December 1st - 9th
December
The last and
twelfth month of the year, it is last of seven months to have 31 days.
December got
its name from the Latin word deem meaning ten. December was originally the tenth month in
the year according to the Calendar of Romulus.
It stated that the year started during March and the winter days
following December were not part of any month.
Later on, the months January and February were added to the beginning of
the calendar. However, December retained
its name.
1st December
Events
1420 – Henry V of England enters Paris, France
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| Portrait c. 1585, attributed to John de Critz |
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| Portrait of John Evelyn by Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1687 |
Evelyn was a
writer, gardener and diarist. His diary
covers from 1640, when Evelyn was a student until his death 1706. He did not write daily all the time; however,
the diary covers art, culture and politics.
Evelyn was
known of his knowledge of trees, publishing an article, “Sylva, or A
Discourse of Forest-Trees” (1664), written to encourage landowners to plant
trees to provide timber for English navy.
1824 – The
United States Presidential Election.
The result of the election no candidate
received a majority of the total electoral college votes in the election. It was down to United States House of
Representatives to decide who the winner was in according to the Twelfth
Amendment to the United States Constitution.
1834 – Slavery
is abolished in the Cape
Colony in accordance
with the Slavery Abolition Act, 1833
1913 – The
first moving assembly line was introduced at Ford Motor Company
1913 – Crete obtained
self-rule from Turkey after the First Balkan War (1912 – 1913) is annexed by
Greece
1918 – Iceland becomes
a sovereign state yet is still part of the Danish Kingdom.
Iceland had
been under the control of the Crown of Denmark since 1380, although formally it
had been a Norwegian possession until 1814.
1874, Denmark after a thousand years of its first acknowledged settlement
granted Iceland home rule. The constitution written in the same year was reviewed
during 1903, and the ext4ent of Iceland’s home rule was increased in 1904. A minister of Icelandic affairs, residing in
Reykjavik was made responsible to the Althing, the Icelandic Parliament
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| Nancy Astor in 1923 |
Born Nancy
Witcher Langhorne, 1879. Daughter to
Chiswell Dabney Langhorne and Nancy Witcher Keene. The 18-year-old Nancy married for the first
time, Robert Gould Shaw, the wealthy landowner, and international polo player.
The marriage
bore a son, Robert Gould Shaw born 1898.
The marriage last only four years, followed a divorce.
Nancy took a
tour of England, where she loved the country.
Having been known in English Society, Nancy married for the second time,
Waldorf Astor, Viscount Astor, May 1906.
Whom she meets on an Atlantic voyage to the United Kingdom, the previous
year.
Following the
death of his father William Waldorf Astor, 1918, Astor, inherited the
viscountcy and had forced to forfeit his seat in the House of Commons. Subsequentially in a by-election, Nancy won
the seat, 1919 and was the second female to be elected and the first female to
take a seat in the House of Commons, after the first woman elected, Constance
Markievicz declined in accordance to her party’s, Sinn Fein, policy.
Nancy
retained her seat for Plymouth Sutton, until 1945.
1960 –
Paul McCartney and Pete Best are arrested and later deported from
Hamburg, West Germany after accusations of attempted arson.
1973 –
Papua New Guinea gains self-governance from Australia
1990 – Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed.
Births
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| Madame Tussaud "at the age of 42, when she left France for England". Portrait study (1921) by John Theodore Tussaud. |
Born 1st
December 1761, daughter of Joseph Grosholtz, who was killed two months before
his daughter’s birth during the Seven Years’ War and Anne-Marie Walder.
When Marie
was 6 years old, her mother who acted as a housekeeper to the local doctor,
Phillippe Curtius. Marie looked on him
as an uncle.
Curtius was
a skilled in wax modelling. Initially he
used his skills to illustrate anatomy.
1765, he moved to Paris to establish a Cabinet de Portraits En Cire. The following year Grosholtz and her
mother joined the doctor.
Curtius taught
Grosholtz the art of wax modelling. Her
first model of Voltaire was created during 1777. From 1780 until the French Revolution 1789, Grosholtz
created many more famous portraits.
Curtius died
1794, and he left his wax works to Grosholtz.
The following year, 1795, she married a civil engineer, Francois
Tussaud.
After the
Treaty of Amiens, 1802, Tussaud and her son, Joseph went to London. She accepted an invitation from Paul Phildor
and magic lantern pioneer, to exhibit her work alongside his at the Lyceum Theatre,
London. Tussaud did not fare particularly well finically and left for
Edinburgh, 1803.
