On This Day In History
1 December 1761. Marie Tussaud was born in Straßburg, France. She’s best known as the founder of the famous London waxwork museum, which is one of the major tourist attractions in the city, and has expanded with similar museums around the world. pic.twitter.com/pT1Z9avArQ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
1 December 1934. Sergei Kirov, a close collaborator of Joseph Stalin, was assassinated at Leningrad party headquarters. His death at the age of 48 was used as a pretext for Stalin to escalate his purge of political opponents, even though Stalin had secretly ordered the killing. pic.twitter.com/o7emqevaxv
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
1 December 1942. The wartime coalition government, led by Churchill, published a report entitled: “Social Insurance and Allied Services”. It was written by Liberal, Sir William Beveridge. The Beveridge Report quickly became the blueprint for the modern British welfare state. pic.twitter.com/nMXQs6156f
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
1 December 1952. The New York Daily News reported that former US soldier, George Jorgensen was now Christine Jorgensen, the first widely known person to undergo successful gender-reassignment surgery. She said she had “always been a woman trapped in a man’s body”. pic.twitter.com/snirRxOUaI
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
67 years ago today, Rosa Parks, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. It was a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement. pic.twitter.com/Xh6hck3rGJ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
1 December 1959. Bill Shankly was appointed as the new manager of Liverpool FC. He did not officially take up the post until 14 December 1959. He transformed LFC from a Second Division side to one of the best in Europe. He’s one of the greatest football managers of all time. pic.twitter.com/SWkpzE15HO
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
1 December 1973. David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, died (aged 87). His death was caused by complications from a brain haemorrhage he had suffered 2 weeks earlier. He spent his adult life working for the creation of an Israeli state. pic.twitter.com/zealjr9mZI
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
1 December 1988. World AIDS Day was proclaimed worldwide by the United Nations member states. The day is now dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection, and mourning those who have died of the disease. pic.twitter.com/zzGP5KjNMD
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 1, 2022
December 2nd
1804 General Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor of the French at the Notre Dame de Paris in a ceremony officiated by Pope Pius VII
1823 US President James Monroe declares the "Monroe Doctrine" opposing European colonialism in the Americas, arguing any European political intervention in the New World would be a hostile act against the United States
1845 US President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West, a widely held belief termed "manifest destiny" by newspaper editor John O'Sullivan
1929 First skull of Peking man found in the caves of Zhoukoudian, 50 km outside of Peking, China. Later dated roughly 750,000 years old. [1]
1976 Communist revolutionary Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado
This day 21 years ago – 2 December 1999 – Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution were officially changed in line with the Good Friday Agreement.
It now said, “It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland to be part of the Irish Nation.” pic.twitter.com/VO4KsnOuWq
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) December 2, 2020
In 1697, Elizabeth Gregory, Head Abbey Carpenter, was appointed by Christopher Wren to oversee his rebuilding of Westminster Abbey, London. The widow of the previous Head Abbey Carpenter, she oversaw 100s of men—& some women—during the 15-year-project. https://t.co/1s1jHr786v pic.twitter.com/AN5ySVlC4m
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) December 2, 2022
On this day in 1975, Montgomery police shot and killed Bernard Whitehurst Jr., a 32-year-old Black man, and planted a gun on his body. To this day, no one has been held accountable for his death. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Tv4pRTy9wO
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) December 2, 2022
2 December 1814. Controversial philosopher, Marquis de Sade, died (aged 74). His writings depicted sexual fantasies, many associated with violence. The words sadism and sadist are derived from his name and his actions. pic.twitter.com/y4wusp6kOK
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 2, 2022
2 December 1901. Gillette patented the KC Gillette Razor. It was the first double edged razor to feature a permanent handle and disposable razor blades, which were extremely hard to sharpen, and were meant to be thrown away after one use. pic.twitter.com/2gBpvEUui5
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 2, 2022
2 December 1929. Britain’s public telephone boxes went into national service, with the white and red K3 model. It was designed, as was the more well known later red version, by Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Liverpool’s towering Anglican Cathedral. pic.twitter.com/4rwOFAAqUc
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 2, 2022
2 December 1954. The US Senate voted by 67 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy’s controversial investigations of suspected communists. He was one of the few senators ever to be disciplined in this manner. Yet he continued to speak against communism until his death in 1957. pic.twitter.com/BSRxtKAle0
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 2, 2022
2 December 1961. In a major speech, the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, declared that he was a Marxist–Leninist, and that Cuba would now adopt Communism as the ideological underpinning of his rule. pic.twitter.com/nnFilCESpV
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 2, 2022
2 December 1966. The Mini skirt was banned from being worn in the UK Houses of Parliament. When the ban was imposed there were only 26 female MPs in the House of Commons. pic.twitter.com/jIi3rhMPNv
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 2, 2022
2 December 1973. Tennis legend, Monica Seles, was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now in Serbia). Seles won 9 Grand slam titles and would probably have won many more had she not been traumatised after being stabbed by an obsessive Steffi Graf fan during a match in Hamburg in 1993. pic.twitter.com/KSuYF5XixM
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 2, 2022