Naval hero of the Spanish-American War, Admiral George Dewey, was born in Montpelier, Vermont, on December 26, 1837. Continue reading.

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A bit of December 26th history…

1492 - 1st Spanish settlement, La Navidad, in the New World is founded by Columbus - modern Mole-Saint-Nicolas in Haiti

1620 - Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory (the Blood Countess)’s crimes and serial murders are uncovered (pictured)

1854 - Wood pulp paper 1st exhibited

1973 - “The Exorcist” premiers - 1st horror film nominated for Best Picture

2004 - 9.3 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia killing 230,000 people 

A bit of December 25th history…

274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian dedicates a temple to Sol Invictus on the day of the winter solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun

352 - 1st definite date that Christmas was celebrated on December 25th

800 - Charlemagne (Charles the Great) crowned Holy Roman Emperor

1066 - William the Conqueror is crowned King of England, completing the Norman conquest of England

1223 - St Francis of Assisi assembles the 1st Nativity scene

1492 - Columbus’ flag ship, the Santa Maria, runs aground and sinks on the north coast of Hispaniola; crew are left to found colony as Columbus returns to Spain

1651 - Massachusetts General Court ordered a 5 shilling fine for “observing any such day as Christmas”

1741 - Astronomer Anders Celsius introduces Centigrade temperature scale

1914 - Legendary “Christmas Truce” takes place on the battlefields of WWI between British and German troops; instead of fighting, soldiers exchange gifts and play football (pictured) 

On December 25, Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Christ. Continue reading.

On Christmas Day, December 25, 1830, the Best Friend of Charleston became the first regularly scheduled steam locomotive passenger train in the United States. Continue reading.

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‘Tis December 24, the day before Christmas, and all through the land, families send excited children to bed with a reading of Clement Moore’s classic poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Continue reading.

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A bit of December 24th history…

1651 - Jan van Riebeeck departs for cape of Good Hope to found 1st permanent European settlement

1814 - Treaty of Ghent signed, ending the War of 1812 between the US, the UK, and their allies

1818 - Carol “Silent Night” is 1st sung at St Nicholas parish church in Austria

1851 - Fire devastates US Library of Congress, destroys 35,000 volumes

1877 - Thomas Edison files patent for the phonograph

1895 - George Vanderbilt opens Biltmore Estate, largest privately owned house in America at 178,926 sq ft in North Carolina (pictured)

1906 - Music 1st broadcast over radio

2001 - “Time Magazine” names NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani ‘Person of the Year’ for leadership after 9/11 attacks 

George Washington resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783, in the Senate chamber of the Maryland State House in Annapolis, where the Continental Congress was meeting. Continue reading.

On December 23, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Owen-Glass Act, creating the Federal Reserve System, an independent agency of the U.S. Government. Continue reading.

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A bit of December 23rd history…

962 - Byzantine - Arab War: Under the future Emperor Phocas, Byzantine troops storm city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist

1788 - Maryland votes to cede 10 square mile area for the District of Columbia

1888 - Vincent Van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor after an argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, and sent it to a prostitute for safe keeping

1913 - US President Wilson signs Federal Reserve Act into law

1938 - Discovery of 1st modern coelacanth off South Africa (pictured)

1972 - 16 plane crash survivors rescued after 72 days on the Andean Mountains, surviving through cannibalism

2002 - An MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the 1st time in history an aircraft and an unmanned drone engage in combat  

Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, known as Connie Mack, the "Tall Tactician" of major league baseball, was born on December 22, 1862, in East Brookfield, Massachusetts. Continue reading.

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A bit of December 22nd history…

1807 - US Congress passes Embargo Act; prohibits American ships from trading in foreign ports as a result of involvement in hostilities between France and Britain

1882 - 1st string of Christmas tree lights created by Edison

1932 - “The Mummy” is released, 1st mummy horror film

1956 - Colo is born, 1st gorilla to be bred in captivity - Columbus, Ohio (pictured)

1975 - US President Ford signs the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA)

2010 - Repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, a policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the US military

2016 - Ebola vaccine VSV-EBOV is found to be 70-100% effective, becoming the world’s 1st proven vaccine against Ebola