As the
result of the Napoleonic Wars, Tussaud was unable to return to France. So, travelled throughout the British Isles
for her collection. Her other son,
Francois joined during 1822, the family business. After 33 years of touring, 1835, Tussaud, established
her first permanent exhibition in Baker Street, London on the upper floor of
the “Baker Street Bazaar”.
1844 –
Alexandra of Denmark wife of King Edward VII
Deaths
1135 –
Henry I (66), King of England
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| Colonel Sir George Everest CB, FRS, FRAS, FRGS |
Everest who
aged 16, arrived at India. He was made assistant
to William Lambton, on the Great Trigonometric Survey. From 1823, he replaced Lambton as Superintendent. Everest was responsible for the survey of the
meridian arc, from southernmost point of India north to Nepal, a distance of
1,500 miles. The task taking from 1806 to 1841 to be completed. Everest
was appointed Surveyor General of India from 1830 until his retirement in 1843.
The Royal Geographical
Society in 1865 renamed Peak XV the identify of world’s highest peak to in
Everest’s honour. Andrew Scott Waugh put
forward Everest name forward in 1856. Initially
Everest objected to the honour as having nothing to do with its discovery,
however, Everest name was used as a comprise due to the difficulty of choosing between
multiple local names for the mountain.
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| Everest's grave, St. Andrew's Church, Hove, Sussex |
Everest was the passenger on the first voyage of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ship SS Great Britain. 1847, Everest published a book “An Account of the Measurement of Two Sections of the Meridional Arc of India”. He was later elected fellowship of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Geographical Society. 1854, Everest was promoted to colonel and 1861 made a Commander of the Order of Bath and Knight Bachelor. 1866 Everest died at his home, Hyde Park Gardens, London. He was buried St. Andrew Church, Hove, near Brighton.
2nd December
Events
1697 –
St. Paul’s Cathedral is consecrated in London.
31 years and
3 months after the Great Fire of London, the new cathedral, having been built
by Sir Christopher Wren was consecrated for use. The service was conducted by the Bishop of
London, the Right Reverend Henry Compton.
The service was based on the text of the Psalm 22. “I was glad when
they said unto me: Let us go into the house of the Lord”. The first regular service was held on the 3rd
December
1804 – Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French at Notre Dame Cathedral
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| Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter |
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| Puyi as Emperor of Manchukuo, wearing the Mǎnzhōuguó uniform. |
Puyi, became
Emperor after his half-uncle, Guangxu Emperor died childless. Puyi full title was Xuantong Emperor, 12th
and final Emperor of the Qing dynasty. His
reign lasting from 2nd December 1908 to 12th February
1912, when he was forced to abdicated following the 1911 Revolution. He was briefly restored emperor by loyalist General
Zhang Xun, from 1st July to 12th July 1917.
Puyi is also
known to have used the English name “Henry”, which was he chose from the
list of English kings, the list was given to him by his English-language teacher
Reginald Johnston.
1976 –
Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba replacing Osvaldo
Dorticos Torrado
Births
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| William Burges |
Burges was
regarded as one of the Victorian art-architects. His work escapes from both nineteenth-century
industrialisation and the Neoclassical architectural style and re-establishes
the architectural and social values of a medieval England. His works stands the tradition of the Gothic Revival
and echoes the Pre-Raphaelites.
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| Cardiff Castle |
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| John Rhodes Cobb at Brooklands |
Cobb was the
holder of the World’s Land Speed Record, 1938, 1939 and 1947. He was
killed at Loch Ness, Scotland whist piloting a jet powered speedboat in the attempt
to break the World Water Speed Record.
Deaths
1747 –
Vincent Bourne (52) – English classical scholar and
Neo-Latin poet.
3rd December
Events
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| Current flag of Singapore |
Births
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| Anna Freud in 1957 |
Born Vienna
and the youngest daughter of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. Following the path of her father and contributed
to the field of psychoanalysis. Working
alongside with Melaine Klein, Freud is considered the founder of psychoanalytic
child psychology.
Deaths
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| Robert Louis Stevenson Portrait by Henry Walter Barnett, 1893 |
Stevenson, son
of Thomas Stevenson, the leading lighthouse engineer and his wife Margaret Isabella
Balfour. Stevenson was educated at Edinburgh. During his life, Stevenson suffered from
bronchial. Due to ill health Stevenson
carried on writing. Stevenson mixed with
the London literary circle. Eventually
Stevenson, settled in Samoa, where he was alarmed at the European and American
encroachment upon the South Sea Island.
