On This Day December 15th

 OTD

December 15th is the 349th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 16 days remain until the end of the year.

 

 Events

1256 – Mongol forces under Hulagu enter and dismantle the Nizari Ismaili (Assassin) stronghold at Alamut Castle (present-day Iran) as part of their offensive on Islamic southwest Asia.

1778 – American Revolutionary War: British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia.

1836 – The U.S. Patent Office building in Washington, D.C., nearly burns to the ground, destroying all 9,957 patents issued by the federal government to that date and 7,000 related patent models.

1871 – Sixteen-year-old telegraphist Ella Stewart keys and sends the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring.

1903 – Italian-American food cart vendor Italo Marchiony receives a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that makes ice cream cones.

1914 – A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.

1944 – World War II: a single-engine UC-64A Norseman airplane carrying United States Army Air Forces Major Glenn Miller is lost in a flight over the English Channel.

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

2005 – Introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.

 

Birthdays

AD 37 – Nero, Roman emperor (d. 68)

1832 – Gustave Eiffel, French architect and engineer, co-designed the Eiffel Tower (d. 1923)

1861 – Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, co-founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (d. 1938)

1891 – A.P. Carter, American country singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1960)

1892 – J. Paul Getty, an American-English businessman and art collector, founded Getty Oil (d. 1976)

1913 – Roger Gaudry, Canadian chemist and businessman (d. 2001)

1933 – Tim Conway, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)

1944 – Jim Leyland, American baseball player and manager

1950 – Sylvester James Gates, American theoretical physicist and professor

1991 – Conor Daly, American race car driver

 

 

Holiday Spotlight

National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day

  Ugly sweaters have been around for as long as people created a concept of fashion. They weren’t always made purposefully — maybe someone made a mistake in their knitting or tried a new design that didn’t turn out as cool as they thought it would. However, it wasn’t long before grandmas everywhere were knowingly (maybe while chuckling to themselves) knitting their grandchildren's ugly Christmas sweaters, complete with baubles and “I love Grandma” lettering. They knew what they were doing. We’re watching you, grandmas.

 However, mass-market ugly sweaters made their purposeful debut in the 80s. Popular character Bill Huxtable on The Cosby Show constantly made fashionistas gasp when he’d come into the scene in a gaudy, ugly, yet slightly endearing sweater that he knew was utterly outrageous. In 1989, Chevy Chase added his twist to the theme as Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie.

 It seemed the 90s were eager to eliminate the ugly sweater trend, but it reared its “ugly” head back into public eyes in 21st-century Canada. Two men from Vancouver suggested throwing the first official tacky holiday sweater party to raise money for their friend’s cancer treatment. The party was a hit, leading the way for similar events throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Ugly sweater parties went from small holiday get-togethers to huge events, sometimes in support of charity. Today, ugly sweater parties and competitions are one of the season's highlights, with everyone trying to one-up each other in searching for the most appalling outerwear they can find. The sweaters have gone from accidentally tacky to purposefully shameless. The only way this celebration could be extra was if a holiday was dedicated to it…oh wait! There is!

 

Other Include

Bill of Rights Day

Cat Herders Day

International Tea Day

Miss America Pageant

National Cupcake Day

National Lemon Cupcake Day

Underdog Day

National Wear Your Pearls Day

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