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ROSA PARKS - REFUSES TO GIVE UP HER BUS SEAT
Rosa Parks - traveling home from work on a Montgomery, Alabama bus - refused to give up her seat to a white man on December 1, 1955. Called "the mother" of the modern-day civil rights movement, Mrs. Parks ushered in an era which changed America.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE - CROWNED EMPEROR OF FRANCE
On the 2nd of December, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France. Who was he? What caused the people of France to give Napoleon such sweeping powers?
GALILEO and the TELESCOPE
A professor at the University of Padua, Galileo substantially improved a new device - called the telescope - by the 3rd of December, 1621. What his technological achievement ultimately revealed to Galileo - and what he wrote about his beliefs - got him into serious trouble with the Catholic Church and its Inquisitor. Who was Galileo?
HALIFAX EXPLOSION
Five years after the people of Halifax buried so many of Titanic's victims, another ship caused a catastrophe in their own town. It remains Canada's worst man-made disaster. Learn what happened on December 6, 1917.
DESTRUCTION of the BABRI MOSQUE
On the 6th of December, 1992, a rushing crowd of activists completely destroyed the Babri Mosque in northern India. This clip shows the crowd in action. Soon thereafter, anti-Muslim riots broke-out elsewhere in the country. Officials estimate that 2,000 people were killed, including some individuals in Dharavi. The event plays a key role in the film Slumdog Millionaire (for which we provide both a lesson plan and a Visual Vocabulary Builder).
ATTACK on PEARL HARBOR - 70th ANNIVERSARY
On the 7th of December, 1941, the Japanese Empire launched a surprise attack on the United States. It was devastatingly effective and caused America to enter World War II. This year is the 70th anniversary.
FDR'S "INFAMY" SPEECH
The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, Americans received their up-to-date news from the radio. People everywhere were tuned-in to hear their President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, address a joint session of Congress. This clip is that address.
ASSASSINATION of JOHN LENNON
John Lennon was killed during the evening hours of December 8, 1980. Earlier in the day, he had given an interview about his current life and his hopes for the future. This clip features an excerpt from that interview, conducted by Dave Sholin (assisted by Laurie Kaye) on behalf of RKO Radio. Hours after John spoke these words, he was dead (at the age of 40).
Lennon had also agreed to an extended interview with Jonathan Cott - from Rolling Stone magazine - three days before he was shot. That interview (in its entirety) was released (for the first time) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Lennon's death. We provide links to it.
ABDICATION of KING EDWARD VIII
On the 11th of December, 1936, King Edward VIII signed an Instrument of Abdication by which he gave up the British throne. A few hours later, he was introduced, on air, by the BBC's director general, Sir John Reith. The former king - whom Reith called "His Royal Highness the Prince Edward" - addressed the people of Britain and the various Dominions (then comprising about 25% of the world's population).
This clip is a recording of that speech (which was made despite explicit instructions to the contrary). For years, archivists had denied its very existence.
BEETHOVEN MEETS HAYDEN
When Joseph Hayden - then Europe's most-famous composer - learned about Beethoven's talents, he invited Ludwig to become his pupil. Beethoven, at the age of 22, received his first lesson from Hayden on December 12, 1792. The two, however, did not always see eye-to-eye.
BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG - DISASTER at MARYE'S HEIGHTS
During America's Civil War, General Burnside thought he could subdue Confederate forces during the battle for Fredericksburg, Virginia. Burnside was wrong, and his men - especially the Irish Brigade - sustained massive losses at Marye's Heights on the 13th of December, 1862.
DEATH of SITTING BULL
Sitting Bull was known as Tatanka-Iyotanka in his own language. Famous for resisting westward expansion, he fought General Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn. He was shot to death on the 15th of December, 1890.
Who was this famous Lakota Sioux warrior, holy man and chief? This clip - from "Sitting Bull: A Stone in My Heart" - provides background information, using his own words.
OLIVER CROMWELL - BECOMES "LORD PROTECTOR"
On December 16, 1653, Oliver Cromwell became the "Lord Protector" of England, Scotland and Ireland. Who was Cromwell? How could this non-royal garner so much power after the British Parliament had executed the country's king - Charles I?
EINSTEIN - PUBLISHES HIS "GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY"
Albert Einstein was working as a patent clerk when, in 1905, he published his "Special Theory of Relativity." At the time he wrote his paper, he was the only person in the world who believed what he had discovered.
