December 1st is

Antarctica Day *

Civil Air Patrol Day *

Day With(out) Art *

Eat a Red Apple Day

Rosa Parks Day *

National Fried Pie Day

World AIDS Awareness Day *

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MORE! Manju Bansal, Leonard Bernstein and Laura Ling, click

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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

Australia – Clayton:
Sawan Multicultural Spring Festival

Belize – Hopkins: Hopkins Conch Festival

Brazil – Guarulhos: Fundo de Quintal Guarulhos (Backyard music fest)

Canada – Vancouver: Aurora Winter Festival

Central African Republic – Republic Proclamation

Chad – Freedom and Democracy Day

Costa Rica – Military Abolition Day

Ecuador – Quito: Founding of Quito Festival

Iceland – Fullveldisdagurinn
(Self-Governance Day)

India – Kohima:
Nagaland Hornbill Festival

Kazakhstan – Day of the First President

Kenya – Nairobi:
Handcrafted in Kenya Trade Fair

Myanmar – National Day

Netherlands –Rotterdam: Blijdorp Winter Festival

Panama – Teachers Day

Portugal – Independence Restoration Day

Romania – Ziua unirii (national day)

Russia – Battle of the Sinop Victory Day

Thailand –Damrong Rajanubhab Day
(Commemoration of Prince Damrong)

Turkmenistan – Good Neighborliness Day

Uganda – Jinja:
Forever Resort Jinja Fish Festival

United Arab Emirates – Commemoration Day

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On This Day in HISTORY

1083 – Anna Komnene born, Byzantine princess, scholar, physician, hospital administrator, and historian; author of the Alexiad, an account of her father’s reign which is now the main source of Byzantine political history for the period; she administered a large hospital and orphanage in Constantinople, and taught medicine there; considered an expert on the treatment of gout; after she was involved in a plot to overthrow her brother when he took the throne after her father’s death, she forfeited her estates, spending her late years in the convent of Kecharitomene, studying philosophy and history

1420 – Hundred Years War: Henry V of England enters Paris

1443 – Madeleine of France born, became Princess of Viane by marriage to Prince Gaston of Viana, and they had two children, but Gaston died in 1470, two years before the death of his father in 1472. After the death of her father-in-law, Madeleine was regent for her son Francis Phoebus until his death in 1483, and then served as regent for her daughter, Catherine, until 1494. She had to battle with her brother-in-law John of Foix, who tried to claim the throne as a male heir. In 1494, Madeleine was taken hostage by Ferdinand II of Aragon during his conflict with the French over control of Italy. When she died at age 51 in 1495 while still imprisoned, the conflict intensified

1577 – Francis Walsingham is knighted, Queen Elizabeth I of England’s principal secretary, dubbed her “spymaster”

1709 – Franz Xaver Richter born, Czech singer-songwriter, violinist, and conductor

1716 – Étienne Maurice Falconet born, French Rococo sculptor; his patron was Madame de Pompadour

1761 – Marie Tussaud, French sculptor, founded Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, hired to make death masks of victims of the guillotine during the French Revolution, barely escapes the guillotine herself

1802 – Sir Dominic Corrigan born, Irish physician who specialized in diseases of the heart and lungs; the abnormal “collapsing” pulse of aortic valve insufficiency is named Corrigan’s pulse

1824 – The House of Representatives convenes to decide the presidential election because no candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College. John Quincy Adams is eventually chosen the winner over Andrew Jackson and William Crawford.

1834 – The abolishment of slavery becomes effective in the Cape Colony in  southern Africa under the British Slavery Abolition Act of 1833

1835 – Hans Christian Andersen publishes his first book of fairy tales

1847 – Christine Ladd-Franklin born, mathematician, logician, psychologist and feminist; noted for theories on the development of the color sense of human beings, and theories which accounted for color-blindness in some individuals. Author of Color and Color Theories. In 1883, she also published an original logic method for reducing all syllogisms to a single formula. Advocate of equality for women within the scientific community

1862 – In his State of the Union Address President Lincoln reaffirms the necessity of ending slavery as ordered ten weeks earlier in the  Emancipation Proclamation; “in giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free”

1865 – Shaw University, the first university for black students in the southern U. S., is founded in Raleigh, North Carolina

1872 – Sir Jocelyn Field Thorpe born, English chemist noted for the Thorpe Reaction

1878 – During President Hayes’ tenure, the first telephone is installed in the White House in Washington, D.C., by Alexander Graham Bell personally

1885 – Dr. Pepper is sold for the first time

1886 – Rex Stout born, American mystery writer of more than 70 novels and stories featuring the gourmand detective, Nero Wolfe; during WWII, he chaired the War Writers Board, and wrote and broadcast the radio program, Our Secret Weapon

