352 – 1st definite date Christmas was celebrated on December 25th.
1492 – Christopher Columbus’ flagship the Santa Maria runs aground and sinks on the north coast of Hispaniola. The crew are left to found a colony as Columbus returns to Spain.
1621 – Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony (now in Massachusetts) forbids game playing on Christmas.
1651 – Massachusetts General court ordered a five shilling fine for “observing any such day as Christmas”
1831 – Louisiana & Arkansas are first states to observe Christmas as holiday.
1896 – “Stars & Stripes Forever” written by John Philip Sousa.
1917 – “Why Marry” 1st drama to wins Pulitzer Prize, premieres in NYC.
1939 – Montgomery Ward introduces Rudolph the 9th red-nosed reindeer.
1958 – Alan Freed’s Christmas Rock & Roll Spectacular opens.
1959 – Richard Starkey (later better known as Ringo Starr) receives his first drum set.
1959 – Sony brings transistor TV 8-301 to the market.
1962 – “To Kill a Mockingbird”, a film adaption of the novel by Harper Lee, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck, is released (Gregory Peck – Best Actor Academy Awards 1963)
1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson orders a halt to bombing operations in North Vietnam, hoping to spur peace talks.
1973 – “The Sting” directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford and music inspired by Scott Joplin premieres in Los Angeles and New York (Best Picture 1974)
1983 – 1st live telecast of Christmas Parade at the EPCOT Centre, Disney World Florida.
1997 – For 1st time US movie box office receipts pass $6 billion.
2008 – Phil Jackson becomes the sixth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games.
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