Anna Claypoole Peale, US painter of miniatures, died, 1878
NBC Symphony debuted, 1937
Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey” opened on Broadway, 1940
Empress Elizabeth died, 1761
George Washington’s troops crossed the Delaware River, 1776
Nicolae Ceausescu shot, 1989
Claude William Dukenfield (W.C. Fields), actor and juggler, died, 1946
“Goldfinger” released in the US, 1964
First known Christmas carol (“Silent Night, Holy Night”) sung, 1818
England forbade observance of Christmas, 1644
“Why Marry,” first drama to win Pulitzer Prize, opened (New York), 1917
Billy Martin, former baseball manager, died, 1989
Louisiana and Arkansas became first US states to observe Christmas as a legal holiday, 1831
Linus Yale, developer of cylinder lock, died, 1868
Massachusetts General Court ordered a fine (five shillings) for “observing any such day as Christmas”, 1651
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, film comedian, died, 1977