1893 – Dorothy Detzer born, worked at Hull House investigating child labor infringements, national secretary of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (1924-46), known as the “Lady Lobbyist” in Congress, respected for research and integrity – no personal favors, private dinners or backroom deals

Dorothy Detzer testifying before Congress in 1939   

1894 – Afrânio Pompílio Gastos do Amaral born, Brazilian herpetologist; researcher on snake anti-venom serum; the taxonomic authority on 40 new species; two snakes and a gecko are named for him

1910 – Dame Alicia Markova born as Lilian Marks, English ballerina and choreographer-director; notable for her career with Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and as Prima Ballerina for the company that would become the Royal Ballet, was the first to perform several of Frederick Ashton’s early ballets

1912 – Minoru Yamasaki born, American “New Formalism” architect; designed the original World Trade Center in New York, and the IBM Building in Seattle WA

1913 – The Buenos Aires Metro, first underground railway system in the Southern Hemisphere and Latin America, begins operation

1913 – Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line

1913 – The first drive-in automobile service station opens, in Pittsburgh PA

1913 – Crete, self-ruling since the First Balkan War, is annexed by Greece

1918 – Kingdom of Iceland becomes a sovereign state, yet remains a part of  Denmark

1925 – The Locarno Pact finalizes the treaties between World War I protagonists

1926 – Mother Antonia Brenner, ‘Madre Antonia,’ born as Mary Clarke, American Roman Catholic religious sister and activist, who had a dream of beging imprisoned awaiting execution and Jesus visiting her in 1969. But she was barred by church rules from joining any religious order because she was an older divorced woman. She began the work she felt called to, caring for prisoners at the notorious maximum-security La Mesa Prison in Tijuana Mexico, and founded an order for women like herself, the Eudist Servants of the Eleventh Hour. In addition to her normal work with the prisoners, she negotiated an end to a riot, and also persuaded the jail administrators to discontinue prisoner incarceration in substandard cells known as the tumbas (tombs). In 2003, her religious community was formally approved by Rafael Romo Munoz, Bishop of the Diocese of Tijuana. In September 2009, she received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award, presented at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego

1930 – Dame Marie Bashir born, Australian physician, psychiatrist, and politician; director of the Community Health Services in the Central Sydney Area (1987-1990); Governor of New South Wales (2001-2014)

1933 – Lou Rawls born, American R&B/blues singer-songwriter and record producer

1933 – Violette Verdy born Nelly Armande-Guillerm, French ballerina, choreographer; a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (1957-1958), and the New York City Ballet (1958-1977); dance director of the Paris Opera Ballet

1934 – Sergei M. Kirov, head of the Communist Party in Leningrad, is assassinated; the beginning of Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s massive purge which claims millions of lives

1936 – The first patent is issued for a commercial scale hydroponic system for plant culture (a ‘hydroponicum’) to Ernest Walfrid Brundin and Frank F. Lyon

1937 – Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga born, Latvian politician and academic; the first woman President of Latvia (1999-2007), noted for her leading role in Latvia becoming part of the European Union and NATO; she was a professor of psychology at the University of Montreal (1965-1998), teaching psychopharmacology, psycholinguistics, scientific theories, experimental methods, language and cognitive processes. Her experimental research focused on memory processes and language, and the influence of drugs on cognitive processes. At the same time she did scholarly research on semiotics, poetics and the structural analysis of computer-accessible texts from an oral tradition—the Latvian folksongs. She is fluent in French, English and Latvian. In 1998, she returned to Latvia to become Director of the newly founder Latvian Institute. She was drafted by the Saeima (Latvian Parliament) as a candidate for President of Latvia in 1999, and won the election, then was re-elected in 2003. In 2005, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Vīķe-Freiberga as a member of his team of global political leaders helping to promote his comprehensive reform agenda. The Baltic States named her as their candidate for UN Secretary-General in 2006. She is a founding member and current President of the Club of Madrid, a forum of former Heads of State, and Co-Chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, which is a global center for developing new ways to bring about peace  

1937 – Gordon Crosse born, English composer and academic

1941 – Founding of the Civil Air Patrol * an auxiliary unit of the U.S. Air Force, under Administration Order 9 signed by Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense

1942 – In the U.S., nationwide gasoline rationing goes into effect

1945 – Bette Midler, American singer-songwriter, actress and producer; founder of the New York Restoration Project, to revitalize neglected neighborhood parks, and formed a coalition that saved a number of community gardens from being sold off by the city for commercial development. Midler is active in helping wounded U.S. military men and women and their families with resources and customizing homes to meet the needs of persons with disabilities. She has also done several tours for the USO

