazar, dies from complications stemming from diabetes in at age 86. His clients included Lauren Bacall, Truman Capote, Cher, Joan Collins, Noël Coward, Ira Gershwin, Cary Grant, Ernest Hemingway, Gene Kelly, Madonna, Walter Matthau, Larry McMurtry, Vladimir Nabokov, Clifford Odets, Cole Porter, William Saroyan, Debbie McGee, Irwin Shaw, President Richard Nixon, and Tennessee Williams.

1994–Maureen Cox, ex-wife of Ringo Starr, dies of leukaemia in Seattle, Washington, at age 48. Her four children, mother, then-husband, and ex-husband Starr, were at her bedside when she died. Following her death, McCartney wrote the song Little Willow in her honor, which appears on his 1997 album, Flaming Pie, with a dedication to her children. She met Ringo at The Cavern Club, where The Beatles were playing, when she was a trainee hairdresser. They were married in 1965, and were divorced in 1975.

1996–Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.

1996–It is announced that Paul McCartney will become the first Beatle to be honored with knighthood, and that he will henceforth be known as Sir Paul McCartney.

1996–Actor, Lew Ayres, dies in Los Angeles, California, at age 88. He appeared in the films All Quiet on the Western Front, State Fair, Young Dr. Kildare, Maisie Was a Lady, The Dark Mirror, Johnny Belinda, Donovan’s Brain, Advise & Consent, The Carpetbaggers, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes.

1997–In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people from four villages are killed.

1998–Johnny Moore, of The Drifters, dies of respiratory problems in London, England, at age 64. Moore sang lead on The Drifter's last major pop hit Under the Boardwalk.

1999–George Harrison is seriously wounded by an intruder who breaks into his home at Henley-on-Thames, near London, England, in the pre-dawn hours with the intention of killing him. During a struggle with the intruder, Harrison receives several stab wounds to the chest, one of which narrowly misses his heart and a major artery; but the knife does pierce and deflate George’s right lung. Harrison’s wife, Olivia, saves his life by striking the attacker with a poker and a table lamp, and she receives a number of cuts, scratches, and bruises during the lengthy life-or-death struggle. Harrison had thought he’d been fatally stabbed, but police arrive in time to prevent the attacker from inflicting a mortal wound upon Harrison. The couple is transported to a nearby hospital, where both soon recover without incident.

2000–Within a few hours, a series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines, killing 22 people and injuring around 100 others.

2004–A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 194 people.

2004–Bandleader, Artie Shaw, dies in Thousand Oaks, California, at age 94. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists," Shaw led one of America’s most popular big bands in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. Although he had numerous hit records, he was perhaps best known for his recording of Cole Porter's Begin the Beguine.

2005–Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the open Atlantic Ocean, tying the record for the latest tropical cyclone ever to form in the North Atlantic basin.

2005–Writer, Rona Jaffe, dies of cancer in London, England, at age 74. Her novels include The Best of Everything, The Fame Game, Family Secrets, and Mazes and Monsters.

2006–The Madrid-Barajas Airport is bombed.

2006–The Indonesian passenger ferry, MV Senopati Nusantara, sinks in a storm, killing at least 400 people.

2006–Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, is executed by hanging in Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Iraq, at age 69.

2009–A segment of the Lanzhou-Zhengzhou-Changsha pipeline ruptures in Shaanxi, China, and approximately 40,000 gallons of diesel oil flows down the Wei River, before finally reaching the Yellow River.

2009–A suicide bomber kills nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.

2011–Owing to a change of time zone this day is skipped in Samoa and Tokelau.

2013–More than 100 people are killed when anti-government forces attack key buildings in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2015–Entertainer, Bill Cosby, is arrested and charged with aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The county's District Attorney-elect said his office is also examining evidence related to other cases.

2015–Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon, warns residents that the state faces historic flooding that likely will rival the levels of the Great Flood of 1993. Swollen rivers are still rising and won't crest for days. The Mississippi River is expected to reach nearly 15 feet above flood stage on December 31st. Twelve of the 13 people killed from the storms died after their vehicles were swept from flooded roadways.

2016–In response to 35 Russian diplomats being expelled from the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin announces Russia will not expel any American diplomats, in hopes that the decision not to retaliate will curry favor with the incoming Trump administration.

2016–The iconic Carnegie Deli in New York City slices its last mountainous pastrami sandwich, after 79 years of serving up heaps of cured meat to tourists, theater patrons, and workaday New Yorkers. Fans lined up all week for a last bite at the restaurant, which was featured in Woody Allen’s 1984 film, Broadway Danny Rose, and was a stop for out-of-towners looking for the classic New York deli experience. The Carnegie, its walls lined with photos of celebrities who have eaten there, opened in 1937, drawing its name from Carnegie Hall just a block up 7th Avenue.

2016–The smell of rotten eggs sweeps over San Francisco, California, and despite efforts to find out why, city officials are left clueless as to the cause the offending odor.

2016–At least seven people are killed and 30 others are trapped, after a pile of waste collapses in a Coal India mine in Jharkand.

2016–Businessman and promoter, Alan Williams, dies in at age 86. He was the original booking agent and first manager of The Beatles. In 1960, he drove the van carrying the young band to Hamburg, Germany, where they gained the vital show business experience that led to their emergence on the world stage. He fell out with The Beatles in 1961, over the payment of his 10% commission on a later trip the boys made to Hamburg. In 1975, he published a memoir, The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away, to which John Lennon gave his endorsement.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Roman Emperor Titus; a winter ad for Coca-Cola; Jeanette Nolan; Grigory Rasputin; Red Rhodes; Sandy Koufax; the Arroyo Seco Parkway in Los Angeles, California; Davy Jones; Tracey Ullman; Sonny Liston; Richard Rodgers; Maureen Cox (Starkey); Johnny Moore; Rona Jaffe; and the Carnegie Deli in New York City.
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