1791 – The United States Bill of Rights became law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly on the 15th December 1791.

1906 – The London Underground‘s Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway opened on the 15th December 1906.

1912 ~ Ray-Bernice Eames the American artist, designer, and filmmaker  was born Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser in Sacramento, California on the 15th December 1912 (died 21st August 1988 aged 75). Together with her husband Charles Eames, they were responsible for many classic, iconic designs of the 20th century, and also worked together in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.  www.EamesDesigns.com | www.EamesFoundation.org

1939 – Gone with the Wind received its premiere at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on the 15th December 1939.

1954 – The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was signed on the 15th December 1954.

1965 – The Gemini 6A was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida on the 15th December 1965. Four orbits later, it achieved the 1st space rendezvous with Gemini 7.

1967 – The Silver Bridge collapsed on the 15th December 1967, killing 46 people.

1970 – Venera 7 successfully landed on Venus on the 15th December 1970, becoming the 1st successful soft landing on another planet.

1973 – John Paul Getty III, the grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, was found alive near Naples, Italy on the 15th December 1973, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on the 10th July 1973.

1973 – The American Psychiatric Association voted 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders on the 15th December 1973. (DSM-II)

2000 – The 3rd reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was shut down on the 15th December 2000.

2006 – First flight of the F-35 Lightning II was on the 15th December 2006.

2009 – Boeing‘s new Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington on the 15th December 2009.

0557 – Constantinople was severely damaged by an earthquake on the 14th December 557.

1287 – St. Lucia’s flood killed over 50,000 people on the 14th December 1287, when the Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapsed.

1503 – Nostradamus the French astrologer was born on the 14th December 1503 (died 1566).

1542 – Princess Mary Stuart became Mary, Queen of Scots on the 14th December 1542.

1546 – Tycho Brahe the Danish astronomer and chemist was born on the 14th December 1546 (died 1601).

1751 – The Theresian Military Academy in Austria was founded as the 1st Military Academy in the world on the 14th December 1751.

1782 – The Montgolfier brothers‘ first balloon lifted off on its first test flight on the 14th December 1782.

1819 – Alabama became the 22nd U.S. state on the 14th December 1819.

1824 – Pierre Puvis de Chavannes the French painter was born on the 14th December 1824 (died 1898).

1866 – Roger Fry the English painter and critic was born on the 14th December 1866 (died 1934).

1870 – Karl Renner the Austrian politician and 4th President of Austria was born on the 14th December 1870 (died 1950).

1883 – Morihei Ueshiba the Japanese martial artist and founder of aikido was born on the 14th December 1883 (died 1969).

1887 – Xul Solar the Argentine painter and sculptor was born on the 14th December 1887 (died 1963).

1896 – The Glasgow Underground Railway was opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company on the 14th December 1896.

1902 – The Commercial Pacific Cable Company layed the first Pacific telegraph cable, from Ocean Beach, San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii on the 14th December 1902.

1903 – The Wright brothers made their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on the 14th December 1903.

1909 – New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signed the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909 on the 14th December 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory.

1911 – Roald Amundsen‘s team became the first to reach the South Pole on the 14th December 1911.

1911 – Spike Jones the American singer and bandleader was born on the 14th December 1911 (died 1965).

1947 – Linda Sutton the English painter was born on the 14th December 1947.

1948 – Kim Beazley the Australian politician and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia was born on the 14th December 1948.

1949 – Cliff Williams the English bass player and singer from AC/DC was born on the 14th December 1949.

1958 – Mike Scott the Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from The Waterboys was born on the 14th December 1958. Official website: www.MikeScottWaterboys.com | YouTube video: The Whole of The Moon (1985) ~ The Waterboys ~ song written by Mike Scott…

1962 – NASA‘s Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Venus on the 14th December 1962.

1964 – Rebecca Gibney the Australian actress was born on the 14th December 1964.

1970 – Nadine Garner the Australian actress was born on the 14th December 1970.

1970 – Beth Orton the English singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 14th December 1970.

1972 – Eugene Cernan was the last person to walk on the moon on the 14th December 1972, after he and Harrison Schmitt completed the 3rd and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission.

