1732 - Benjamin Franklin (under the name Richard Saunders) begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack"

1741 - Vitus J Bering, Dutch navigator/explorer, dies

1843 - Charles Dickens publishes "A Christmas Carol" in England

1846 - The mayors of Toronto and Hamilton exchange greetings to open Canada's first telegraph service; the line runs between Toronto and Hamilton over lines of Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara, & St. Catharines Telegraph Company

1891 - Canadian Rugby Union forms

1904 - The Dawson City (Yukon) hockey team begins 9 day walk to get a boat to Seattle to catch a train to Ottawa to play in the Stanley Cup on January 13 1905

1915 - Alois Alzheimer, German neurologist (first described Alzheimer's Disease), dies at 51

1917 - NHL starts inaugural season: original members of the league are the Montreal Canadiens, the Montreal Wanderers, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs. Quebec will not start playing with the league until 1919; Quebec's best player Joe Malone joins the Canadiens and on opening night scores five goals, including likely the first goal ever scored in the NHL, as Montreal beats Ottawa 9-4; in the game in Toronto, Montreal Wanderers Dave Ritchie also scores what may have been the first NHL goal in a 10-9 victory over the Toronto Arenas; also first NHL game played on artificial ice

1917 - Québec Bulldogs play their first professional hockey game

1918 - Robert Ripley began his "Believe It or Not" column in the New York Globe

1932 - British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) begins transmitting overseas

1950 - Tibet's Dalai Lama flees Chinese invasion

1961 - British government begins decimal coin system

1971 - CBS airs "Homecoming - A Christmas Story", introducing the Waltons

1974 - Dave Kryskow scores Washington Capitals 1st NHL shorthanded goal

1975 - Ron Wood joined the Rolling Stones

1975 - Bertha Wilson appointed to Ontario Court of Appeal; first woman in Canada named to a provincial court of appeal; later the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada

1984 - Scotty Bowman becomes NHL's all time winningest coach

1984 - In the Hall of the People in Beijing, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang sign an agreement committing Britain to return Hong Kong to China in 1997

1984 - Wayne Gretzky, 23, is 18th & youngest NHL player to score 1,000 points

1987 �?Boston Bruins' Ken Linseman & St. Louis Blues' Doug Gilmore score goals, 2 seconds apart

 

Birthdays

1902 - Sir Ralph Richardson, England - actor: David Copperfield, Dr Zhivago, Anna Karenina
1906 - Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev Dneprodzerzhinsk Ukraine - first Secretary of the Communist Party/ President of the USSR - 1964-82
1907 - Jimmy McLarnin, Belfast Ireland - boxer: moved to Saskatchewan at age 3; became world welterweight boxing champion in 1933
1915 - Edith Piaf [E Giovanna Gassion] Paris France - singer: Little Sparrow, La Vie en Rose
1924 - Doug Harvey, Montreal - NHL defenseman: won the James Norris Trophy as outstanding defenseman 7 times playing for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers
1928 - Galt MacDermot, Montreal - composer: Hair, Two Gentlemen of Verona; film scores - Cotton Comes To Harlem, Fortune and Mans Eyes
1933 - Cicely Tyson, Harlem NY - actress: Roots, Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
1934 - Al Kaline, Baltimore MD - baseball outfielder: Detroit Tigers
1944 - Tim Reid, Norfolk Virginia - actor: Venus Flytrap - WKRP, Frank's Place
1944 - Zal Yanovsky, NY City - guitarist: Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe in Magic, Summer in the City; grew up in Toronto
1944 - Alvin Lee, Nottingham England - singer/guitarist: 10 Years After
1944 - Richard Leakey �?anthropologist
1946 - Robert Urich, Toronto Ohio - actor: SWAT, Spenser for Hire, Vega$
1957 - Kevin McHale - NBA forward: Boston Celtics
1958 - Limahl - singer: Never-ending Story, Kajagoogoo - Too Shy
1960 - Daryl Hannah, Chicago Illinois - actress: Splash
1960 - Mike Lookinland, Mount Pleasant Utah - actor: Bobby - Brady Bunch
1963 - Jennifer Beals, Chicago Illinois - actress: Flashdance, Bride
1964 - Lorie Kane, Prince Edward Island - LPGA golfer
1965 - Jessica Steen, Toronto Ontario - actress: Earth II, Homefront, Trial & Error
1966 - Robert MacNaughton, NY City - actor: ET
1966 - Alberto "La Bomba" Tomba, Italy - Olympic skier
1969 - Scott Pearson, Cornwall Ontario - NHL left wing: Buffalo Sabres
1972 - Alyssa Jane Milano, Brooklyn NY - actress: Who's the Boss, Melrose Place, Phoebe �?Charmed
1983 - Matt Stajan, Mississuaga Ont - NHL player: Toronto Maple Leafs

 

 

Questions

 

Q: Why do men's hearts beat quicker, go weak in the knees, get dry throats and think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
A: BECAUSE SHE SMELLS LIKE A NEW PICKUP TRUCK!

Q. Why is marriage like the Army?
A. Everyone complains about it, but a surprising number re-enlist.