1520 - Martin Luther publicly burned papal edict demands that he recant

1858 - Province of Canada issues Letters Patent, making legal tender the silver 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢ pieces, and copper cent

1868 - The world's first traffic lights, built off London's Parliament Square, began operation

1896 - Alfred Nobel, instituted the Nobel Prize; invented dynamite, dies at 63

1898 - Spanish-American War ends; US acquires Philippines, Puerto Rico & Guam

1901 - The first Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace

1902 - The Aswan Dam on the Nile in Egypt officially opens, having been started in 1898. It is the largest dam in the world

1906 - First American awarded Nobel Peace Prize - President Theodore Roosevelt

1913 - Canadian Northern Railroad finishes building tunnel under Mount Royal in Montreal

1915 - 10,000,000th model T Ford assembled

1927 - The Grand Ole Opry makes its first radio broadcast, in Nashville Tennessee

1928 - Western Airways Fokker leaves Calgary's civic airport for Regina, Saskatchewan this morning, with 10 bags of letters and Christmas packages; Canada's first use of airplanes for daily mail delivery; test of proposed national airmail service

1938 - Filming finally begins on Gone with the Wind after years of delay. Producer David O. Selznick had not yet cast an actress to play the leading role of Scarlett O'Hara, so the first day's shooting was of the burning of Atlanta, which didn't require close footage of Scarlett

1948 - UN General Assembly adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1949 - Royal Assent given to Supreme Court Act amendment, giving final authority in judicial matters to the Supreme Court of Canada; end of appeals to the British Privy Council

1954 - Opening of 1,280 metre Canso Causeway; links Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia mainland; the deepest causeway in the world

1963 - 6 year old Donny Osmond's singing debut on the Andy Williams Show

1967 - Otis Redding, singer (Dock of Bay), dies in plane crash at 26

1970 - North American Soccer League awards New York & Toronto franchises

1976 - Wings release triple album "Wings Over America"

1978 - In Oslo, Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat accept 1978 Nobel Peace Prize

1983 - Last NFL game at Shea Stadium; Steelers beat New York Jets 34-7

1983 - Raul Alfonsin inaugurated as Argentina's first civilian president

1988 - Washington Capitals 1st NHL scoreless tie, vs Montréal Canadiens

1992 - NHL awards franchises to Miami & Anaheim (for 1994-95)

1995 - First meeting of NBA expansion teams, Toronto Raptors beat Vancouver Grizzlies 93-81

1995 - Worst snowstorm in Buffalo history, 37.9" in 24 hours, starting Dec 9 at 7 PM; breaks previous record of 25.3" in 1982

 

Birthdays

1813 - Zachariah Chandler - merchant/politician: founder of US Republican Party
1824 - George MacDonald, Scotland - author: Lilith, Princess & Curdie
1827 - Eugene O'Keefe, Bandon, Ireland - brewer, banker:  incorporated the O'Keefe Brewing Co Ltd. in Toronto in 1891
1830 - Emily Dickinson, Amherst Massachusetts - poet: Collected Poems
1851 - Melvil [Louis K] Dewey, Adams Center, N.Y. - created Dewey Decimal System for libraries
1886 - Victor McLaglen, England - actor: Informer
1889 - Ray Collins, Sacramento CA - actor: Homecoming, Good Sam, Rose Marie
1890 - George Merritt, London England - actor: I Monster, Q Planes
1903 - Una Merkel, Covington KY - actress: 42nd Street, Abraham Lincoln
1907 - Rumer Godden, England - author: Thursday's Children
1909 - Charlie Conacher, Toronto Ontario - hockey player: Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was right winger on the famous Kid Line with Joe Primeau and Busher Jackson; Detroit Red Wings
1910 - Dennis Morgan, Prentice WI - actor: Dennis-21 Beacon Street
1910 - John Hammond Jr, NY City - jazz producer:I Can Tell, So Many Roads
1910 - Jill Summers -actress: Agatha Coronation Street
1911 - Chet Huntley, Cardwell Montana - newscaster: NBC Huntley-Brinkley Report
1914 - Dorothy Lamour [Mary Kaumeyer] New Orleans Louisiana - actress: Road to Bali, Greatest Show on Earth
1918 - Anne Gwynne, Waco TX - actress: Ride 'em Cowboy, House of Frankenstein
1923 - Harold Gould, Schenectady NY - actor: He & She, Martin-Rhoda, Big Bus
1928 - John Colicos, Toronto Ontario - actor: Battlestar Galactica, Anne of a Thousand Days
1929 - Michael Snow, Toronto Ontario - painter, sculptor, film maker, musician
1929 - Dan Blocker, Texas - actor: Tiny - Cimarron City, Hoss �?Bonanza
1941 - Tim Considine, Louisville Kentucky - actor: Mike - My 3 Sons
1941 - Tommy Rettig, Jackson Heights NY - actor: Jeff's �?Lassie
1941 - Tommy Kirk - actor: Old Yeller
1941 - Fionnula Flanagan, Dublin Ireland - actress: Rich Man Poor Man
1941 - Peter Michael Goetz - actor: Jumping Jack Flash, King Kong Lives
1943 - Chad Stuart - singer/guitarist: Chad & Jeremy
1944 - Tisha Sterling, Hollywood CA - actress: Coogan's Bluff
1946 - Gloria Loring, NY City - actress/singer: Days of our Life
1946 - Walter "Clyde" Orange, Florida - singer: Commodores-Too Hot to Trot
1947 - Wayne Northrop, Sumner Washington - actor: Roman - Days of our Lives
1951 - Frank Beard, US - musician: ZZ Topp
1951 - Johnny Rodriquez, US - actor: Nashville Girl, La Bamba Party
1952 - Susan Hallock Dey, Illinois - actress: First Love, Partridge Family, LA Law
1953 - Jack Scalia - actor/director: Amore, Deadly Desire, Donor, T-Force
1958 - John J York, Chicago IL - actor: Mac Scorpio-General Hospital
1959 - Burke Moses, NY City - actor: Sean Baxter-As the World Turns
1959 - Mark Aguirre - NBA player: Detroit Pistons
1960 - Kenneth Branagh, Belfast, Northern Ireland - actor/director: High Season, Dead Again, Much Ado About Nothing
1961 - Nia Peeples [Vernia] Hollywood - actress/host: Fame, Party Machine
1961 - Mark McKoy, Georgetown, Guyana - Canadian track star; Olympic Gold 110 metre hurdles in Barcelona
1963 - Doug Henry, Sacramento CA - baseball player: New York Mets
1964 - Luis Polonia, Santiago City Dominican Republic - baseball player: New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles
1966 - Norberto Martin, Santo Domingo Dominican Republic - baseball player: Chicago White Sox
1968 - Rob Davis - NFL player: Green Bay Packers
1969 - Rob Blake, Simcoe Ontario - NHL defenceman: Team Canada, Los Angeles Kings; Colorado Avalanche
1985 - Raven-Symoné Pearman - actress: Cosby

 

 

Something To Think About

 

Can I Borrow $25?
 
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
 
SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
 
DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.
 
SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
 
DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.
 
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
 
DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'
 
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.
 
SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'
 
The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolity.'
 
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
 
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
 
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:
 
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
 
'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.
 
'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.
 
'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'
 
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
 
The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
 
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
 
'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.
 
'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.
 
'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'
 
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.
 
It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.
 
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours... But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.