1979 – Sophie Monk the Australian singer-songwriter and actress was born on the 14th December 1979.

2004 – The Millau Viaduct in France was officially opened on the 14th December 2004, becoming the tallest bridge in the world.

2006 – American spy satellite USA-193 was launched on the 14th December 2006.

2008 – President George W. Bush mades his 4th and final trip to Iraq as president on the 14th December 2008, and was almost struck by 2 shoes thrown at him by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi during a news conference in Baghdad.

2012 – 28 people, including the gunman, were killed in a mass shooting in Sandy Hook village, Newtown, Connecticut on the 14th December 2012.

2013 ~ Peter O’Toole the Irish actor died on the 14th December 2013 aged 81 (born 2nd August 1932). Peter O’Toole was known for his roles in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) ~ Becket (1964) ~ The Night of the Generals (1967) ~ The Lion in Winter (1968) ~ Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) ~ Man of La Mancah (1972) ~ The Ruling Class (1972) ~ The Stunt Man (1980) ~ My Favorite Year (1982) ~ Troy (2004) ~ Venus (2006) and more. YouTube video: Peter O’Toole Died | Lawrence of Arabia star Peter O’Toole Dead…

1642 – Abel Tasman reached New Zealand on the 13th December 1642.

1954 ~ Steve Forbert the American pop music singer-songwriter was born Samuel Stephen Forbert  on the 13th December 1954. Steve Forbert is best known for his 1979 song Romeo’s Tune which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980. Steve Forbert’s official website: www.SteveForbert.com | YouTube video: Romeo’s Tune – Steve Forbert (1979)…

1962 – NASA Relay 1 was launched on the 13th December 1962, becoming the 1st active repeater communications satellite in orbit.

1972 – Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt began the 3rd and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17 on the 13th December 1972, becoming the last humans to set foot on the Moon.

2003 – Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured near his home town of Tikrit    on the 13th December 2003, during Operation Red Dawn.

…to be continued

1863 ~ Edvard Munch the Norwegian painter was born on the 12th December 1963 (died 1944).

1897 – Belo Horizonte, the first planned city in Brazil, was founded on the 12th December 1897.

1901 – Guglielmo Marconi received the 1st transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John’s, Newfoundland on the 12th December 1901.

1911 – Delhi replaced Calcutta as the capital of India on the 12th December 1911.

1940 – Dionne Warwick the American singer and actress was born on the 12th December 1940.

1941 – Adolf Hitler announced extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery on the 12th December 1941.

1957 – Sheila E. the American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actress was born on the 12th December 1957.

1964 ~ Rachel Elnaugh the British entrepreneur and founder of experiencial gift company Red Letter Days was born on the 12th December 1964. She came to public prominence as an investor on the Dragons’ Den.

1979 – A major earthquake and tsunami killed 259 people in Colombia on the 12th December 1979.

1983 – The Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating floated the Australian dollar on the 12th December 1983.

1991 ~ Dyllan Christopher the American actor best known for his role as Spencer in the 2006 Christmas movie Uaccompanied Minors.

2000 – The United States Supreme Court released its decision in Bush v. Gore on the 12th December 2000.

1934 – Bill Wilson the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous took his last drink and entered treatment for the last time on the 11th December 1934.

1938 – Reg Livermore the Australian actor and singer was born on the 11th December 1938

1946 – UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund was established on the 11th December 1946.

1958 – Nikki Sixx the American bass player  from Mötley Crüe was born on the 11th December 1958.

1958 ~ Tom Shadyac the American comedian, director, screenwriter, producer and author was born on the 11th December 1958.

1968 – The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus film was released on the 11th December 1968.

1972 – Apollo 17 became the 6th and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon on the 11th December 1972.

2001 – China joined the World Trade Organization on the 11th December 2001.

2005 – The Cronulla riots originated in Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia on the 11th December 2005.

1684 – Isaac Newton‘s derivation of Kepler’s laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, was read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley on the 10th December 1684.

1830 – Emily Dickinson the American poet was born on the 10th December 1830 (died 1886).

1901 – The 1st Nobel Prizes was awarded on the 10th December 1901.

