Poor Gabriel's Almanac - December 6th

Interesting things that happened December 6th:

Birthdays on this date:

In 1421 Henry VI, king of England (1422-61, 1470-71)
In 1803 Susanna Moodie, Canadian author (Roughing It In the Bush)
In 1822 John Eberhard, built first large scale pencil factory in US
In 1870 William S. Hart, star of silent Western movies
In 1886 Joyce Kilmer, poet (Trees)
In 1887 Lynn Fontanne, Broadway actor (Dulcy, Arms and the Man)
In 1896 George Trafton, NFL center (Chicago Bears)
+ Ira Gershwin, lyricist, ('S Wonderful, I Got Rhythm)
In 1898 Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish sociologist, economist
In 1900 Agnes Moorehead, actor (Bewitched[tv]; Sorry, Wrong Number[radio]))
In 1907 R. York Wilson, Canadian painter, muralist (O'Keefe Center, Toronto)
In 1920 Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist
In 1921 Otto Graham, AAFC, NFL quarterback (Cleveland Browns)
+ George "Buzz" Beurling, WWII flying ace & Coca Cola affectionado
In 1925 Andy Robustelli, NFL defensive end (LA Rams, NY Giants)
In 1930 Crawford "Buzz" Holling, scientist and ecologist
In 1933 Dennis Burton, artist (Garterbeltmania)
In 1947 Chelsea Brown (in Chicago, IL), actor (Laugh-In, Sweet Charity)

Events worth noting:

+ Feast of St. Nicholas, archbishop of Myra, patron of brewers
+ Independence Day, celebrated in Finland
In 346 (?) Nicholas, archbishop of Myra, dies.
In 1492 Haiti discovered by Columbus.
In 1534 Quito, Ecuador founded by Spanish.
In 1631 First predicted transit of Venus (Kepler) is observed.
In 1768 First edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica is published in Scotland.
In 1780 Death of Jean-Antoine Aide-Cre'quy, first Canadian-born painter.
In 1825 President John Quincy Adams suggests establishing a US observatory.
In 1876 City of Anaheim incorporated for a second time.
In 1882 Atmosphere of Venus detected during transit.
In 1900 First caisse populaire established by Alphonse Desjardins.
In 1907 Coal mine explosions in Monongah, WV, killed 361 men.
In 1917 Finland declares independence from Russia (National Day).
In 1921 Irish Free State gains independence from Britain.
In 1922 First electric power line commercial carrier in US, Utica NY.
In 1923 First presidential address broadcast on radio (Calvin Coolidge).
In 1952 First hockey game played outside an NHL city in 24 years at Indianapolis (Detroit 2, Chicago 0, Terry Sawchuk got shutout).
In 1957 First US attempt to launch a satellite fails-Vanguard rocket blows up
In 1973 Gerald Ford becomed the first unelected vice president.
In 1977 South Africa grants Bophuthatswana independence.
In 1984 Martina Navratilova's record winning streak of 74 singles matches comes to an end, losing to Helena Sukova.
In 1988 A major earthquake along the Armenia/Turkey border kills tens of thousands. Soviet Premier Gorbachev blames shoddy construction for the high death toll in the 6.9 (Richter) temblor.
+ Roy Orbison Dies at 52 in a Nashville Hospital.
In 1989 Deranged mysogynist Marc Lepine goes on a shooting spree in a Montreal University, killing 14 women before turning the gun on himself.

And remember ...

National Indigestion Season

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Although efforts have been taken to ensure the accuracy of this information, several errors have been found in the past. Don't place any bets on the basis of what you find here. If you spot an error, write to Poor Gabriel at poorgabriel@mystery.com .