Updated December 21, 2011, 1:28 pm
On Dec. 22, 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln from Georgia, saying, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.”
On Dec. 22, 1907, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, the British stage actress , was born. Following her death on June 14, 1991, her obituary appeared in The Times.
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On This Date
By The Associated Press
1858 Opera composer Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy. 1864 During the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to President Abraham Lincoln from Georgia, saying, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.” 1894 French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism. (He was eventually vindicated.) 1912 Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, was born Claudio Alta Taylor in Karnack, Texas. 1941 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington, D.C., for a wartime conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1944 During the Battle of the Bulge, Germany demanded the surrender of American troops at Bastogne, Belgium; Brigadier Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe reportedly replied: “Nuts!” 1984 New York City resident Bernhard Goetz shot four black youths on a Manhattan subway, claiming they were about to rob him. 1990 Lech Walesa took the oath of office as Poland’s first popularly elected president. 2000 Pop singer Madonna married film director Guy Ritchie in Scotland. (The couple divorced in 2008.) 2001 Richard C. Reid, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives in his shoes, but was subdued by flight attendants and fellow passengers. 2005 Astronomers announced the discovery of two more rings encircling the planet Uranus. 2010 President Barack Obama signed a law allowing gays for the first time in history to serve openly in America’s military. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Hector Elizondo turns 75 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
Actor Ralph Fiennes turns 49 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
1922 Jim Wright, Former House speaker, turns 89 1943 Paul Wolfowitz, Former World Bank president, turns 68 1944 Steve Carlton, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 67 1945 Diane Sawyer, Broadcast journalist (“Good Morning America”), turns 66 1946 Rick Nielsen, Rock musician (Cheap Trick), turns 65 1949 Robin Gibb, Singer (The Bee Gees), turns 62 1951 Jan Stephenson, Golfer, turns 60 1960 Luther Campbell, Rapper (2 Live Crew), turns 51 1973 Heather Donahue, Actress (“The Blair Witch Project”), turns 38 1989 Jordin Sparks, R&B singer (“American Idol”), turns 22 Historic Birthdays
Dame Peggy Ashcroft 12/22/1907 – 6/14/1991 English actress. Go to obituary »
88 James Oglethorpe 12/22/1696 – 6/30/1785
English founder of the British colony of Georgia91 Jean Henri Fabre 12/22/1823 – 10/11/1915
French entomologist87 Thomas Higginson 12/22/1823 – 5/9/1911
American abolitionist80 Frank Kellogg 12/22/1856 – 12/21/1937
American secretary of state65 Giacomo Puccini 12/22/1858 – 11/29/1924
Italian composer67 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti 12/22/1876 – 12/2/1944
Italian-born French novelist, poet, and dramatist; founded Futurist artistic movement82 Giacomo Manzu 12/22/1908 – 1/17/1991
Italian sculptor
Month: December 2011
Spanakopita & Palak Pakoras: Spinach Celebrated by the Greek & the Indians
254/365/01
The Way of the Cross is a lovely garden attached to the Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal, the basilica on Mont Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The lone man traversing this garden pathway happens to share a last name with me (or perhaps it’s the other way around?!).
Sadly, "Freakin' Ironic" is the Right Reaction!
via gocomics.com
Old Siam for Lunch: The Heat is On
Desi Boyz, 2011
I suppose you could call them a “dynamic duo” in a desi-kind of way, but regardless of what you might call the pair of John Abraham and Akshay Kumar, they will remain fine specimens of the male species, rippling muscles and all. But that is not the point of starring in a move– or is it? I mean showcasing one’s fine anatomy by way of song-and-dance numbers? Or maybe it is: again, in a desi-kind of way.
Well, beyond these fine body parts, I’m not sure what else these two might be credited with. Certainly not the story, of course, which by the way is not much of a story. Well, to be fair, there is a story, but so weak is it in plot and delivery that one wonders if it is worthy being called a story.
But long story short, I suppose one needn’t worry and wonder too much about storyline and such, and instead, the better option is to just sit back and allow yourself to be deluded into thinking that things like this, i.e., becoming a successful male-escort is the panacea during times of economic recession. That, and the fact that women will pay money to watch you gyrate your hips and other body-parts with or without muscles.
On This Day: December 21
Updated December 20, 2011, 1:28 pm
On Dec. 21, 1988, a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
On Dec. 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet statesman who was leader of the Communist Party and dictator of the Soviet Union for 25 years , was born. Following his death on March 5, 1953, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1620 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass. 1879 Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was born Josef Dzhugashvili in Gori, Georgia. 1898 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium. 1913 The first crossword puzzle was published, in the New York World. 1937 The Disney animated feature film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” had its world premiere in Los Angeles. 1948 Ireland became an independent republic. 1958 Charles de Gaulle was elected the first president of France’s Fifth Republic. 1968 Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon. 1970 Elvis Presley met with President Richard M. Nixon in the Oval Office to discuss fighting drugs. 1971 The U.N. Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as secretary-general. 1978 Police in Des Plaines, Ill., arrested John W. Gacy Jr. and began unearthing the remains of 33 men and boys he was later convicted of murdering. 1991 Eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics proclaimed the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States. 1995 The city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control. 1996 After two years of denials, House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted violating House ethics rules. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Samuel L. Jackson turns 63 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
1926 Joe Paterno, Former college football coach, turns 85 1928 Ed Nelson, Actor, turns 83 1935 Phil Donahue, Talk show host, turns 76 1937 Jane Fonda, Actress, turns 74 1938 Larry Bryggman, Actor, turns 73 1943 Albert Lee, Rock musician, turns 68 1944 Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor, turns 67 1950 Jeffrey Katzenberg, Movie producer, turns 61 1954 Chris Evert, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 57 1955 Jane Kaczmarek, Actress (“Malcolm in the Middle”), turns 56 1957 Ray Romano, Actor, comedian (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), turns 54 1959 Steve Spagnuolo, Football coach, turns 52 1965 Andy Dick, Actor, comedian, turns 46 1966 Kiefer Sutherland, Actor (“24”), turns 45 1969 Julie Delpy, Actress, director, turns 42 1974 Karrie Webb, Golfer, turns 37 Historic Birthdays
Joseph Stalin 12/21/1879 – 3/5/1953 Soviet dictator (1941-53). Go to obituary »
? Masaccio 12/21/1401 – //1428
Italian artist84 Robert Brown 12/21/1773 – 6/10/1858
Scottish botanist76 Benjamin Disraeli 12/21/1804 – 4/19/1881
Two-time English prime minister (1868,1874-80)72 Frederick Bonfils 12/21/1860 – 2/2/1933
American publisher of the Denver Post84 Henrietta Szold 12/21/1860 – 2/13/1945
American Jewish leader; founded Hadassah (Women’s Zionist Organization of America)90 Dame Rebecca West 12/21/1892 – 3/15/1983
English journalist and novelist35 Josh Gibson 12/21/1911 – 1/20/1947
American baseball player59 Andre Eglevsky 12/21/1917 – 12/4/1977
Russian-born American ballet dancer and instructor67 Heinrich Boll 12/21/1917 – 7/16/1985
German novelist and Nobel Prize winner
Christmas Tea Party with Old Friends: A Time to Celebrate and Reminisce