1902 – Women were given the right to vote in Tasmania on the 10th December 1902.

1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize on the 10th December 1906, becoming the 1st American to win a Nobel Prize.

1952 – Susan Dey the American actress was born on the 10th December 1952.

1955 – The Mighty Mouse Playhouse premiered on television on the 10th December 1955.

1957 – Prem Rawat the Indian spiritual leader was born on the 10th December 1957.

1965 – The Grateful Dead‘s 1st concert performance under the new name was on the 10th December 1965.

1968 – Japan‘s biggest heist was on the 10th December 1968. The still-unsolved 300 million yen robbery was carried out in Tokyo.

1974 – Meg White the American drummer from The White Stripes was born on the 10th December 1974.

2013 ~ Analog television was permanently switched off across Australia to digital-only TV on the 10th December 2013. Melbourne was the last city in Australia with an analogue signal on December 10, 2013. www.DigitalReady.gov.au

1793 ~ Noah Webster established New York City‘s 1st daily newspaper, the American Minerva, on the 9th December 1793.

1834 ~ Leopold Müller the Austrian genre painter was born Leopold Carl Müller in Dresden (to Austrian parents ) on the 9th December 1834 (died 4th August 1892 aged 57). Leopold Müller was a pupil of Karl von Blaas and of Christian Ruben at the Academy in Vienna. He worked 8 years as an illustrator for the Vienna Figaro, to support his family after his father’s death. Then  continued his studies, and repeatedly visited Egypt, Italy and Hungary, where he painted a series of scenes from popular life. Leopold Müller later displayed his coloristic talent to greater advantage in oriental subjects, such as Bedouins in Camp (see image below), Arabian Money-Changers, Pilgrims to Mecca Resting, Camel Mart, Young Copt Woman (New Pinakothek, Munich). His other works include The Inundation in Vienna 1862, Old Little Matron (Vienna Museum), Last Task of the Day (Vienna Museum), and Soldiers in the Thirty Years’ War (Prague Gallery).

 

1851 – The 1st YMCA in North America was established in Montreal, Quebec on the 9th December 1851.

1888 – Statistician Herman Hollerith installed his computing device at the United States War Department on the 9th December 1888.

1928 – Dick Van Patten the American actor was born on the 9th December 1928.

1929 – Bob Hawke the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia was born on the 9th December 1929.

1934 – Judi Dench the English actress was born on the 9th December 1934.

1941 – Beau Bridges the American actor and director was born on the 9th December 1941.

1950 ~ Joan Armatrading (MBE) the British singer-songwriter was born in Saint Kitts on the 9th December 1950. YouTube video: Joan Armatrading ~ Drop The Pilot (1983)…

1953 – John Malkovich the American actor was born on the 9th December 1953.

1957 – Donny Osmond theAmerican singer-songwriter from The Osmonds was born on the 9th December 1957.

1958 – Nick Seymour the Australian bass player and songwriter from Crowded House was born on the 9th December 1958.

1960 – The 1st episode of the world’s longest-running television soap opera Coronation Street was broadcast on the 9th December 1960, in the United Kingdom.

1964 – Paul Landers the German guitarist from Rammstein was born on the 9th December 1964.

1964 ~ Larry Emdur the Australian television personality was born on the 9th December 1964.

1968 – Brian Bell the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Weezer was born on the 9th December 1968.

1979 – The eradication of the smallpox virus was certified on the 9th December 1979, making smallpox the first and only human disease driven to extinction.

1980 ~ Simon Helberg the American actor, voice actor and comedian was born in Los Angeles on the 9th December 1980. Simon Helberg is best known for his role as Howard Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory  sitcom. Simon Helberg’s verified Twitter: www.twitter.com/SimonHelberg

65BC – Horace the Roman poet was born on the 8th December in the year 65 BC (died 8 BC).

1542 – Mary, Queen of Scots was born on the 8th December 1542 (d. 1587).

1560 – The city of Guarulhos was founded on the 8th December 1560.

1574 – Maria Anna of Bavaria the German wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor was born on the 8th December 1574 (died 1616).