Ten years later - on December 16, 1915 - Einstein published his "General Theory of Relativity" which revolutionized how we understand gravity. Einstein's two theories changed the world, ushering in previously unimaginable technological developments.
BATTLE of the BULGE
On the 16th of December, more than 250,000 German troops commenced a surprise attack on the Allies. Known as the Ardennes Offensive, Hitler's plan was to force the bulk of America's forces in Europe - more than 500,000 men who thought no major action would occur until an invasion of Germany in the spring - into a trap from which they could not escape. Hitler, however, was ultimately proven wrong.
WRIGHT BROTHERS - FIRST POWERED FLIGHT
On the 17th of December, 1903, the Wright Brothers did a remarkable thing. For the first time, in the history of the world, they flew an engine-powered airplane. This clip, from a NASA-produced video, shows how it happened.
WRIGHT BROTHERS - RECREATING HOW THEY DID IT
In this video clip, from "The Wright Brothers' Flying Machine," we retrace the Wright Brothers' steps during their journey of invention. We can even hear the sound of an original Wright Brothers’ engine which powered one of their planes.
RICHARD the LIONHEART
After signing a peace treaty with Saladin, to end the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart was returning to England when he was captured by Leopold V of Austria - on the 20th of December, 1192. Who was this famous king?
VINCENT van GOGH - HARMS HIS EAR
The brilliant Dutch artist, Vincent van Gogh, suffered from periods of intense psychological turmoil. Scholars also think he may have had Meniere's Disease which impacts a person's inner ear and sense of balance. During one particularly painful period - on the 23rd of December, 1888 - van Gogh damaged the lower part of his left ear. In this clip, from Lust for Life, Kirk Douglas recreates that episode.
GEORGE WASHINGTON CROSSES the DELAWARE
About a week after the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the colonies, King George III sent a huge fleet of war ships to New York Harbor. Dark days followed for the Americans as their commander, George Washington, lost battle after battle.
Then ... beginning on Christmas night - and continuing on the day after Christmas, 1776 - Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River and gave the colonists a much-needed morale boost: Victory over the unsuspecting British garrison at Trenton.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL - by CHARLES DICKENS
To provide for his growing family, Charles Dickens wrote his novella - A Christmas Carol - over a three-week period in 1843. It was published, to great acclaim, just before Christmas that year.
Often produced for film, the story remains very popular during the holidays. This clip - from a 1984 version starring George C. Scott (as Ebenezer Scrooge) and Frank Finlay (as Jacob Marley) - depicts a visit from Marley (now a ghost) who warns Scrooge (still a miser) that he must change the way he is living his life.
CHRISTMAS DAY - FALL OF BERLIN WALL CONCERT
It is said that when Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna (on the 7th of May, 1824), the deaf maestro kept conducting even after the audience was cheering and applauding. Beethoven did not understand the profound impact of his new work until one of the soloists turned him around, to face the crowd. On Christmas Day, 1989, Leonard Bernstein - to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall - conducted an international orchestra performing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125. About one hundred million people, from all over the world, heard this broadcast (which was one of Bernstein's last formal appearances). This year we commemorate its 22nd anniversary with video clips of the entire performance.
MURDER of THOMAS BECKET
In the 12th century, the King of England was vexed by Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the presence of English Barons, Henry II cried out: "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"
Believing the King meant for Becket to be murdered, four knights rode to Canterbury Cathedral and killed Becket on December 29, 1170. That scene is recreated in this film clip, starring Richard Burton (as Becket) and Peter O'Toole (as Henry II).
DEATH of RASPUTIN
Gregory Rasputin, greatly despised by many members of Russia's aristocracy, was shot by Felix Yussopov (on the 29th of December, 1916 - using the "new school" date) after a great deal of cyanide-laced wine failed to kill him. Shortly before his death, Rasputin had made an eerie prediction to Tsar Nicholas II. What was it?
IRISH CIVIL WAR
For so long, Irishmen tried to rid themselves of British control. No one could have ever conceived that the Irish people would fight against themselves in a civil war over a disagreement involving Britain. That is what happened, however, when - in December of 1921 - an Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed. At issue, before the Irish Parliament, was whether to ratify a document which relinquished part of their country to British control.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley, an award-winning film which features the Irish Civil War - and the events leading up to it - is named for a haunting ballad written by Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836-1883). That ballad is performed, in this clip, by Lisa Gerrard.
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