On December 23, 1954 in Boston, a surgical team led by Joseph Murray (right photo) peforms the first successful transplant of a kidney from a living donor. The recipient was 23-year old Richard Herrick (middle in left photo); the donor, his identical twin brother Ronald (right in right photo, receiving a briefing on the transplant procedure from a team doctor). Kidney transplantation was first proposed in 1907, but up to this time, had only been performed successfully with kidneys taken from deceased donors. The first attempt with a living donor, in 1952, ended with the recipient rejecting the new kidney after 3 weeks. Murray and his team felt this attempt would be more successful due to the DNA compatability of the identical twins. Richard lived another 8 years with the donated kidney, while Ronald survived with only one kidney for another 50 years. Murray, often known in medical circles as "the father of transplantation" would receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1990; essentially a life-time achievement award. On December 23, 1941, following 15 days of fighting, the Japanese navy occupies Wake Island. The U.S. Marines garrisoned Wake - a U.S. territory in the north Pacific - in August with 450 marines under Major James Devereaux, armed with mostly light weapons. Their strongest defensive pieces were 6 coastal artillery rifles and a squadron of F4F Wildcat fighters. There were also about 70 army and navy personnel on the island, along with 1,200 civilian workers. The Japanese bombed the island on December 8, then launched an unsuccessful amphibious attack on December 11. By the time they were able to successfully conquer the defending force (the U.S. Navy dispatched a task force with reinforcements but recalled it to protect the aircraft carrier involved), the Japanese had committed 15 combat vessels, including 2 aircraft carriers, and a 2,500 man landing force to the effort. They would hold Wake until surrendering on September 4, 1945, two days after the official surrender on the USS Missouri (memorial to the Wake Island defenders). On December 23, 1905, Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin meet for the first time. The occasion was an unofficial meeting of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, in Tampere, Finland. Stalin - an undistinguished party delegate at the time - would initially come away unimpressed with meeting the father of modern Socialism for the first time, noting in his memoirs that he was physically unordinary (he expected such a noted leader to be taller). He was also surprised that Lenin arrived for the meeting on time and milled about with lesser party members before the conference began, observing that it was customary for someone of Lenin's stature to arrive late and with pomp appropriate to their rank. He would later re-assess, saying Lenin's behavior was typical of his "simplicity and modesty." There were no minutes taken during the conference and no photographers, and the unattributed painting below is the only record of the two leaders' first meeting.
On December 24, 1818, Father Joseph Mohr, an Austrian Catholic priest, performs a self-composed Christmas carol, "Still Nachte", at the Christmas vigil mass in his parish church in Ohberndorf. Mohr originally wrote the piece as a poem and asked a musician friend named Franz Gruber to write accompanying music for guitar (Mohr's church organ had been damaged in a flood). A parishioner was enamored with the song and told the members of two travelling music families - the Strausses and the Rainiers - about it. Over the ensuing decades, the song spread through Europe and reached the U.S. in 1839. By then, Mohr's contribution to the song had been lost, and it wasn't until 1995 that a manuscript was discovered (below) that gave him credit for "Still Nachte" ("Silent Night"). On December 24, 1944, 763 U.S. soldiers die when the troop ship S.S. Leopoldville is torpedoed off Cherbourg, France. Built for a Belgian steamer line in 1928, the Leopoldville was converted to a troop ship by the Allies (retaining its Belgian civilian crew) in 1940. On the morning of Dec. 24 she was loaded with more than 2,200 U.S. troops needed to reinforce the American lines at the Battle of the Bulge. Around dusk, less than 5 miles off the French port of Cherbourg, the Leopoldville was torpedoed by the U-486. Investigations revealed few Americans aboard realized the ship was sinking and even fewer understood the captain's order (given in Flemish; the Belgian captain spoke no English) to abandon ship. More than 500 are presumed to have gone down with the ship, while about 200 froze to death awaiting rescue. Reasons for why the rescue was bungled are conflicted, though much had to do with the crews of available rescue ships having stood down for the holiday. News of the sinking was covered up by the Allies and the story of the Leopoldville was not declassified until the mid 1990's. On December 24, 1826, cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, instigate the "Eggnog Riot" (aka the "Grog Mutiny"). Alcohol was prohibited at West Point and intoxication was an expulsion-level offense, which the faculty made clear in informing the corps that they would be permitted alcohol-free eggnog for their Christmas celebration. This didn't sit well with dozens of the corps of 260 cadets, who began plotting and executing several schemes to smuggle whiskey and rum into the barracks in the days before Christmas eve. The partying began around 10pm, drunken disorder followed, faculty members tried to intervene (Captain Ethan Allen Hitchcock (below) was particularly vigilant), drunk students resisted, damage to property occurred, some gunfire was involved, but a semblance of order was finally instilled around 6:00 Christmas morning, minutes before reveille. About 70 cadets were implicated (including Cadet and later President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis), 17 of whom were expelled.