1626 – Christina, Queen of Sweden was born on the 8th December 1626 (died 1689).

1699 – Maria Josepha of Austria the Austrian wife of Augustus III of Poland was born on the 8th December 1699 (died 1757).

1724 – Claude Balbastre the French composer and organist was born on the 8th December 1724 (died 1799).

1731 – František Xaver Dušek the Czech composer was born on the 8th December 1731 (died 1799).

1756 – Maximilian Francis of Austria aka Archbishop-Elector of Cologne was born on the 8th December 1756 (died 1801).

1765 – Eli Whitney the American inventor of the cotton gin was born on the 8th December 1765 (died 1825).

1795 – Peter Andreas Hansen the Danish astronomer was born on the 8th December 1795 (died 1874).

1813 – Premier of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony on the 8th December 1813.

1815 – Adolph Menzel the German painter and illustrator was born on the 8th December 1815 (died 1905).

1818 – Charles III, Prince of Monaco was born on the 8th December 1818 (died 1889).

1832 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson the Norwegian author and Nobel Prize laureate was born on the 8th December 1832 (died 1910).

1861 – William C. Durant the American businessman and founder of General Motors and Chevrolet was born on the 8th December 1861 (died 1947).

1861 ~ Georges Méliès the French illusionist and filmmaker was born Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès on the 8th December 1861 (died 1938, aged 77). Georges Méliès was famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema.

1861 – Aristide Maillol the French sculptor and painter was born on the 8th December 1861 (died 1944).

1864 – Camille Claudel the French illustrator and sculptor was born on the 8th December 1864 (died 1943).

1865 – Jean Sibelius the Finnish composer was born on the 8th December 1865 (died 1957 aged 91). Jean Sibelius is featured in Classical Desinations 3 (episode 3) presented by Aled Jones.

1874 – Ernst Moro the Austrian physician was born on the 8th December 1874 (died 1951).

1886 – Diego Rivera the Mexican painter was born on the 8th December 1886 (died 1957).

1890 – Bohuslav Martinů the Czech composer was born on the 8th December 1890 (died 1959).

1894 – E. C. Segar the American cartoonist was born on the 8th December 1894 (d. 1938).

1894 – James Thurber the American author and illustrator was born on the 8th December 1894 (died 1961).

1902 – Wifredo Lam the Cuban painter was born on the 8th December 1902 (died 1982).

1907 – King Gustaf V of Sweden acceded to the Swedish throne on the 8th December 1907.

1915 – Ernest Lehman the American screenwriter was born on the 8th December 1915 (died 2005).

1922 – Lucian Freud the German-English painter was born on the 8th December 1922 (died 2011).

1922 – Jean Ritchie the American singer-songwriter was born on the 8th December 1922.

1924 – Lionel Gilbert the Australian historian and author was born on the 8th December 1924.

1925 ~ Sammy Davis Jr. the African-American entertainer was born Samuel George Davis Jr. on the 8th December 1925 (died 16th May 1990 aged 64). YouTube video: Sammy Davis Jnr performing Mr Bojangles in Germany in 1985…

1925 – Jimmy Smith the American organist was born on the 8th December 1925 (died 2005).

1927 – The Brookings Institution, one of the United States’ oldest think tanks, was founded on the 8th December 1927, through the merger of 3 organizations that had been created by philanthropist Robert S. Brookings.

1927 – Vladimir Shatalov the Soviet cosmonaut and general was born on the 8th December 1927.

1928 – Ulric Neisser the German-American psychologist was born on the 8th December 1928 (died 2012).

1930 – Maximilian Schell the Austrian-Swiss actor and director was born on the 8th December 1930.

1933 – Flip Wilson the American comedian and actor was born on the 8th December 1933 (died 1998).

1936 – David Carradine the American actor was born on the 8th December 1936 (died 2009).

1939 – James Galway the Irish flute player was born on the 8th December 1939.

1939 – Jerry Butler the American singer-songwriter from The Impressions was born on the 8th December 1939.

1939 – Soko Richardson the American drummer from Kings of Rhythm and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers was born on the 8th December 1939 (died 2004).

1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared on the 8th December 1941, that December 7 would be a date which will live in infamy, after which the U.S. declared war on Japan.

