December 19 is:
Look for an Evergreen Day
Oatmeal Muffin Day
1606-The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery departed England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States. They made landfall April 26, 1607.
Benjamin Franklin began publishing “Poor Richard’s Almanac” on this date in 1732.
In 1776, Thomas Paine published his first “American Crisis” essay in The Pennsylvania Journal , in which he wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls”
On December 19, 1777, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter. The army marched away from Valley Forge on June 19, 1778, exactly six months after they had arrived.
Publication of Federalist Paper #24: The Powers Necessary to the Common Defense Further Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. Hamilton discusses the issue of having a standing army in peacetime. Hamilton reminds the reader that the United States is surrounded by territories subject to the dominion of other countries (England and Spain), and populated by “savage tribes”.
World War II: Adolf Hitler becomes Supreme Commander-in-chief of the German Army in 1941.
Jake Kilrain and Jim Smith fought in a bare knuckles fight in 1887 which lasted 106 rounds and 2 hours and 30 minutes. The fight was ruled a draw and was halted due to darkness.
Robert Ripley began his “Believe It or Not” column in “The New York Globe” in 1918.
First radio broadcast from space in 1958:
( President Eisenhower‘s voice This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message
is a simple one. Though this unique means, I convey to you and all mankind, America’s wish for peace on earth and good will to men everywhere.
Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford in 1974 under the provisions of the twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
1998 – President Bill Clinton was impeached by The United States House of Representatives, becoming the second President of the United States to be impeached. A two-thirds majority, 67 votes, would have been necessary to convict and remove the President from office. The perjury charge was defeated with 45 votes for conviction and 55 against. (Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania voted “not proven,” which was considered by the Chief Justice Rehnquist as a vote of “not guilty.”) The obstruction of justice charge was defeated with 50 for conviction and 50 against.
In 2000, The U.N. Security Council voted to impose broad sanctions on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers unless they closed terrorist training camps and surrendered U.S. embassy bombing suspect Osama bin Laden.
2011 North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-Il, died; Kim Jong-Un was announced as his father’s successor.
Christmas Music:
Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. Here’s today’s sample:
What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)
(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)