In the United Kingdom, its Commonwealths and many European countries, December 26 is "Boxing Day." There is no known original date for the traditions of Boxing Day, but the oldest mention of it may go back to the 1663 diary of Samuel Pepys, President of the Royal Society. The Oxford English Dictionary first mentions it in 1743, attributing it to the day after Christmas, and describing it as a day when tradespeople receive gratuities or gifts (usually in a box) from their employers and customers. Its also linked to the custom of the upper class giving their servants a holiday on December 26 (they usually worked Christmas Day) and sending them home with a box full of gifts for their families. It has also evolved into a day to customarily make donations in church poor boxes, and is a bank holiday in the UK (or closest weekday after Christmas if it falls on a weekend). On December 26, 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie announce their discovery of radium to the French Academy of Sciences. While working with a sample of uraninite (pitchblend) a week earlier, the Curies were surprised to discover that the sample was still radioactive after they had removed all traces of uranium. They named the remaining element radium for the way the material released energy in rays. On December 26, 1860, Sheffield Football Club and Hallam F.C. compete in the first Rules Derby (while the word "derby" is most often associated with horse racing in America, it can be defined as any intense athletic competition). Although not called by that name at the time, the annual contest - the oldest contest between existing teams in sports - is called the Rules Derby as the original was the first game to apply the Sheffield Rules of football (soccer), which are the basis for the modern rules of the game. Sheffield is considered the first Football Club (team photo below), formed in 1857 as a way for members of the local cricket team to stay in shape during offseason. Hallam formed its team in 1860 and hosted the first Rules Derby, which was won by Sheffield 2-0. As the two teams are no longer in the same league, they have not met in official competition since 2012, but the Derby is still played as a friendly (exhibition). On December 26, 1871, Thespis premiers at the Gaiety Theatre in London. It is the first collaboration of dramatist W.S. Gilbert (left) and composer Arthur Sullivan. Producer John Hollingshead, owner of the Gaiety, brought the pair together to create a Christmas extravaganza, and Thespis would run for 63 performances. Ironically, the musical score was never published (except for one piece that would be re-worked into a song for Pirates of Penzance), because Thespis would be the beginning of one of theatre's great collaborations. Gilbert and Sullivan would go on to compose and produce 14 comic operas, including The Mikkado, Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore. Their works, which are still revived on stage throughout the English-speaking world, are considered among the most innovative of all time. (below: the tongue-twisting "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" from a modern production of Pirates of Penzance)
On December 27, 1845, John O'Sullivan quotes himself into the American history books. Six months earlier, O'Sullivan, a conservative columnist of some influence, wrote an essay for the Democratic Review titled "Annexation", in which he argued for the annexation of Texas. The essay argued that it was ""our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions". Texas' bid for statehood was a foregone conclusion at the time and the essay got little attention. But on 12/27, O'Sullivan called for annexation again, this time of the Oregon Territory in the New York Morning News, writing, "And that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us." This time, O'Sullivan got push back from Whigs in Congress, who deemed the phrase a call for the "doctrine of right of conquest." Now considered an early bellwether for American Imperialism, "Manifest Destiny" remains a politically polarizing concept in American history. On December 27, 1814, British artillery destroys the schooner USS Carolina on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. The sinking ended the defensive role played by Lieutenant Daniel Patterson, the unsung hero of the Battle of New Orleans. Commandant of the U.S. Naval station at New Orleans, Patterson had 3 months earlier refused General Andrew Jackson's order to send his meager flotilla to reinforce Mobile Bay, knowing the ships would have little effect on the British fleet there. Instead, Patterson sailed his unit, the Carolina,the USS Louisiana and a handful of sloops captured from pirate Jean Lafitte, down river to begin harassing the gathering British army there. His attacks delayed the British movements until General Edward Packenham arrived with reinforcements that included heavy artillery that sank the Carolina and grounded the Louisiana. But Patterson's actions gave Jackson the time he needed to build up New Orleans' ground defenses, for which Patterson received a commendation from Jackson, promotion to Captain and later, command of the Mediterranean Squadron (for which he was awarded