1st December
Image of the day
Americans Working Overhead (2004) – Banksy The mysterious Banksy is one of Europe’s most influential artists and the world’s most famous graffiti artist. His work appears in major cities across the world, and covers a wide range of political and social issues. He has created many works that involve soldiers and themes of war, often depicting them in ways that challenge our governments' decisions about when and how military force is used. This “Americans Working Overhead” sticker uses the visual language of street signs and is one of his many anti-war pieces protesting about the deployment of the American military overseas. Banksy’s most memorable stunts, or interventions, include hanging one of his own paintings at Tate Britain (which went undetected for hours) and mounting a stuffed rat at London’s Natural History Museum. On this day 1761 Maker of wax sculptures Madame Marie Tussaud was born in France. 1953 The first edition of Playboy magazine was published, featuring Marilyn Monroe as the magazine's first centrefold. 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of bus and give her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. 1988 Benazir Bhutto was named the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim country (Pakistan). Did you know …? Although forever linked with Scotland, the bagpipes were actually first played in Persia hundreds of years ago. 
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2nd December
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Bathers at Asnières (1884) – French post-impressionist painter Georges-Pierre Seurat, born 02/12/1859 Seurat completed the painting when he was twenty-four years old. He applied to the jury of the Salon to have the work exhibited there, but the jury rejected it. Seurat's Bathers preceded A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (see 29th March), which shows people on the bank of the other side of the river. While the bathers at Asnieres on the left bank are working-class people, it is the bourgeoisie who are on the right bank. The picture was not widely acclaimed until many years after the death of the artist at the age of just thirty-one. An appreciation of the painting’s merits grew during the twentieth century, and today it hangs in the National Gallery in London, where it is considered one of the highlights of the gallery’s collection of paintings. On this day … 1697 The rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral was officially opened. 1979 Elvita Adams jumped from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, only to be blown back onto the 85th floor by a gust of wind and left with a broken hip. 1988 7,000 Muslims in Bolton, UK staged the first ever demonstration against Salman Rushdie'sThe Satanic Verses, marching to the the town centre and burning copies of the book. Did you know …? Women buy 80% of everything that is for sale. 
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3rd December
Image of the day
Dance at le Moulin de la Galette (1876) – French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who died 03/12/1919 Renoir painted two versions of this picture. The larger one is in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and the smaller one (78 x 114 cm) is believed to be in the hands of a Swiss collector. It was sold at auction for $143.9 million in 1990, and as of 2013 it is sixth (when adjusted for the consumer price index) on the list of most expensive paintings ever sold. On this day … 1894 Scottish novelist and travel writer Robert Louis Stevenson died aged 44. Did you know …? The seventeenth president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, didn’t learn to read properly until he was 17 years old. 
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4th December
Image of the day
Rome from Mount Aventine (1835) – Joseph Mallord William Turner Considered one of Turner’s supreme achievements, the painting sold for £30.3 million, making it the highest price for any pre-20th century British artist ever sold at auction. Rome was the cradle of western civilisation and the centre of the European art world from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. It was the Holy Grail for artists in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. On this day … 1791 The Observer, the UK's oldest Sunday newspaper, was first published. 1918 American President Woodrow Wilson sailed to France to negotiate the peace treaty ending World War I. 1976 Tommy Bolin, lead guitarist with Deep Purple died of a drug overdose, age 25. Did you know …? There are more statues of lions in the world than there are real lions. 
