Merry Christmas

Laurie Cohn Rosenthal
Mirror contribuing writer

   Everyone knows December 25 is Christmas, the day baby Jesus was born, which of course altered history. Today, kids throughout the Western world look forward to Christmas morning and a tree surrounded by presents brought by a jolly red-suited fella. Whether you go to church on Christmas (eve or day) or the beach (it is Santa Monica after all) or the movies (hey, we’re a showbiz town), it’s the perfect day to be surrounded by family and friends.
   Believe it or not, other happenings have occurred on December 25. Here’s a sampling.
   Those born on December 25 in addition to baby Jesus include Barbara Mandrell, Isaac Newton, Humphrey Bogart, Cab Calloway, Sissy Spacek, Maurice Utrillo, Carlos Castaneda, Rickey Henderson, Jimmy Buffett, Conrad Hilton, Rebecca West, Anwar el-Sadat, Little Richard, Rod Serling, and Dean Martin.
   Those who passed away on December 25 include Charlie Chaplin, Joan Miro, Billy Martin, Frederick Law Olmsted, Joan Blondell, and W.C. Fields.
   Other less-celebrated December 25 events include:
   William the Conqueror is crowned King of England in 1066.
   Haley’s comet is first sighted in 1758 during its return.
   In 1776 General George Washington crosses the Delaware.
   “Silent Night” is sung for the first time in 1818.
Handel’s “Messiah” has its American debut in 1818 in Boston.
   In 1831 Arkansas and Louisiana are the first states to observe Christmas as a holiday.
   The first indoor baseball game is played in 1888 in Philadelphia.
   In 1896 John Philip Sousa writes “Stars & Stripes Forever.”
   A couple is arrested for kissing on a New York street in 1913.
   In 1914, during World War I, an unofficial truce is declared between British and German troops.
   In 1926 Hirohito becomes Japan’s emperor.
   In 1938 George Cukor reveals Vivien Leigh has been chosen to play Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With The Wind.”
   In a bit of marketing mastery, Montgomery Ward presents reindeer Rudolph to the world in 1939.
   “Pal Joey” premieres on Broadway in 1940.
   His Holiness the Dalai Lama flees from his palace in Lhasa, Tibet in 1950.
   The Cleveland Browns defeat the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL championship in 1950.
   Dick Tracy marries his sweetheart Tess Truehart in 1950.
   In 1959 Ringo Starr is given his first drum set.
   The James Bond film “Goldfinger” premieres in America in 1964.
   In 1964 George Harrison’s girlfriend and future wife Patti Boyd is attacked by jealous female Beatles fans.
   Paul McCartney becomes engaged to Jane Asher in 1967.
   In 1968, astronaut Frank Borman gives a Christmas reading while orbiting the moon.
   At 82 minutes and 40 seconds, the longest professional football game takes place in 1971 between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs.
   Managua, Nicaragua is in ruins after an earthquake in 1972.
   The Eagles’ album “Hotel California” goes platinum in 1976.
   Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets with Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat in Egypt in 1977.
   In 1989 Japanese scientists reach -271.8 Celsius, the coldest temperature in recorded history.
   Mikhail Gorbachev officially resigns as president of the USSR in 1991.
   Merry Christmas, one and all.