1941 – World War II: Japanese forces simultaneously invaded Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies on the 8th December 1941. (See 7th December for the concurrent attack on Pearl Harbor in the Western Hemisphere).

1941 – Bobby Elliott the English drummer from The Hollies was born on the 8th December 1941.

1943 – Jim Morrison the American singer-songwriter from The Doors was born on the 8th December 1943 (died 1971).

1943 – Mary Woronov the American actress was born on the 8th December 1943.

1943 – Larry Martin the American paleontologist was born on the 8th December 1943 (died 2013).

1947 – Gregg Allman the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from The Allman Brothers Band was born on the 8th December 1947.

1947 – Thomas R. Cech the American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate was born on the 8th December 1947.

1949 – Nancy Meyers the American director, producer, and screenwriter was born on the 8th December 1949.

1949 – Ray Shulman the English violinist and guitarist from Simon Dupree and the Big Sound was born on the 8th December 1949.

1949 – Robert Sternberg the American psychologist was born on the 8th December 1949.

1950 – Dan Hartman the American singer-songwriter and producer of the Edgar Winter Group was born on the 8th December 1950 (d. 1994).

1951 – Bill Bryson the American author was born on the 8th December 1951.

1951 – Richard Desmond the English publisher, businessman and founder of Northern & Shell was born on the 8th December 1951.

1953 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his Atoms for Peace speech on the 8th December 1953, which led to an American program to supply equipment and information on nuclear power to schools, hospitals, and research institutions around the world.

1953 – Kim Basinger the American actress, singer, and producer was born on the 8th December 1953.

1953 – Sam Kinison the American comedian and actor was born on the 8th December 1953 (died 1992).

1954 ~ Louis de Bernières the British novelist was born in London on on the 8th December 1954. Louis de Bernières is best known for his 4th novel, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (1994), and released as a film in 2001. Louis de Bernières is also known for his book Red Dog (2001) which was inspired by a statue of a dog he saw while visiting to the Pilbara region of Western Australia, which was made into a film in 2011. Louis de Bernières official website: www.LouisdeBernieres.co.uk

1955 ~ Deborra-Lee Furness the Australian actress, director, producer and wife of Hugh Jackman was born in Sydney on the 8th December 1955, and brought up in Melbourne.

1955 – Kasim Sulton the American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Utopia was born on the 8th December 1955.

1956 – Warren Cuccurullo the American guitarist from Duran Duran and Missing Persons was born on the 8th December 1956.

1956 – Andrew Edge the English drummer from the Thompson Twins was born on the 8th December 1956.

1957 – Phil Collen the English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Def Leppard was born on the 8th December 1957.

1958 – Bob Greene the American physiologist was born on the 8th December 1958.

1958 – Thongchai McIntyre the Thai singer and actor was born on the 8th December 1958.

1961 – Mikey Robins the Australian comedian and television host was born on the 8th December 1961.

1962 – Marty Friedman the American-Japanese guitarist and songwriter from Megadeth was born on the 8th December 1962.

1963 – Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, was struck by lightning and crashed near Elkton, Maryland on the 8th December 1963, killing all 81 people on board.

1962 – Steve Elkington the Australian golfer was born on the 8th December 1962.

1964 – James Blundell the Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 8th December 1964.

1964 – Teri Hatcher the American actress was born on the 8th December 1964.

1964 – Mike Ruiz the Canadian-American model, photographer, and director was born on the 8th December 1964.

1966 – The Greek ship SS Heraklion sank in a storm in the Aegean Sea on the 8th December 1966, killing over 200 people.

1966 – Sinéad O’Connor the Irish singer-songwriter was born on the 8th December 1966.

1969 – An Olympic Airways Douglas DC-6 struck a mountain outside of Keratea, Greece on the 8th December 1969, killing 90 people, making it the worst crash of a DC-6.

1972 – United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737, crashed after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport on the 8th December 1972, killing 45 people. The crash was the first ever loss of a Boeing 737.

1972 – Indrek Allmann the Estonian architect was born on the 8th December 1972.

