1570s 1570: IVAN THE TERRIBLE OF RUSSIA, SUSPECTING A REVOLT IN THE CITY OF NOVGOROD, CAPTURED THE CITY AND EXECUTED MANY OF ITS INHABITANTS 1580s DIED 1584: WILLIAM CARTER (PRINTER, HANGED FOR PRINTING LEWD PAMPHLETS) 1780s 1788: CONNECTICUT BECAME THE FIFTH STATE TO JOIN THE […]

Every Year US: BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS DAY 1640s DIED 1642: GALILEO (ASTRONOMER) 1680s BORN 1682: JONATHAN BELCHER (COLONIAL GOVERNOR AND MERCHANT) 1730s BORN 1735: JOHN CARROL (FOUNDED GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY) 1790s 1790: FIRST STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE, DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON 1790: PRESIDENT […]

DISTAFF DAY The day after Epiphany (January 6) was traditionally the one on which women went back to work after the 12-day Christmas celebration. A distaff is the wooden rod (staff) that holds the flax or wool on a spinning wheel. The term distaff came […]

TWELFTH NIGHT In the olden days, the festivities of Christmas lasted twelve days, which was the time supposed to have been taken by the three wise men or kings in their journey to Bethlehem. The final evening (January 5) was called “Twelfth Night” and marked […]

1520s 1521: MARTIN LUTHER WAS FORMALLY EXCOMUNICATED FROM THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BY POPE LEO X 1770s 1777: GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON DEFEATED THE BRITISH UNDER LORD CORNWALLIS AT THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON 1790s BORN 1793: LUCRETIA MOTT (SOCIAL REFORMER) 1830s BORN 1835: LARKIN GOLDSMITH MEAD […]

1640s BORN 1647: NATHANIEL BACON (COLONIAL LEADER) 1780s 1788: GEORGIA RATIFIED THE U.S. CONSTITUTION 1830s BORN 1831: JUSTIN WINSOR (HISTORIAN) 1880s BORN 1881: FREDERICK VARLEY (CANADIAN ARTIST) 1890s 1890: ALICE SANGER BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE STAFFER FOR THE WHITE HOUSE BORN 1895: COUNT FOLKE BERNADOTTE […]

Every Year DOCTOR’S DAY 1130s BORN 1135: MOSES MAIMONIDES (RABBI) 1790s 1791: PRESIDENT WASHINGTON PROCLAIMED BOUNDARY OF NEW CAPITAL CITY ON POTOMAC RIVER 1820s BORN 1820: ANNA SEWELL (AUTHOR) 1840s 1842: DR. CRAWFORD LONG OF JEFFERSON, GA, PLACED AN ETHER-SOAKED TOWEL OVER THE FACE OF […]

HOGMANAY In Scotland, December 31 is known as Hogmanay, the word children use to ask for their traditional present of an oatmeal cake (which is why this is also called Cake Day). It’s believed that Hogmanay originated with the invading Vikings who celebrated the passing […]

1170s 1170: SAINT THOMAS BECKET WAS MURDERED BY FOUR KNIGHTS 1760s BORN 1766: CHARLES MACINTOSH (CHEMIST & INVENTOR) 1800s BORN 1800: CHARLES GOODYEAR (INVENTOR) BORN 1808: ANDREW JOHNSON (17TH U.S. PRESIDENT) 1840s 1845: TEXAS ADMITTED TO THE UNION AS THE 28TH STATE 1848: GASLIGHTS WERE […]

WINTER SOLSTICE The winter solstice is one of the two times each year that the Sun is at its farthest point from the equator and appears to stand still. It occurs today at 5:02 A.M. EST. The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol, […]

United States Bill of Rights 1789 photo By 1st United States Congress – Available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration. Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org James Madison, primary author and chief advocate for the Bill of Rights in the First Congress By […]

December birthstone of Turquoise slab By Parent Géry – Own work, Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org 1780s 1787: PENNSYLVANIA RATIFIED THE CONSTITUTION AND BECAME THE SECOND STATE IN THE UNION 1850s DIED 1851: DR. JOEL ROBERTS POINSETT (INTRODUCED THE POINSETTIA PLANT TO THE U.S.) 1860s BORN […]

U.S. Navy battleships at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 (l-r): USS West Virginia (BB-48) (sunk), USS Tennessee (BB-43) (damaged), and the USS Arizona (BB-39) (sunk). 1941 photo By USN; National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY At […]

A depiction of Saint Nicholas with his sack standing next to a Nativity Scene By Ing.Mgr. Jozef Kotulič – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https commons.wikimedia.org ST. NICHOLAS DAY Many countries in Europe celebrate the Feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas, on the eve of […]

December birthstone a slab of turquoise 2010 photo by By Parent Géry – Own work, Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org 1780s BORN 1782: MARTIN VAN BUREN (8TH U.S. PRESIDENT). HE WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO BE A U.S. CITIZEN AT BIRTH 1790s DIED 1791: WOLFGANG AMADEUS […]

Yellow narcissus flower for month of December 2008 photo by By Screen stalker – Own work, Public Domain, https commons.wikimedia.org 1640s DIED 1642: ARMAND-JEAN DU PLESSIS, CARDINAL DE RICHELIEU (FRENCH CLERGYMAN AND STATESMAN) 1780s 1783: AT FRAUNCES TAVERN IN NEW YORK’S LOWER MANHATTAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON […]

Goodbye November 2020 Hello December Christmas tree on Park Avenue (WeLoveThisPic.com).jpg Every Year INDEPENDENCE DAY (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES) 1760s 1763: TOURO SYNAGOGUE, OLDEST IN THE UNITED STATES, WAS DEDICATED IN NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND 1800s 1804: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE WAS CROWNED FRENCH EMPEROR NAPOLEON I OF FRANCE […]