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5th December
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Le Bassin Aux Nymphéas (1919) – Claude Monet This painting is one of a series of water lilies. Monet began painting the water lilies in 1899, first in vertical views with a Japanese bridge as a central feature, and later in the series of large-scale paintings that was to occupy him continuously for the next 20 years of his life. This painting was sold at auction in 2008 for $80.5 million. On this day 1756 Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. 1901 German theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics Werner Heisenberg was born. 1926 French impressionist painter Claude Monet died. 1932 American songwriter and musician Little Richard was born; click here to watch/listen. 1933 Prohibition was repealed in America after more than 13 years. 2013 Ex-president of South Africa Nelson Mandela died. Quote of the day Girls bored me – they still do. I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I’ve ever known. Walt Disney, American filmmaker and cartoonist born 05/12/1901. Did you know …? From 1941 to his death in 1966 Walt Disney spied for the FBI on union activity in Hollywood. |
6th December
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Wallace & Gromit - English filmmaker Nick Park, born 06/12/1959. Nick Park started creating the first Wallace & Gromit film, A Grand Day Out, in 1982. In order to make it he wrote to the makers of plasticine and requested a ton of their product. The character idea for Wallace came from his old English teacher. Wallace wears the same clothes as Park's teacher and has a similar personality. On this day … 1882 English novelist of the Victorian era Anthony Trollope died. 1877 Thomas Edison demonstrated the first gramophone with a recording of him reciting 'Mary had a little lamb'. Quote of the day Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. Steven Wright, American comedian born 06/12/1955 Did you know …? In one trip, a honey bee visits about 75 flowers. |
7th December
Image of the day
Julian Beever Julian Beever is a British chalk artist who has been creating trompe-l'œil chalk drawings on pavement surfaces since the mid-1990s. He uses a projection technique called anamorphosis to create the illusion of three dimensions when viewed from the correct angle. It is often possible to position a person within the image as if they were interacting with the scene. The technique is actually nothing new – it has been around since the Renaissance. On this day … 1676 Danish astronomer Ole Romer determined the speed of light. 1787 Delaware became the first state of the modern United States as it was the first of the 13 original states to ratify the U.S. Constitution. 1941 The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. 1982 Charles Brooks, Jr became the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States. 1988 American musician Roy Orbison died of a heart attack, age 52; click here to watch/listen. Did you know …? The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado. 
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8th December
Images of the day
Rolling Stone magazine cover of John Lennon & Yoko Ono (1980) – Annie Leibovitz, American portrait photographer. Leibovitz was the last person to professionally photograph Lennon—he was shot and killed five hours later. John Lennon signs a copy of Double Fantasy for Mark Chapman Mark Chapman asked John Lennon to sign a copy of his new album on his way out of the Dakota Building in NYC. He then waited for several hours outside Lennon’s apartment, and shot him when he returned, hitting him four times in the back. He was sentenced to 20 years to life, and was denied parole for the eighth time in August 2014. On this day … 1857 American inventor Joseph Gayetty first marketed his new product – toilet paper. 1864 Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon in Bristol was opened. 1943 Jim Morrison, lead singer of American rock band The Doors, was born. 1953 American actress Kim Basinger was born. 1966 Irish singer Sinead O'Connor was born. Did you know …? Since John Lennon was shot and killed on this day in 1980 over one million people have been killed by guns in the United States. 
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9th December
Image of the day
Triple Portrait of Charles I (c. 1635) – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish artist who died 09/12/1641) Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I. This painting was sent to Rome in 1636 to be used as a reference work for an Italian sculptor to create a marble bust of Charles I. Because of the conflict of the English Civil War the painting remained in the possession of sculptor and his heirs until about 1802, when it was sold to a British art dealer and returned to England. It was acquired for the Royal Collection in 1822, and is usually displayed at Windsor Castle. On this day … 1608 English poet John Milton was born. He is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. 1906 Computer scientist and US Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper was born. Did you know …? Grace Hopper is one of the very few women to have a US military vessel named for her. 
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10th December
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Hiroshima (1992) – English artist Vaughan Grylls, born 10/12/1943 Vaughan Grylls achieved most recognition for his ‘joiner’ technique: large-scale photo-collages joining separate photographs into a new whole. This example is created from photos taken of a huge pile of origami which stands in the centre of Hiroshima. Above this place, on August 6th 1945 an atomic bomb detonated. Children from all over Japan travel to this pile to leave their origami contribution. Photographs of those killed as a result of the blast are also added. On this day … 1896 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel died. 1903 Marie Curie became the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize. 1967 American singer Otis Redding died in a plane crash at the age of 26. Did you know …? Alfred Nobel’s will stated: ‘the capital … shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind …whether he be Scandinavian or not.’ 
