On This Day In History
6 December 1917. Finland proclaimed independence from Russia. It followed the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917. On 31 December 1917, the Bolshevik Leader Lenin and his government recognised Finland’s independence. pic.twitter.com/acDTjN1GnR
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 6, 2022
BBC Radio 1 DJ, Andy Peebles, talks about his famous interview with John Lennon just two days before his murder in December 1980. pic.twitter.com/poh1rdGcBj
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 6, 2022
6 December 1980. Mark David Chapman arrived at JFK airport in New York City from Hawaii. He had meticulously planned to assassinate the former Beatle, John Lennon, who lived in a luxury apartment in the Dakota Building on West 72nd Street, with his wife, Yoko Ono, and son, Sean. pic.twitter.com/bW27uVVrM3
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 6, 2022
6 December 1983. Surgeons successfully completed Britain’s first heart and lung transplant operation at Harefield Hospital, London (pictured). The patient was Lars Ljungberg, who died 13 days later. pic.twitter.com/oBG4lrxBkh
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 6, 2022
6 December 1988. Rock ‘n’ Roll legend, Roy Orbison (“The Big-O”), died (aged 52). He was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest vocalists. Rolling Stone placed him at No 13 on its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. His death came when his music was enjoying a renaissance. pic.twitter.com/I7LFMGJFaC
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 6, 2022
6 December 1989. The École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal occurred. 14 women were murdered, and a further 14 people were injured in Canada’s worst mass shooting incident. pic.twitter.com/SP1hFXuDZx
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 6, 2022
December 7th
43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and politician is assassinated in Formiae
1909 Inventor Leo Baekeland patents the first thermo-setting plastic, Bakelite, sparking the birth of the plastics industry
1941 Imperial Japanese Navy with 353 planes attack the US fleet at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, killing 2,403 people
1965 Pope Paul VI & Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously lift mutual excommunications that led to split of 2 churches in 1054
1988 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia kills 25,000-50,000 people and leaves up to 500,000 homeless
1988 PLO delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time
Did You Know?
Bust of Queen Nefertiti found in El-Amarna, Egypt
Today in History in 1912
Would You Believe?
Richard Dodd returns a library book his great grandfather took out in 1823 from the University of Cincinnati
Today in History in 1968
This day 1497 years ago – 7 December 521 - St. Columba, also known as Colmcille, was born in Gartan, Co. Donegal.
Columba, along with St. Patrick and St. Bridget, is one of the three patron saints of Ireland.
His father was the great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages. pic.twitter.com/iSwBkyuZ1T
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) December 7, 2018
#OTD in 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant Annie Fox was the first woman to receive a Purple Heart, for her service as a nurse in the attack. It was later changed to a Bronze Star as she was not wounded, a criterion for the Purple Heart. https://t.co/LulYoRMJC8
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) December 7, 2022
On this day in 1874, white mobs attacked and killed dozens of Black citizens in Vicksburg, Mississippi, who had organized to help a duly elected Black sheriff regain his office. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/cIxWbUWGAk
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) December 7, 2022
7 December 1928. Linguist, philosopher and political activist, Noam Chomsky, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He’s been called “the father of modern linguistics”, and is a major figure in analytic philosophy, and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. pic.twitter.com/dllTSacrNe
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
7 December 1941. Japan launched a surprise air attack on US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. President Franklin D Roosevelt described it as a “Day of Infamy”. It was also a key turning point in the Second World War, as it brought the USA into the war on the Allied side. pic.twitter.com/XzoRXcT6UA
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
7 December 1945. The Microwave Oven was granted a patent in the USA. It was invented by Percy Spencer, using radar technology. Spencer was an orphan who left school at the age of 12, but became an expert in radar tube design during the Second World War. pic.twitter.com/7MK66BC8YC
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
7 December 1955. Clement Attlee resigned as the leader of Labour Party. He’s regarded as Britain’s most socially reforming Prime Minister, while in power between 1945 and 1951, including creating the modern social welfare system and the National Health Service. pic.twitter.com/hGJnf9D3tN
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
7 December 1972. Apollo 17, the last moon mission, was launched. During the trip, a photograph was taken of the Earth (pictured) by crew member, Jack Schmitt, known as “The Blue Marble”. pic.twitter.com/6YarvTJKCr
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
7 December 1978. Leading historian, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, was born in London. She’s written books on Tudor History, particularly on Henry VIII. She has also appeared as a presenter in a number of history documentaries, and as a guest on popular TV panel games. pic.twitter.com/MvH0PEebXw
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
7 December 1980. Mark David Chapman waited outside New York’s Dakota Building where John Lennon lived. Lennon did not leave his apartment all day. Chapman had arrived in New York on the previous day, determined to kill the former Beatle. He would return on the following day. pic.twitter.com/jeyqP5QAiQ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
7 December 1997. Scottish football legend, Billy Bremner, died (aged 54). In the official Leeds United 100 Greatest Leeds Players, he is listed at No 1, with 772 appearances and 115 goals between 1960 and 1976, with 11 years as captain. He also played 54 times for Scotland. pic.twitter.com/z9PPoLdfoT
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY: The Titanic versus the modern cruise ship Oasis. 📷 photoshop by WaterWorld (2010). pic.twitter.com/QfU3ykdi5K
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2022
December 8th
1863 Abraham Lincoln issues his Amnesty Proclamation and plan for Reconstruction of the South
1941 US and Britain declare war on Japan, US enters World War II
1941 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers “Day of Infamy” speech to US Congress a day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor
1965 Pope Paul VI signs 2nd Vatican council
1966 US and USSR sign treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in outer space
2004 Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the Union of South American Nations