On December 9th, 1854, Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," was published in England.
On this date:
In 1608, English poet John Milton was born in London.
In 1892, "Widowers' Houses," Bernard Shaw's first play, opened at the Royalty Theater in London.
In 1907, Christmas seals went on sale for the first time, at the Wilmington, Del., post office. The proceeds went to fight tuberculosis. [Or on 7 December 1907. — Ed.]
In 1920, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.
In 1940, British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa.
In 1941, China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy.
In 1942, the Aram Khachaturian ballet "Gayane," featuring the surging "Saber Dance," was first performed by the Kirov Ballet.
In 1958, in Indianapolis, retired Boston candy manufacturer Robert H. W. Welch, Jr., established the John Birch Society, a right-wing organization dedicated to fighting what it perceived to be the extensive infiltration of communism into U.S. society.
In 1965, Nikolai V. Podgorny replaced Anastas I. Mikoyan as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
In 1974, White House aide John Ehrlichman testified at the Watergate trial that U.S. President Richard Nixon was responsible for the coverup.
In 1982, special Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski died at his Wimberly, Texas, ranch at age 77.
In 1984, the five-day-old hijacking of a Kuwaiti jetliner that claimed the lives of two Americans ended as Iranian security men seized control of the plane, which was parked at Tehran airport.
In 1985, OPEC oil ministers abandoned the struggle to control production and prices, setting the stage for a global oil price war.
In 1987, the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, began as riots broke out in Gaza and spread to the West Bank, triggering a strong Israeli counter-response.
In 1990, Solidarity founder Lech Walesa won Poland's presidential runoff by a landslide.
In 1992, Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation. (The couple's divorce became final August 28th, 1996.)
In 1993, the U. S. Air Force destroyed the first of 500 Minuteman II missile silos marked for elimination under an arms control treaty.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton fired Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders after she told a conference that masturbation should be discussed in school as a part of human sexuality.
In 1995, Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., was chosen to head the NAACP.
In 1997, confronting her critics, Attorney General Janet Reno traded testy remarks with House Republicans on the committee investigating campaign fund-raising as she defended her decision not to seek an independent counsel for fund-raising calls made by President Clinton and Vice President Gore.
In 1999, in Worcester, Mass., six firefighters who had died in a warehouse blaze were honored as fallen heroes by thousands of their brethren from around the world.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt in the Florida presidential vote count.
In 2002, President Bush tapped railroad executive John W. Snow to be his new Treasury Secretary, three days after firing Paul O'Neill. Senate Republican leader Trent Lott apologized for remarks he'd made praising the 1948 presidential run of then-segregationist Strom Thurmond, saying, "A poor choice of words conveyed to some the impression that I embraced the discarded policies of the past." United Airlines filed the biggest bankruptcy in aviation history after losing $4 billion in the previous two years.
In 2003, the U.S. Defense Department indicated that only nations that supported the United States in the war in Iraq would be allowed to bid on the $18.6 billion in contracts for reconstruction projects there. Former Sen. Paul Simon died in Springfield, Ill., at age 75.
In 2004, Canada's Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was constitutional. President George W. Bush ruled out raising taxes to finance a Social Security overhaul. Bush announced he was keeping the heads of the Transportation, Interior, Housing and Labor departments.
In 2005, published reports said a key prewar Bush administration claim about ties between Iraq and al-Qaida came from a prisoner who said he made it up to avoid harsh treatment.
In 2006, latest U.S. midterm election figures showed Democrats with a 31-seat gain to recapture control of the House of Representatives, with 233 seats to 202 for the Republicans. Democrats earlier assured themselves the Senate majority. Discovery lighted up the sky in the first nighttime space shuttle launch in four years. A fire broke out at a Moscow drug treatment hospital, killing 45 women trapped by barred windows and a locked gate. Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy.
In 2008, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested after prosecutors said he was caught on wiretaps scheming to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for cash or a plum job for himself in the new administration.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Frances Reid is 95. Actor Kirk Douglas is 93. Actress Dina Merrill is 84. Actor Dick Van Patten is 81. Actor-writer Buck Henry is 79. Actress Dame Judi Dench is 75. Football Hall of Famer Deacon Jones is 71. Actor Beau Bridges is 68. Jazz singer-musician Dan Hicks is 68. Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus is 67. Author Joe McGinniss is 67. Actor Michael Nouri is 64. Former Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., is 62. World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite is 60. Singer Joan Armatrading is 59. Actor Michael Dorn is 57. Actor John Malkovich is 56. Country singer Sylvia is 53. Singer Donny Osmond is 52. Rock musician Nick Seymour (Crowded House) is 51. Comedian Mario Cantone is 50. Actor David Anthony Higgins is 48. Actor Joe Lando is 48. Actress Felicity Huffman is 47. Crown Princess Masako of Japan is 46. Country musician Jerry Hughes (Yankee Grey) is 44. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is 43. Rock singer-musician Thomas Flowers (Oleander) is 42. Rock musician Brian Bell (Weezer) is 41. Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 40. Country musician Brian Hayes (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 40. Actress Allison Smith is 40. Songwriter and "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi is 39. Country singer David Kersh is 39. Rock musician Tre Cool (Green Day) is 37. Rapper Canibus is 35. Rock musician Eric Zamora (Save Ferris) is 33. Rock singer Imogen Heap is 32. Actor Jesse Metcalfe is 31.
And the Dead: Joel Chandler Harris, humorist (1848); Clarence Birdseye, industrialist/inventor, noted as "the father of frozen foods" (1886); Jean de Brunhoff, author and illustrator of "Babar," the royalist elephant. (1899); Margaret Hamilton, actress (1902);
Show Biz Lice History:
In 1965, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" premiered.
In 1967, police in New Haven, Connecticut, arrested Doors singer Jim Morrison for breach of peace and resisting arrest. Morrison had been sprayed with mace at a concert and police hauled him off stage.
In 1972, an all-star orchestral stage version of The Who's "Tommy" was performed in London. Members of the cast included Richie Havens, Peter Sellers and Steve Winwood.
In 1978, actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd recorded a version of "Soul Man" and released it under the name The Blues Brothers.
In 1981, singer Sonny Til of The Orioles died of a heart attack in Washington. He was 56.
In 1984, The Jacksons' "Victory Tour" ended in Los Angeles. It was the last time Michael Jackson toured with his brothers.
In 1995, The Beatles "Anthology One," with their first new song in 25 years, hit the top of the "Billboard" album chart.
In 2006, singer Georgia Gibbs, who'd reached the top of the charts in the 1950s, died in New York City at age 87.
In 2008, NBC announced that "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno would be moving to prime time.
Thought for Today: "All sins are attempts to fill voids." — Simone Weil, French philosopher (1909-1943).
Another thought for the day: English poet John Milton wrote, "No man who know aught can be so stupid to deny that all men naturally were born free."
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