By this time Stevenson’s writing to a darker realism. It is here that he died. His works include “Treasure Island”
(1883), “Kidnapped” (1886) and “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”
(1886)
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| Robert Louis Stevenson's grave Mount Vaea |
Robert Louis Stevenson died probably from a cerebral haemorrhage. Stevenson was buried in land donated by the British Vice Consul Thomas Trood a spot overlooking the sea, Mount Vaea.
His graves bears the inscription
Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
1935 –
Princess Victoria of
the United Kingdom
(67) – the daughter of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark and the younger
sister of George V. Victoria’s full name
being Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary Windsor.
Victoria
lived as her mother’s companion until her death ins 1925. Victoria never married have been discouraged
by her mother, although had a number of suitors, king Carlos I of Portugal. Victoria set home at Coppins, Iver,
Buckinghamshire. Taking a particular interest
in village life and became the honorary president of the Iver Horticultural
Society.
Vicotira was
initially buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, however, her remains were
moved and reburied at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor Great Park a
year after her death.
4th December
Events
1259 –
Both King Louis IX of
France and King Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris.
In which Henry renounces his claims to
the French-controlled territory, in return for Louis withdrawing his support
for English rebels.
1881 –
The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published
Births
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| Samuel Butler |
Deaths
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1828 – Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (58) – English politician and Prime Minister.
Jenkinson
born 1770, son of Charles Jenkinson and his wife Anna Watts. Jenkinson was educated at Charterhouse School
and Christ Church, Oxford. 1790, won
election to the House of Commons a seat for Rye. He obtained this seat until 1803.
Following Spencer
Perceval assassination in 1812, George, the Prince Regent tried to appoint four
men to replace Perceval, however, they were unable to form ministries. Jenkinson the 5th choice reluctantly
accepted the position of Prime Minister on 8th June 1812.
As prime
minister, Jenkinson, called for domestic level to maintain order after the
Peterloo Massacre, 1819. He also steered
the country through a period of radicalism and unrest after the Napoleonic
Wars.
During his
time in office, Catholic emancipation was a source of great conflict. George Canning who succeeded him as prime
minister, after he backed the Catholic Relief Bill. Jenkinson was prime
minister for nearly 15 years.
Jenkinson
retired during 1827, after serving from cerebral haemorrhage at him Fife House,
Whitehall. He asked the King to find a
successor. Jenkinson suffered another
minor stroke, whilst at Coombe her suffered a third attack December 1828, from
which he died from. Jenkinson
had been married twice, firstly to Louisa Hervey, 1792, who died 1821. Jenkinson secondly married Mary Chester, 1822. Jenkinson died childless, and was buried in
Hawkesbury parish church, Gloucestershire, beside his father and his first
wife.
1897 –
Griffith Rhys Jones (62) – Welsh conductor of the famous
‘Cor Mawr’. Jones is buried at Aberdare
Cemetery.
5th December
Events
1492 –
Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set
foot on the island of Hispaniola, during his first voyage.
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| James Christie by Thomas Gainsborough |
Births
1784 –
George Shepherd – English illustrator and painter.
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| Christina Georgina Rossetti |
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| Admiral of the Fleet The Right Honourable The Earl Jellicoe GCB, OM, GCVO, SGM, DL |
1859 – John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe – English admiral and politician, 2nd
Governor-General of New Zealand.
Jellicoe fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War (1882), the Boxer Rebellion (1899
– 1901) and commanded the Grand Fleet during the Battle of Jutland (1916),
during the First World War.
Deaths
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| Princess Alice, 1906 |
Victoria
Alice Elizabeth Julie Marie Windsor was the great granddaughter of Queen Victoria,
born 1885. 1903, Alice married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. The married couple lived in Greece until the exile
of most of the Greek royal family in 1917.
Returning a few years later to Greece, her husband blamed in part for
the country defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1911 – 1922). The family was forced once more exile until
the restoration of the Greek monarchy 1935.
During the
early 1930s, Alice was diagnosed with schizophrenia and whilst in Switzerland
was committed to a sanatorium. During the
Second World War Alice was staying in Athens, where she was sheltering Jewish refugees,
for which she was recognised the “Righteous Among the Nations”, by Israel’s
Holocaust memorial institution.