1950 – Manju Bansal born, Indian biophysicist specializing in the field of Molecular biophysics; professor of theoretical Biophysics group in Molecular Biophysics unit of in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. She is the founder director of the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology at Bangalore. She is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, and since 1998, of the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad

1952 – The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgensen, the first notable case of sex reassignment surgery

1954 – Dame Judith Hackitt born, British chemical engineer and civil servant; Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive (2008-2016); Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering since 2010, and of the Institution of Chemical Engineers

1955 – Rosa Parks Day * – In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to the Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955 – Karen Tumulty born, American journalist; national political correspondent for The Washington Post. Previously wrote for Time magazine (1994-2010) on Washington DC politics, after 14 years at the Los Angeles Times (1980-1994)

1956 – The Leonard Bernstein musical Candide opens on Broadway, based on the book by Voltaire

1958 – Candace Bushnell born, American journalist, columnist, novelist and television producer; her column for the New York Observer was anthologized as the bestselling book Sex and the City, which became the basis for the hit TV series Sex and the City

1958 – The Central African Republic attains self-rule within the French Union

1959 –Antarctica Day * – 12 nations sign the Antarctic Treaty, setting it aside “forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes in the interest of mankind”  

1963 – The Beatles’ first single, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” is released in the U.S.

1964 – President Lyndon Johnson and top advisers meet to discuss bombing North Vietnam

1964 – Jo Walton born in Wales, Welsh-Canadian Fantasy and science fiction writer, winner of a Nebula, a Hugo, the World Fantasy Award, a Mythopoeic Award, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer; noted for her Sulien, Small Change and Thessaly series

1965 – An airlift of refugees from Cuba to the United States begins

1967 – U.K. release of the Jimi Hendrix Experience album Axis: Bold as Love

1970 – Sarah Silverman born, American stand-up comedian, actress, singer, producer, and writer. She is known for comedy that addresses social taboos and sexism, racism, religion and politics. She produced and starred in The Sarah Silverman Program (2007-2010) on Comedy Central. During and since the 2016 election, she became increasingly politically active. She campaigned for Bernie Sanders during the primaries, then later spoke in support of Hillary Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. In her convention speech, she urged other Sanders supporters to back Clinton and, later, amid some boos from some Sanders supporters, said: “Can I just say? To the ‘Bernie or Bust’ people, you’re being ridiculous.” Silverman hosted the Hulu web television late-night talk show I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman (2017-2018)

1969 – The first draft lottery since World War II is held in the U.S.

1973 – Papua New Guinea gains self-governance from Australia

1975 – The Styx album Equinox is released

1976 – Laura Ling born, American journalist and writer; in 2014, she became Director of Development at Discovery Digital Networks; previously producer of the Vanguard television documentary series; in 2009, she and fellow journalist Euna Lee were detained in North Korea, accused of illegally entering the country and “hostile acts” when they attempted to film refugees along to the North Korean border with China. They were tried and sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison, but U.S diplomatic efforts, and a visit to North Korea by former President Bill Clinton, secured their release after two months

1984 – NASA conducts Controlled Impact Demonstration, deliberately crashing a remote-controlled airliner in order to test a promising fuel additive for retarding or suppressing fire in a crash-landing scenario

1988 – First World AIDS Day, now called World AIDS Awareness Day *

1989 – Right-wing ‘Reform the Armed Forces’ Movement officers attempts to oust Philippine President Corazon Aquino in a failed bloody coup d’état

1989 – East Germany’s parliament abolishes the constitutional provision granting the Communist Party the leading role in the state

1989 – First Day With(out) Art * – museums offer programs drawing attention to AIDS

1990 – British and French workers digging the Channel Tunnel from their respective countries drill through a final piece of rock and shake hands,  22.3 km from the UK, 15.6 km from France, 40 metres beneath the seabed

1991 – Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union

1999 – The Russian Duma passes an animal rights bill prohibiting people from eating their pets

2000 – Vicente Fox of the National Action Party (PAN) is sworn in as Mexico’s President, ending 71 years of domination by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)

2009 – President Barack Obama orders 30,000 more U.S. troops into the war in Afghanistan but promises to begin withdrawal in 18 months

2013 – China launches the Chang’e 3 lunar probe incorporating a robotic lander and Jade Rabbit rover

2018 – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) sent at least 11 text messages to his “closest adviser” — who directed the team that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi — while the murder took place, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, citing a classified CIA assessment. The CIA also reportedly found MBS told associates last year he “could possibly lure [Khashoggi] outside Saudi Arabia and make arrangements” if the dissident journalist did not change his behavior. The CIA assessment concludes MBS “personally targeted” Khashoggi but cannot present “direct reporting of the crown prince issuing a kill order.”

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