1948 – The Cole PorterBroadway musical, Kiss Me, Kate opened on the 30th December 1948, at the New Century Theatre, and became the first show to win the Best Musical Tony Award.
1957 – Matt Lauer the American journalist and host of The Today Show was born on the 30th December 1957.
1957 – Glenn Robbins the Australian actor and comedian was born on the 30th December 1957.
1959 – Tracey Ullman the English-American actress, singer, screenwriter, and director was born on the 30th December 1959.
1965 – Heidi Fleiss the American madam and columnist was born on the 30th December 1965.
1969 – Jay Kay the English singer-songwriter from Jamiroquai was born on the 30th December 1969.
1986 – Ellie Goulding the English singer-songwriter and producer was born on the 30th December 1986.
2006 – Saddam Hussein the former President of Iraq was executed on the 30th December 2006.
1941 – Ray Thomas the English singer-songwriter from The Moody Blues was born on the 29th December 1941.
1947 – Ted Danson the American actor and producer was born on the 29th December 1947.
1954 – Roger Voudouris the American singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 29th December 1954 (died 2003 aged 48). Roger Voudouris was best known for his 1979 hit Get Used To It (YouTube video)…
1960 – David Boon the Australian cricketer was born on the 29th December 1960.
1965 – Dexter Holland the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from The Offspring was born on the 29th December 1965.
1972 – Jude Law the English actor, director, and producer was born on the 29th December 1972.
2012 ~ Tony Greig the EnglishTest cricket captain and commentator died on the 29th December 2012, aged 66, living in Australia. Tony was Born Anthony Greig on 6th October 1946 in South Africa.
1895 – The Lumière brothers performed for their first paying audience on the 28th December 1895, at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema.
1895 – Wilhelm Röntgen published a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation on the 28th December 1895, which later became known as x-rays.
1901 ~ Marlene Dietrich the German – American actress and singer was born on the 1901 (died 1992).
Marlene Dietrich still photograph from the Shanghai Express movie in 1932, by Josef von Sternberg, with butterfly lighting to enhance her features. Mick Rock said this photograph was the inspiration for the iconic Queen II album cover.
1922 – Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō became the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world on the 27th December 1922.
1939 – Erzincan in Turkey was hit by an earthquake on the 27th December 1939, killing 30,000 people.
1941 – Mike Pinder the English singer-songwriter and keyboard player from The Moody Blues was born on the 27th December 1941.
1944 – Mick Jones the English guitarist and songwriter from Foreigner was born on the 27th December 1944.
1948 – Gérard Depardieu the French actor was born on the 27th December 1948.
1952 – David Knopfler the Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from Dire Straits was born on the 27th December 1952.
1966 – The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, was discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico on the 27th December 1966.
1968 – Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on the 27th December 1968, ending the first orbital manned mission to the Moon.
1978 – Spain became a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship on the 27th December 1978.
1978 – The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in the South Pole recorded temperatures of 7.5 °F (−13.6 °C) on the 27th December 1978, making it the highest temperature to ever be recorded in the South Pole.
1988 ~ Hayley Williams the American lead singer and songwriter from rock band Paramore was born on the 27th December 1988.
2004 – Radiation from an explosion on the magnetarSGR 1806-20 reached Earth on the 27th December 2004, making it is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet.
1871 – Gilbert and Sullivan collaborated for the first time on 26th December 1871, on their lost opera, Thespis.
1933 ~ Ugly Dave Gray the English-Australian comedian and actor was born on 26th December 1933.
1939 – Phil Spector the American singer-songwriter and producer was born on 26th December 1939.
1941 ~ Johnny Chester the Australian singer-songwriter was born John Howard Chester on the 26th December 1941. Johnny Chester started his career in 1959 singing rock’n’roll, and in 1969 changed to country music. Johnny has toured nationally with The Beatles, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette and Charley Pride. Johnny Chester has also worked as a radio announcer on 3UZ and Radio Australia, and hosted TV shows such as Teen Time on Ten (Channel 10 Gippsland), Teen Scene (ABC TV) and Country Road(ABC TV). Johnny Chester has won Golden Guitars at the Country Music Awards of Australia for best selling track in 1975, and Male Vocalist of the Year in 1981, 1982 and 1983.