1967 after
the fall of King Constantine II of Greece and the imposition of military rule
in Greece, Alice was invited to live at Buckingham Palace, London. It is here where she died two years
later. First buried at St. George’s
Chapel, however, during 1988 he remains were transferred to the Church of Mary
Magdalene, at the Russian Orthodox convent of the same name on the Mount of
Olives, Jerusalem.
6th December
Events
1877 –
The first edition of The
Washington Post is
published
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| Nefertiti Bust |
Nefertiti
meaning “the beautiful one has come forth” was the 14th-century
BC Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th dynasty
of Egypt. Little is known about Nefertiti.
It is
thought that the bust was crafted by sculptor Thurmose, 1345 BC. Even though there are no inscription, it has
been identified as Nefertiti by the characteristic crown.
German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt of the
German Oriental Company discovered Nefertiti at Amarna. The bust having been found in a workshop of
Thurmose, along with other unfinished busts of Nefertiti.
Births
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| Lynn Fotanne Photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1932 |
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| William Hay in The Ghost of St. Michael’s (1941) |
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| Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell |
1892 – Osbert Sitwell – English-Italian captain, poet and author. Sitwell’s siblings included Edith and
Sacheverell Sitwell.
Deaths
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1882 – Anthony Trollope (67) – English novelist.
Trollope was
born 1815, London, was the son of Thomas Anthony Trollope, barrister and his
wife Frances Milton, novelist and travel writer. Trollope education was at Harrow School,
which was followed by studies at Winchester College.
1834,
Trollope took an offer of a clerkship in the General Post Office. However, Trollope is noted for his works
including “Chronicles of Barsetshire”.
Another novel
“Lady Anna” was written on the voyage to Australia on board the SS Great
Britain.
During 1880,
Trollope moved to the village of South Harting, West Sussex, to start work on
his unpublished novel “The Landieaguers”. Trollope died at Marylebone and is buried in
Kensal Green Cemetery, close by to his contemporary, Willie Collins.
7th December
Events
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| Jesse James c. 1882 |
1922 –
The Parliament of
Northern Ireland
votes to remain as part of United Kingdom and not unity with Southern Ireland
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| Albert Einstein in 1921 |
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| Jack Fingleton |
1936 – Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
Births
1927 –
Helen Watts – Welsh contralto
Deaths
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| Vice-Admiral of the Blue William Bligh FRS, RN portrait by Alexander Huey, 1814 |
Bligh’s
birth 1754, however, the location of his birth is not clear where. He was the son of Francis Bligh, customs
officer and his wife, Jane Balsam. Bligh
signed for the Royal Navy aged 7.
On what
would be his last voyage, Captain James Cook, selected Bligh for the position
of sailing master of Resolution.
On returning back to England, Bligh was able to supply details of the
last voyage.
1782, Bligh fought alongside Lord Howe at
Gibraltar during Great Siege of Gibraltar as party of the American Revolutionary
War.
Bligh is
famously remembered for being the captain HMS Bounty in 1789, and the Mutiny
on the Bounty took place. Bligh and his
loyal supporters were set adrift in Bounty’s launches and finally
arriving at Timor 3,618 nautical miles.
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| William Bligh grave |
Dying at Bond Street, London Bligh is buried in his family plot at St. Mary’s Lambeth.
8th December
Events
 |
| Gustaf V of Sweden |
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| John Lennon in 1969 |
Births
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| Elzie Crisler Segar |
1899 –
Arthur Leslie – English-Welsh actor and
playwright. He is best known for playing
public house landlord Jack Walker in Coronation Street
Deaths
 |
| Oscar II of Sweden |
Oscar died
in Stockholm.
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| Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller RNR c. 1920 |
In retirement
during the Second World War, Lightoller volunteered on one of the “little
ships” “Sundowner” that play part in the Dunkirk evacuation. He
personally and repatriated 127 British servicemen.
Lightoller who
was a long-time piper smoker, died during London’s Great Smog of 1952.
9th December
Events
1868 –
The first traffic
lights are installed
outside the Palace of Westminster, London.
They resemble railway signals, using semaphore arms and are illuminated
at night by red and green gas lamps
1892 –
Newcastle United football club are founded.
1960 –
The first episode of Coronation
Street is
broadcasted
Births
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| Douglas Fairbanks in 1973, by Allan Warren |
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1916 – Kirk Douglas – American actor, singer and producer.
Deaths
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| Portrait of Sitwell by Roger Fry, 1915 |
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