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11th December
Image of the day
Mona Lisa or La Gioconda (c.1503 – 1506) – Leonardo da Vinci The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa in 1911 by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom cupboard and walking out with it hidden under his coat after the museum had closed. Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed Leonardo's painting should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum. He was finally caught when he tried to sell the painting to the directors of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. On this day … 1913 The Mona Lisa, stolen from the Louvre Museum two years earlier, was recovered. 1936 Edward VIII announced in a radio broadcast that he was abdicating the British throne to marry twice divorced Wallis Simpson. 2008 Billionaire conman Bernard Madoff was arrested. He was sentenced to a 150 years for cheating investors out of approximately $65 billion. Quote of the day Should someone ask me whether I would indicate the West such as it is today as a model to my country, frankly I would have to answer negatively. No, I could not recommend your society in its present state as an ideal for the transformation of ours. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, historian, critic of Soviet totalitarianism and Nobel Prize winner born 11/12/1918 Did you know …? Bernard Madoff made his money using a Ponzi scheme. Although named after Charles Ponzi who used the technique in 1920, such a scheme is mentioned in two of Charles Dickens’ 19th-century novels. |
12 December
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The Scream (1893–1910) – Norwegian painter and printmaker Edvard Munch, born 12/12/1863 The Scream is the popular name given to each of four versions of a composition which the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch did between 1893 and 1910 in different media – paint, pastel and lithograph. Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature) is the title Munch gave to these works, all of which show a figure with an agonized expression against a landscape with a blood red sky. The painting is one of very few works of modern art that are instantly recognizable to a wide audience. Two different versions of the painting were stolen from galleries in Norway in 1994 and 2004, but they were both recovered. The fourth version (pastel, 1895) was sold at auction in 2012 for $119,922,600. On this day … 1915 American singer and actor Frank Sinatra was born. 1957 American rock 'n' roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin Myra Brown in Mississippi. Quote of the day We live by the Golden Rule. Those who have the gold make the rules. Buzzie Bavasi, American baseball manager born 12/12/1914. Did you know …? One billion seconds is about 32 years. |
13th December
Image of the day
Composition VII (1913) – Influential Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, who died 13/12/1944 Kandinsky taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture from 1922 until the Nazis closed it in 1933. Fifty-seven of his paintings were confiscated by the Nazis during a raid on the Bauhaus art school and were later put on show in the state-sponsored exhibit ‘Degenerate Art’ in 1937 before being destroyed (see 19th July). On this day … 1847 Emily Brontë published her classic novel Wuthering Heights using the pseudonym Ellis Bell, while her sister Anne published Agnes Grey under the name Acton Bell. Did you know …? Chicago is the city with the largest Polish population in the world after Warsaw. 
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14th December
Image of the day
Bending the Keel Plate (parts 1 & 2) (1943) – Sir Stanley Spencer, who died 14/12/1959 Sir Stanley Spencer was an English painter. These paintings are part of a series commissioned by the War Artists' Advisory Committee in May 1940 to depict the civilians at work in the shipyards on the River Clyde in Glasgow. This was a series of up to eleven canvases, some of which were to be up to six metres long. Spencer is also well known for paintings which expressed his fervent but unconventional Christian faith. He often depicted Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the small village on the Thames where he was born and spent much of his life. On this day … 1861 Queen Victoria’s husband Albert died. Her last words to him, ‘It is your little wife, kiss me’, were not spoken in English but in his native German. 1893 Charles Osborne was born in Iowa, USA. He began hiccupping in 1922 and didn’t stop until 1990, 68 years later. Quote of the day Adventure is just bad planning. Roald Amundsen, Norwegian explorer who became the first man to reach the South Pole on 14/12/1911, only 35 days ahead of the British expedition led by Captain Scott. Did you know …? Argentine national Emilio Marco Palma was the first person born in Antarctica in 1978. |
15th December
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The Milkmaid (c.1658) – Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, who died 15/12/1675 Vermeer specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He was a respected artist in Delft, but almost unknown outside his home town, and the fact that a local patron purchased much of his output reduced the possibility of his fame spreading. Because of the almost photo-realistic attention to detail in his paintings, the fact that Vermeer had no formal training, and that there is only limited evidence that he created any preparatory sketches, it has been claimed that Vermeer used a camera obscura to create them. On this day … 1832 French civil engineer Alexandre Gustav Eiffel was born. 1939 Nylon was produced commercially for the first time in Seaford, Delaware. 2006 President George W. Bush awarded B. B. King the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Click here to watch/listen. Did you know …? Montreal is the second largest French speaking city after Paris. 