the informal rank of Commodore) with the legendary USS Constitution as his flagship. On December 27, 1927, Show Boat premiers at the Ziegfeld Theatre in NYC. Based on Edna Ferber's best-selling book, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Show Boat follows the lives of performers, crew members and dock workers on the Mississippi River show boat "Cotton Blossom" in the post-Civil War decades. With hit songs including "Ol Man River" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," Show Boat is considered the first American musical, described by one critic as "a radical departure in musical storytelling." Although no formal awards for theatre existed in 1927, revivals of Show Boat (it has been revived multiple times on Broadway and in London) won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 1995 and England's Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival in 1991. (Paul Robeson's rendition of "Ol Man River" in the 1936 film version of Show Boat)
On December 30, 1916, Grigori Rasputin, "mystic" and advisor to Tsar Nicholas II, is murdered by a Russian nobleman in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). The son of Russian peasants who underwent a religious conversion of some nature in his early adult life (there's no record of his ever becoming a clergyman of any faith), Rasputin's charisma and reputation as a "faith healer" earned him access to the Romanov family. He made enemies in the nobility, including Prince Felix Yusupov, husband of Nicholas' niece, who led the conspiracy to kill Rasputin. He was lured to Yusupov's home, where he was shot in the head, his body disposed of in the nearby Nevka River, where it was discovered lodged in the ice two days later. Rumors of Rasputin surviving two poisoning attempts and 3 gunshots before finally drowing when thrown into the river persisted over the decades, despite being disproven at autopsy. On December 30, 2000, the New Orleans Saints beat the St. Louis Rams 31-28 for the first postseason win in the franchise's 34-year history. After spotting the Rams' vaunted "Greatest Show on Turf" offense an opening drive touchdown, the Saints rattled off 31 consecutive points, including 4 touchdown passes by rookie QB Aaron Brooks, then held off a furious Rams rally to preserve the win. The Rams had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes, but Az-Zahir Hakim muffed a punt that was recovered by Brian Milne, allowing the Saints to preserve the win. The 10-6 season with a NFC Western Division championship in Coach Jim Haslett's first season gave Saints fans hopes for a bright future, but the team would fail to make the playoffs over the next 5 seasons, ending in the infamous Hurricane Katrina displacement season of 2005, that saw Haslett fired and Brooks benched, but paving the way to the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era beginning the following season.
On December 31, 1907, the New York Times hosts the first New Year's Eve "ball drop." Four years earlier, the Times launched fireworks to celebrate the New Year from the roof of its new headquarters at what was then called Longacre Square. Four years later, to celebrate the renaming of the location as Times Square (and wanting a bigger, more unique spectacle than mere fireworks), publisher Adolph Ochs had an electrician construct a lighted ball, five feet in diameter (below left), that was lowered from the building's rooftop flagpole at midnight. Although the NYT headquarters has since moved, the traditional ball drop continues...the current iteration of the ball (the fifth, built in 2008 and will be retired after tonight's celebration), is 12 feet in diameter, weighs nearly 6 tons and contains over 32,000 LED lamps. The flagpole itself has been rebuilt over the years to accomodate the increasingly larger balls. The ball drop is attended by over a million people each year. On December 31, 1796, the towns of Baltimore, Jonestown and Fells Point in Maryland are incorporated into the City of Baltimore. Named for Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Baron Baltimore (founder of the Province of Maryland; "Baltimore" was the name of the family manor in Ireland), the city's origins go back to the establishment of a port on Chesapeake Bay in 1706. The most populous city in Maryland and 30th in the nation, Baltimore can legitimately claim to be one of America's most "historic" cities, with fully a third of the buildings (about 65,000) designated as Historic on the National Register, more than any other U.S. city. (below: Baltimore's historic Reservoir Hill district) December 31, 1844 in the Phillipine Islands....never happened. After Spain began releasing its international territories earlier in the century, the Phillipines - along with their neighbors in Guam, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Caroline Islands - began shifting their trade economies away from Spanish holdings and more towards Asia. They skipped December 31 - going from the 30th directly to January 1, 1845 - to more directly align with their new trade partners. (European interests didn't realize this had been done until the International Meridian Conference established the International Date Line in 1884).