1973 – Corey Taylor the American singer-songwriter from Slipknot was born on the 8th December 1973.

1980 – John Lennon the English musician, former member of The Beatles, and peace activist, was murdered by Mark David Chapman, a mentally unstable fan, on the 8th December 1980, in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.

1982 – Nicki Minaj the Trinidadian-American rapper was born on the 8th December 1982.

1987 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed on the 8th December 1987.

1987 – Jana Juričová the Slovak tennis player was born on the 8th December 1987.

1987 – Frank Vitkovic shot and killed 8 people at the Australia Post building in Melbourne, then jumped to his death on the 8th December 1987.

1987 – The Alianza Lima air disaster occurred on the 8th December 1987.

1988 – A United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashed into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany on the 8th December 1988, killing 5 people and injuring 50.

1991 – The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine signed an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States on the 8th December 1991.

1993 – AnnaSophia Robb the American actress and singer was born on the 8th December 1993.

2010 – With the 2nd launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 on the 8th December 2010, and the 1st launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX became the 1st private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

2010 – The Japanese solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS passed the planet Venus at a distance of about 80,800 km on the 8th December 2010.

0903 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi the Persian astronomer was born on the 7th December 0903 (died 986).

1598 – Gian Lorenzo Bernini the Italian sculptor and painter was born on the 7th December 1598 (died 1680).

1643 – Giovanni Battista Falda the Italian architect and printmaker was born on the 7th December 1643 (died 1678).

1732 – The Royal Opera House opened at Covent Garden, London on the 7th December 1732.

1792 – Abraham Jacob van der Aa the Dutch author of reference books was born on the 7th December 1792 (died 1857).

1860 – Joseph Cook the English-Australian politician and 6th Prime Minister of Australia was born on the 7th December 1860 (died 1947).

1863 – Richard Warren Sears the American businessman and co-founder of Sears was born on the 7th December 1863 (died 1914).

1869 – Jesse James committed his first confirmed bank robbery on the 7th December 1869, in Gallatin, Missouri.

1894 – Freddie Adkins the British cartoonist was born on the 7th December 1894.

1902 – Hilda Taba the Estonian architect was born on the 7th December 1902 (died 1967).

1905 – Gerard Kuiper the Dutch-American astronomer was born on the 7th December 1905 (died 1973).

1917 – World War I: The United States declared war on Austria-Hungary on the 7th December 1917.

1930 – W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts broadcasted video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers on the 7th December 1930. This broadcast included the 1st television commercial in the United States, an advertisement for I.J. Fox Furriers.

1931 – Allan B. Calhamer the American game designer and creator of Diplomacy was born on the 7th December 1931 (died 2013).

1932 – Paul Caponigro the American photographer was born on the 7th December 1932.

1941 – World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor on the 7th December 1941. The Imperial Japanese Navy carried out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (Japan’s near-simultaneous attacks on Eastern Hemisphere targets were on December 8).

1942 ~ HARRY CHAPiN the American singer & songwriter was born on the 7th December 1942 (died 1981).

1949 – Tom Waits the American singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 7th December 1949.

1954 – Mike Nolan the Irish singer from Bucks Fizz was born on the 7th December 1954.

1963 – Instant replay made its debut on the 7th December 1963, during an Army–Navy game.

1972 – Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, was launched on the 7th December 1972. The crew took the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they left the Earth.

1972 – Hermann Maier the Austrian skier was born on the 7th December 1972.

1974 – Nicole Appleton the Canadian singer from All Saints and Appleton was born on the 7th December 1974.

1974 – Kang Full the South Korean illustrator was born on the 7th December 1974.

1977 – Dominic Howard the English drummer from Muse was born on the 7th December 1977.

1978 – Mr. Porter the American rapper from D12 was born on the 7th December 1978.

1979 – Sara Bareilles the American singer-songwriter and pianist was born on the 7th December 1979. YouTube video: Sara Bareilles ~ Brave (2013)…

1988 – Emily Browning the Australian actress and singer was born on the 7th December 1988.

1988 – Hayley Williams the American singer was born on the 7th December 1988.

1995 – The Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter on the 7th December 1995, about 6 years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.