Tidbits of History, December 26

December 26 is:

Boxing Day A holiday traditionally celebrated the day following Christmas Day, when servants and tradespeople would receive gifts, known as a “Christmas box”, from their bosses or employers. Also, a day when you pack up your Christmas gifts in a box for returning to the merchants for refunds.

“On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . two turtledoves.”
For the Catholic interpretation of the significance of each day of Christmas, see: crosswalk.com

National Candy Cane Day

Alms for the Poor

Day of the Wren or Wren’s Day in the Republic of Ireland. See The Irish Used to Celebrate The Day After Christmas by Killing Wrens

George Washington defeated Hessians at Battle of Trenton in American Revolutionary War in 1776.

Publication of Federalist Paper #28: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. This paper continues the discussion of standing armies in peace time with the admission that there may be times when a national government will be required to use force to suppress seditions and insurrections. The safeguard against the use of force against the people is the legislature being representative of the citizens. Hamilton could not foresee a time when the federal government would maintain a military big enough to endanger the liberty of the entire population.

Four thousand people attended George Washington’s funeral in 1799 where Henry Lee III declares him as:

“First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

Trapped in snow in the Sierra Nevadas and without food, members of the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism in 1846.

James H. Mason of Massachusetts patented first US coffee percolator in 1865.

Birthday of Mao Zedong, (December 26, 1893), Communist leader of the Republic of China, founder of the People’s Republic of China which he governed from 1949 to 1976. Often referred to as “Chairman Mao”, he is credited with bringing China into the modern world, from an agrarian to an industrial society. He is also considered the person most guilty of democide (murder through government action) in human history, being responsible for the deaths of 40-70 million people through starvation, forced labor, and executions.

Judy Garland, 2½, billed as Baby Frances, made her show business debut on December 26, 1924.

Johnny Weissmuller announces his retirement from amateur swimming in 1928, goes on to be a particularly memorable movie star, especially as Tarzan.

On December 26, 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

The Beatles‘ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level in 1963.

1972 – Death of Harry S. Truman, thirty-third President of the United States. He became president upon the death of Franklin D Roosevelt. Truman died in Kansas City, Missouri at age 88. He had pneumonia and multiple organ failure.

1982 – Time’s “Man of the Year” is for the first time a non-human, the personal computer.

The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union met and formally dissolved the USSR in 1991.

2006-Death of Gerald Ford (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.), thirty-eighth President of the United States. He became president upon the resignation of Richard Nixon. Ford died at age 93 in Rancho Mirage, California of arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease.