On This Day December 1st

 OTD

December 1st is the 335th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 30 days remain until the end of the year.

 

 Events

800 – A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III.

1662 – Diarist John Evelyn records skating on the frozen lake in St James's Park, London, watched by Charles II and Queen Catherine.

1824 – United States presidential election: Since no candidate received a majority of the electoral college votes, the United States House of Representatives is tasked with deciding the winner under the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

1862 – In his State of the Union Address, President Abraham Lincoln reaffirms the necessity of ending slavery as ordered ten weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation.

1878 – President Rutherford B. Hayes gets the first telephone installed in the White House.

1913 – Crete, having obtained self-rule from Turkey after the First Balkan War, is annexed by Greece.

1924 – The National Hockey League's first United States-based franchise, the Boston Bruins, played its first game in league play at home, at the still-extant Boston Arena indoor hockey facility.

1973 – Papua New Guinea gains self-government from Australia.

2011 – The Alma-Ata Metro was opened.

 

Birthdays

1761 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (d. 1850)

1846 – Ledi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (d. 1923)

1912 – Minoru Yamasaki, American architect, designed the World Trade Center (d. 1986)

1923 – Stansfield Turner, American admiral and academic, 12th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2018)

1931 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (d. 1986)

1940 – Jerry Lawson, American electronic engineer and inventor (d. 2011)

1940 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)

1970 – Golden Brooks, American actress

1988 – Zoë Kravitz, American actress, singer, and model

 

Holiday Spotlight.

National Christmas Lights Day

Time to deck the halls, folks, because December 1 is National Christmas Lights Day! Before the invention of electric lights, families would balance candles on the branches of their Christmas trees—a risky practice that naturally led to several house fires. Electric Christmas lights were first invented in 1880 by Thomas Edison, who promptly strung them all outside his Menlo Park laboratory. However, because people were initially distrustful of electricity, the invention took another several decades to catch on. It wasn’t until 1903 when General Electric began selling pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights, that electric lights became popular with people of all classes. Today, electric lights are an integral part of the winter holiday season and certainly aren’t exclusive to Christmas. As we prepare for the year's end, let’s string up our lights and celebrate. ‘Tis the season, after all.

 

Other Include

Antarctica Day

Bartender Appreciation Day

Bifocals at the Monitor Liberation Day

Central African Republic Day

Civil Air Patrol (USAF Auxiliary) Birthday

Day With(out) Art Day

Eat a Red Apple Day

Freedom and Democracy Day in Chad

Faux Fur Friday

International Sweater Vestival

National Christmas Lights Day

National Pie Day

Portugal Independence Day

Romania Independence Day

Rosa Parks Day - (States of Ohio / Oregon)

Wear a Dress Day

World AIDS Day

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