On January 2, 1942, the members of the Duquesne Spy Ring are sentenced to prison. Named for its head, Frederick "Fritz" (or "The Duke") Duquesne (a South African native and WWI spy who moved to America after the war), its members had been reporting on American activities of interest to the Nazis for 4 years. Duquesne was recruited to run the ring in 1937 by Col. Nikolas Ritter, the head of U.S. Operations for Germany's Abwehr. Duquesne recruited (tricked or blackmailed) a handful of Americans to the ring, but most were Europeans sent over by Ritter, included a U.S. citizen living in Germany he blackmailed named William Sebold. Sebold immediately informed the American consulate of the contact, and on arriving in America, was recruited by the F.B.I. to act as a double agent in the ring. Eventually, 33 members of the ring (the largest espionage case in American history) were sentenced to more than 300 years in prison; Duquesne got the largest sentence at 18 years. Sebold (with his wife in right photo) was entered into the FBI's Witness Protection Program, but he eventually went insane over years of threats of Nazi reprisals and ended up in a California asylum, where he died in 1965. On January 2, 1959, the Soviet Union launches Luna 1 (photo shows a museum replica), a probe that achieved history thanks to a mistake. Intended to be crashed into the moon, Luna 1 missed the target when technicians allowed the last booster engine to burn too long . Flying past the moon at an altitude of about 3,700 miles (the closest pass to the moon by a manmade object at that time), Luna 1 continued outward until its battery failed, roughly 370,000 miles from earth. There it was collected by the sun's gravity, becoming the first manmade object to ever achieve heliocentric orbit. No battery meant loss of contact, but its believed Luna 1 is still out there, orbiting the sun between the orbital paths of Earth and Mars.
On January 3, 1521, Pope Leo X issues the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem (Latin for: "It Befits the Roman Pontiff"), excommunicating Martin Luther from the Catholic Church. Six months earlier, Leo had issued the bull Exsurge Domine, in which he condemned more than 40 statements written by the German theologian in criticism of Catholicism, and gave Luther six months to recant his opinions. Luther not only declined to recant, he publicly burned a copy of Exsurge Domine, leaving Leo no choice but to excommunicate him. On January 3, 1961, a steam explosion destroys the SL-1 experimental Army nuclear reactor at Idaho Falls, Idaho. Three workers are killed, the only time in history Americans suffer immediate death due to a nuclear accident. An investigation found that an operator pulled a control rod too far out of the reactor during a restart, causing it to go prompt critical. An "insignificant" amount of iodine-131 was released as a result of the accident. It took two years to clean up the site following the explosion, and the recovered nuclear waste was buried on a site about 500 meters from the original nuclear reactor. (photo: the reactor being removed from SL-1 ten months after the explosion) On January 3, 1946, popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf suffers a concussion falling from a horse during a race at Santa Anita racetrack in California. He died the following day at age 35. Woolf suffered from Type 1 diabetes, and many believe he may have become dizzy, causing him to fall. Winner of more than 700 races during an 18-year career, Woolf is perhaps best remembered for replacing Red Pollard on Seabiscuit after Pollard suffered an injury, and riding the perennial underdog horse to a win in his 1938 famed match race with Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Woolf won the 1936 Preakness Stakes aboard Bold Venture, finished second twice in the Kentucky Derby, and won the inaugural Santa Anita Handicap in 1935. He was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame, and the Museum of Racing Hall of Fame as an inaugural member of each Hall. In 1950, the Jockey's Guild established the annual George Woolf Award as a career achievement award for jockeys.(Woolf with Seabiscuit)