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16th December
Image of the day
Swinging (1925) – Influential Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky born 16/12/1866 Kandinsky was one of the first abstract artists and a key figure in the history of modern art. He argued that colour and form can communicate as much as definite subject matter and that emotion and feel are as important as order and control. Kandinsky was born in Moscow and studied and taught law at the university there. Aged 30, he saw one of Monet’s paintings of a haystack and was impressed by its colour and composition rather than its subject matter. He decided to become a painter and left Moscow in 1896 to study art in Munich. At first he painted representational images. After 1908 he began to remove recognisable forms from his work and use areas of strong colour to stimulate the viewer. The title of Swinging conveys the painting’s sense of dynamic movement, suggestive of the rhythms of modernity. On this day … 1770 German composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born. 1775 English novelist Jane Austen was born. 1946 Benny Andersson, Swedish musician and songwriter of the pop group Abba, was born. 1990 45-year-old rock star Rod Stewart married 22-year-old Rachel Hunter in Beverley Hills. 1932 English cartoonist, illustrator and children’s writer Quentin Blake was born. Quote of the day The future, according to some scientists, will be exactly like the past, only far more expensive. John Sladek, American science fiction author born 16/12/1937 Did you know …? Beethoven suffered from depression and acute tinnitus, and by 1819 was stone deaf, yet continued to produce masterpieces. |
17th December
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The Flyer (1903) - The Wright brothers On Friday 17 December 1903 Orville Wright made the first powered flight in the Flyer – it lasted 12 seconds. His brother Wilbur made the second flight, which lasted less than a second longer than the first. Orville took the 3rd flight, covering 60 meters in 15 seconds. At noon, Wilbur made the fourth flight on that day. In total the Flyer covered 255.6 meters in 59 seconds. On this day … 1843 Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol. 1902 A transmission from the Marconi station in Nova Scotia, Canada, became the first radio message to cross the Atlantic from North America. 1903 At Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina, Orville Wright made the first successful controlled flight in a powered aircraft. Quote of the day Every day sees humanity more victorious in the struggle with space and time. Guglielmo Marconi Did you know …? American Airlines saved an estimated $40,000 in 1987 by removing one olive from each salad served in first-class. |
18th December
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George Bush (2007) – British artist Jonathan Yeo, born 18/12/1970 This infamous portrait of George W. Bush in 2007 gained worldwide attention. After a commission to paint the US president was reportedly awarded and then withdrawn, Yeo created an image of the President anyway, making a collaged portrait from pornography. On this day … 1737 Italian maker of stringed instruments Antonio Stradavari died. 1865 Slavery was abolished throughout the United States of America. 1947 American film director Steven Spielberg was born. 1963 American actor Brad Pitt was born. 1969 The death penalty for murder was formally abolished in Britain. 1980 American singer Christina Aguilera was born. Click here to watch/listen. 2000 English singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl died age 41. Quote of the day If you're going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use both feet. Keith Richards, lead guitarist of the Rolling Stones, born 18/12/1943. Click here to watch/listen. Did you know …? It is estimated that Antonio Stardavari made 1,000 – 1,100 instruments. Around 650 of these survive, including about 450 violins |
19th December
Image of the day
The Fighting Temeraire (1838) – English Romantic landscape painter J. M. W. Turner, who died 19/12/1851 This painting hangs in the National Gallery in London. It depicts the 98-gun HMS Temeraire, which played a distinguished role at the Battle of Trafalgar, being towed by a paddle-wheel steam tug to be broken up for scrap. The picture was painted when Turner was in his sixties and at the height of his career, and is thought to represent the decline of Britain's naval power. In 2005 it was voted the nation's favourite painting in a poll of BBC Radio 4 listeners. Turner grew increasingly eccentric in his final years, living as a recluse in a small Chelsea apartment under an assumed name (Admiral Booth) his diet reputedly consisting of rum and milk. On this day … 1848 English novelist Emily Brontë died at the age of 30. 1915 French cabaret singer Edith Piaf was born. Quote of the day All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. Thomas Paine Did you know …? Wuthering Heights was published under the name Ellis Bell, and the violence and passion in the novel led the Victorian public and many early reviewers to think that it had been written by a man. Emily Brontë’s name did not appear on the novel until after her death in 1850. |
20th December