1963 ~ Lars Ulrich the Danish-American drummer and songwriter from Metallica was born on 26th December 1963.
“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, your family, pets and friends” ~ from Anton K
Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree watching over Melbourne on Christmas Eve at sunset. View from the hills of Boronia in the Dandenongs ~ photo by Anton K (2011)
7BC– ~ Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born on the 25th December 7-2 BC.
1628 – Noël Coypel the French painter was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1628 (d. 1707).
1643 – Christmas Island was found and named by Captain William Mynors on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1643.
1642 – Isaac Newton the English scientist and mathematician was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1642 (d. 1727).
1856 – Hans von Bartels the German painter was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1856 (d. 1913).
1870 – Helena Rubinstein the Polish-born American cosmetics industrialist was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1870 (d. 1965).
1887 – Conrad Hilton the American hotelier was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1887 (d. 1979).
1899 – Humphrey Bogart the American actor was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1889 (d. 1957).
1908 – Quentin Crisp the English author was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1908 (d. 1999).
1913 – Tony Martin the American singer and actor was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1913 (d. 2012).
1928 – Dick Miller the American actor was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1928.
1962 – Darren Wharton the British keyboardist from Thin Lizzy was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1962.
1965 ~ Thunderbirds premiered for the first time on London television on the 25th December 1965. Thunderbirds originally premiered for the 1st time in the World on the ATV Midlands broadcasting region 3 months earlier on the 30th September 1965. The children’s television series about a rescue organisation was inspired by a real life disaster rescue on the 7th November 1963, when 11 West German miners were rescued from a collapsed mine after surviving for 14 days, an event later known as the Wunder von Lengede (Miracle of Lengede).
1968 – Helena Christensen the Danish model was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1968.
1968 – Apollo 8 performed the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneuver on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1968, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
1971 – Dido the English singer was born on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1971.
1990 – The first successful trial run of the World Wide Web was conducted on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1990.
1995 – Dean Martin the American singer died on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1995 (b. 1917).
1977 – Charlie Chaplin the English actor and film director died on Christmas Day on the 25th December 1977 (b. 1889).
2006 – James Brown the American singer died on Christmas Day on the 25th December 2006 (b. 1933)
2004 – Huygens probe was released by Cassini orbiter on Christmas Day on the 25th December 2004, which successfully landed on Saturn‘s moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
2008 – Eartha Kitt the American actress and singer died on Christmas Day on the 25th December 2008 (b. 1927).
1777 – Kiritimati (Christmas Island) was discovered by James Cook on the 24th December 1777.
1837 ~ Elisabeth of Austria the Empress of Austria, Queen of Hungary, and wife of Franz Joseph I was born in in Munich, Bavaria on the 24th December 1837 (died 10th September 1898 aged 60).
1865 – The Ku Klux Klan was formed on the 24th December 1865.
1881 – Charles Wakefield Cadman the American composer was born on the 24th December 1881 (died 1946).
1905 – Howard Hughes the American engineer and director was born on the 24th December 1905 (died 1976).
1922 – Ava Gardner the American actress was born on the 24th December 1922 (died 1990).
1924 – Lee Dorsey the American singer was born on the 24th December 1924 (died 1986).
1947 – Kevin Sheedy the Australian footballer and coach was born on the 24th December 1947.
1968 – The crew of Apollo 8 entered into orbit around the Moon on the 24th December 1968, becoming the 1st humans to do so. The Apollo 8 performed 10 lunar orbits while broadcasting live TV pictures for the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
1982 – Robert Coppola Schwartzman the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rooney was born on the 24th December 1982. YouTube video: When Did Your Heart Go Missing? (2007)..
2002 – A MQ-1 Predator was shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 on the 23rd December 2002, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.
Gentleman was the follow up single released by Psy on the 12th April. The first public performance of the song, with an associated dance, was unveiled at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on the 13th April 2013. The main lyric line of the song is often mistaken for “I’m a mother f**ker gentleman”, but is actually “I’m a mother father gentleman”.
As of the 1st May 2013, the Gentleman video has been viewed more than 265 million times on YouTube, setting a few YouTube records, including the most views in its first 24 hours, most views in any 24 hours, the fastest music video to reach 100 million views, and fastest video to reach 200 million views.
