December 20, 1847: The HMS *Avenger * wrecks on the rocks near Malta. 246 are killed.
December 20, 1951: EBR-1, Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 near Arco, Idaho (and near to CMNM, Craters of the Moon National Monument) produces sufficient electricity to illuminate four 200-watt light bulbs and becomes one of the world’s first electricity-generating nuclear power plants, and continues to be used for experimental purposes until it is decommissioned in 1964.
December 20, 1987: In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
December 21, 1951: An explosion in the Orient #2 coal mine in West Frankfort, Illinois kills 119.
December 21, 1948: actor Samuel L. Jackson born in Washington, D.C…
YouTube, “English, motherfucker, do you speak it??!!” from Pulp Fiction (NSFW)
December 22, 1939: The Genthin Rail Disasterin Germany occurs when an express train travelling at 62 mph crashes into another train. The death toll estimates range from 186 to 278. This is Germany’s worst ever passenger railroad accident.
December 22, 1964: the first SR-71 test flight is out of Palmdale CA on this date 53 years ago today.
December 22, 1984: Bernhard Goetz shoots four would-be muggers on a New York City subway.
December 23, 1933: The Lagny-Pomponne Rail Disaster in France occurs when an express train travelling at 65 mph crashes into another train. 204 died. This is France’s second deadliest passenger railroad accident.
December 23, 1986: Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.
I worked for Hexcel back then, te advanced composites materials company tha supplied Burt Rutan with the materials for his planeVoyager. When Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager finished their flight we held a banquet dinner for them. They autographed my picture of Voyager. He is tall, at about 6’3”, and she is a short tiny thing at about 5’1”.
December 24, 1913: The Italian Hall Disaster ends in the death of 73 in Calumet, Michigan.
It was Christmas Eve, and a large number of families of striking miners gathered for a Christmas Party. Almost 500 attended, and a majority were children and mothers. Though no one knows the identity of the man, many suspect he was an anti-union strike-breaker who entered the second floor room and yelled “Fire!” several times to the crowd.
There was no fire, but the mass panic caused people to stampede, trip and pile up on the narrow steep stairs in an effort to escape. When fire officials arrived they had to enter through the second floor and try to pull people off the mass of bodies piled high in the stairwell leading to the first floor. The death toll was staggering. 73 dead, mostly children, crushed to death in a mad panicked rush to get our of the building, to escape a fire that never was.
Here is the famous Woody Guthrie song 1913 Massacreabout the tragedy.
December 25, 1971: The Daeyeonggak Hotel Fire in Seoul, South Korea kills 164. It is the deadliest hotel fire in history.
December 25, 1968: The Kilvenmani massacre: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) are burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers. The victims included 5 aged men, 16 women and 23 children.
December 25, 336: (yes, three thirty-six) First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.
December 26, 1811: The Richmond Theatre Fire.
This is often considered America’s first great urban disaster. Over 600 of the city’s elite were attending the play *Family Fueds *in downtown Richmond when a candle in the chandelier caught some scenery on fire. The Richmond Theatre burned quickly and 76 lives were lost in the tragedy. Among the dead were the Governor of Virginia, George William Smith, and former U.S. Senator Abraham B. Veneble.
December 26, 1991: the USSR is dissolved; the Commonwealth of Independent States is formed.
December 26, 2004: The 9.1–9.3 Mw Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). One of the largest observed tsunamis follows, affecting the coastal areas of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia; death toll is between 230,000–280,000.
December 27, 1927: Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical play, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway.
December 27, 1975: The Chasnala Mining Disasteroccurs. This is India’s deadliest mine accident ever. An explosion collapsed the ceiling of the mine allowing massive water from a nearby reservoir to flood the inside. Approximately 370 miners drowned.
December 27, 1922: the first-ever purpose built aircraft carrier is commissioned – Japan’s Hōshō.