December 24, 2016

Born on this date
Happy Birthday, Hilary Hahn!

170 years ago
1846

Britannica
The United Kingdom acquired the island of Labuan from the Sultanate of Brunei; it was established as a Crown Colony in 1848.

125 years ago
1891

Born on this date
Feodor Rojankovsky. Russian-born illustrator. Mr. Rojankovsky, aka Rojan, was a White Russian who began his career in his native land, but was left stateless after the U.S.S.R. came into existence, living in France and eventually settling in the United States in 1941. He was best known for illustrating more than 100 children's books, including 35 Little Golden Books from 1943-1970. Mr. Rojankovsky won the 1956 Caldecott Medal for illustrating John Langstaff's Frog Went A-Courtin'. He died on October 12, 1970 at the age of 78.

110 years ago
1906

Radio
Reginald Fessenden reportedly transmitted the first radio broadcast, consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.

80 years ago
1936

On the radio
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Louis Hector and Harry West, on MBS
Tonight's episode: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part 6

This was the last episode of the series, and the last radio appearances for Messrs. Hector and West in their respective roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Mr. Hector played Sherlock Holmes in an experimental television broadcast in 1937. There were no more new Sherlock Holmes radio broadcasts until October 2, 1939, when Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce began reprising their movie roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a series on NBC.

75 years ago
1941

Died on this date
Siegfried Alkan, 83. German composer. Mr. Alkan, a distant relative of Felix Mendelsson, was a pianist and music store owner who also worked in the insurance business. His compositions consisted mainly of songs. Mr. Alkan was a victim of "Kristallnacht" on November 9, 1938, when his store was vandalized, his piano and other instruments were thrown into the street, and his scores were scattered and lost.

War
Admiral Émile Muselier captured the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Newfoundland, which became the first part of France to be liberated by Free French Forces. Japanese forces overran the makeshift hospital at St. Stephen’s College in Hong Kong during the final days of the defense of the territory, bayoneting some patients in their beds. There were nearly 800 Canadian casualties; many captured Canadians were prisoners for the rest of World War II. Japanese forces conquered Kuching, capital of Sarawak, Borneo, and landed in force at three points on the Philippine island of Luzon: Atimonan, Mauban, and Nasugbu. British forces conquered Barce, Benina, and Benghazi, Libya.

Diplomacy
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill made brief Christmas Eve addresses at the lighting of the Christmas tree on the lawn of the White House. Mr. Roosevelt said that Americans must prepare "our hearts...for the labor and sacrifice which lie ahead."

Religion
Pope Pius XII outlined a five-point peace plan based on the "integrity and security" of all states.

Academia
Brown University and Pembroke College announced that they would admit to the next freshman class outstanding students who had completed their third year of high school.

Journalism
Brazilian police closed the Japanese newspaper Brasil Asahi and German newspapers in Sao Paulo and Santa Catharina.

Technology
Ford Motor Company announced that it was ready to begin producing about 1,000 pounds daily of synthetic fiber developed from soybeans, to be used principally in upholstery.

Economics and finance
U.S. Federal Price Administrator Leon Henderson fixed prices for leather of all types, grades, and qualities at levels which prevailed between November 6-December 6.

70 years ago
1946

War
Vietnamese nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh claimed in a Christmas message that current fighting against French forces had been precipitated by a French demand for control of the police in Hanoi.

World events
U.S. military authorities in Frankfurt announced a Christmas amnesty for more than 800,000 Germans in the Ameican zone facing prosecution under denazification laws.

Diplomacy
The World Zionist Congress ended its 16-day meeting in Basel after adopting a resolution to boycott the Palestine conference in London in January 1947.

Politics and government
The French Fourth Republic officially came into existence as the Council of the Republic, the upper legislative house, held its first session.

A committee representing the United Kingdom, native Sultans, and the United Malaya nationalist organization proposed a new constitution for an independent "Federation of Malaya."

Following the death of Georgia Governor-elect Eugene Talmadge, Governor Ellis Arnall announced that he would turn over his post to Lieutenant Governor-elect M.E. Thompson, while supporters of Mr. Talmadge lobbied to have his son Herman declared Governor by the State Assembly.

Labour
The Mexican Oil Workers union voted not to fight the dismissal of 50 union leaders from their jobs in the government-owned oil industry.

Congress of Industrial Organizations National Maritime Union President Joseph Curran resigned as co-chairman of the Committee for Maritime Unity, ending cooperation between the CIO and the American Federation of Labor in the maritime industry.

50 years ago
1966

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): Friday on My Mind--The Easybeats

#1 single in France: Les Playboys--Jacques Dutronc (4th week at #1)

#1 single in Italy (FIMI): E' la pioggia che va--The Rokes

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Dandy--The Kinks

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Friday on My Mind--The Easybeats; The Dukes

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Green, Green Grass of Home--Tom Jones (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Winchester Cathedral--The New Vaudeville Band (3rd week at #1)

U.S.A. Top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I'm a Believer--The Monkees
2 Winchester Cathedral--The New Vaudeville Band
3 Mellow Yellow--Donovan
4 Good Vibrations--The Beach Boys
5 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron--The Royal Guardsmen
6 Devil with a Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly--Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
7 That's Life--Frank Sinatra
8 Lady Godiva--Peter and Gordon
9 Sugar Town--Nancy Sinatra
10 A Place in the Sun--Stevie Wonder

Singles entering the chart were Color My World by Petula Clark (#76); Another Night by Dionne Warwick (#82); How Do You Catch a Girl by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs (#86); Kind of a Drag by the Buckinghams (#89); It's Now Winter's Day by Tommy Roe (#96); Take Me for a Little While by Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles (#97); Peak of Love by Bobby McClure (#98); Walk Tall by 2 of Clubs (#99); The Little Black Egg by the Nightcrawlers (#100); Look at Granny Run, Run by Howard Tate (also #100); and Grizzly Bear by the Youngbloods (also #100).

Space
The U.S.S.R. lunar probe Luna 13 made a soft landing in Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms), three days after launch.

War
A three-day cease-fire in the Vietnam War began. Shootings by Viet Cong soldiers were called "incidents" by the United States.

Disasters
129 people were killed when a Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashed into a small village in South Vietnam.

40 years ago
1976

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Money, Money, Money--ABBA (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Daddy Cool--Boney M. (11th week at #1)

Politics and government
The Japanese Diet narrowly elected Takeo Fukuda, 71, as Prime Minister, two days after he had been elected leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party by the party's caucus. He replaced Takeo Miki, who had resigned after the party suffered losses in the December 5 parliamentary elections.

30 years ago
1986

Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden: The Way You Are--Agnetha Fältskog and Ola Håkansson (6th week at #1)

Died on this date
Gardner Fox, 75. U.S. writer. Mr. Fox wrote several thousand stories under his own name and various pseudonyms for comic books--mainly Detective Comics--and pulp fiction magazines, and also wrote novels.

20 years ago
1996

Disasters
A Learjet 35 en route from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Lebanon, New Hampshire crashed into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board. The wreckage wasn't found until November 13, 1999.