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Relativity (1953) – M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher was a Dutch graphic artist born in 1898. He is known for his often mathematically inspired pictures. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations (patterns using one or more geometric shapes with no gaps). This lithograph print is one of Escher’s most popular works, depicting a world in which the normal laws of gravity do not apply. On this day … 1192 Richard I ('the Lionheart') was captured in Vienna A ransom of 100,000 pounds of silver had to be paid before he was released. 1803 The French flag was lowered in New Orleans to mark the formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase from France to the U.S. for $27M. 1956 Montgomery, Alabama, removed race-based seat assignments on its buses. 1957 Elvis Presley was given his draft notice to join the US Army for National Service. Quote of the day Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used. Carl Sagan, American astronomer who died 20/12/1996 Did you know …? The barn owl’s hearing is so highly developed that they can hunt for their prey in total darkness. |
21st December
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La Mona is the name of the sculpture which part-time art student Armando Muñoz García completed in 1991 in a ghetto in Tijuana, Mexico. The 5-storey tall creation was more than just a sculpture – it was the artist’s home. Garcia lived inside the woman with his wife: their bedroom was in the woman's breasts, the study in her head, the kitchen in her stomach, and the bathrooms in her behind. He has since moved to a new house, but still uses La Mona as a studio. On this day … 1118 Archbishop of Canterbury and martyr Thomas Becket was born. 1620 The Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts in the Mayflower. 1948 American actor Samuel L. Jackson was born. Quote of the day Where knowledge ends, religion begins. Benjamin Disraeli, British politician born 21/12/1804 Did you know …? Leather does not actually have any smell. The smell that you sense is derived from the materials used in the tanning process. |
22nd December
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Zombie nativity scene (2014) – Jasen Dixon During the Christmas holidays in 2014 Jasen Dixon, the manager of a haunted house in Ohio, created this zombie nativity scene outside his home in a Cincinnati suburb. He told his local TV station: “I wanted a nativity scene and I worked with what I had.” Local authorities ordered him to remove the structure. On this day … 1639 French playwright Jean Racine was born. 1880 English author George Eliot (real name Mary Anne Evans) died. 2002 Guitarist and lead singer of the Clash Joe Strummer died age 50. Quotes of the day Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties. John Milton You’re on earth. There’s no cure for that. From Endgame by Samuel Beckett, Irish playwright and novelist who died 22/12/1989. Did you know …? Tomatoes and cucumbers are fruits because they have seeds. |
23rd December
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Our Prices Are Insane! (1987) – Barbara Kruger Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist. Much of her work pairs found photographs with pithy and assertive text (often in white letters against a red background) that challenges the viewer. Much of her text calls attention to ideas such as feminism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire, frequently appropriating images from mainstream magazines and using bold phrases to frame them in a new context. On this day … 1688 King James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch fled to France. His place was taken by William III of Orange. He was Dutch, and a Protestant. 1888 Vincent van Gogh severed his left ear with a razor. He bandaged his wound, wrapped the ear in paper, and delivered the package to a brothel frequented by both him and fellow artist Paul Gauguin. Quote of the day He who never made a mistake never made a discovery. Samuel Smiles, Scottish author and reformer born 23/12/1812 Did you know …? Seventy per cent of British dog owners buy their pets Christmas presents. |
24th December
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Chesterfield cigarettes advert featuring Ronald Reagan (1952) In an earlier 1948 advertisement in Life Magazine, Reagan proclaimed, ‘My cigarette is the mild cigarette… That’s why Chesterfield is my favorite’, but in actual fact he didn’t smoke. Most of Reagan’s advertising was for the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, which was later revealed through a series of lawsuits to be covering up the true health effects of smoking through their deceptive advertisements Ronald Reagan went on to become the 40th president of the USA. On this day … 1865 In Tennessee USA, six Confederate veterans formed the Ku Klux Klan, originally a social club for members to 'cheer up our mothers and girls' by terrorising Negroes. 1905 American business tycoon and aviator Howard Hughes was born. 1951 The United Kingdom of Libya declared its independence from Italy. Did you know …? The abbreviation Xmas for the word Christmas is of Greek origin because the word for Christ in the Greek language is Xristos. 
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25th December
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Constellation: Towards the Rainbow(1941) – Catalan Spanish surrealist painter Joan Miró, who died 25/12/1983. Towards the Rainbow is the fifteenth in the Constellation series, a set of twenty-three gouaches on paper that were produced over twenty-one months from Jan. 1940 to Sep. 1941. Each picture took about a month to complete. Miró’s work has been interpreted as Surrealism, but Miró chose not to become an official member of the Surrealists in order to be free to experiment with other artistic styles without compromising his position within the group. He pursued his own interests in the art world, including automatic drawing, expressionism and Colour Field painting. On this day … 1954 Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist Annie Lennox was born. 1741 The Centigrade temperature scale was devised by Anders Celsius. 1977 English actor and film maker Charlie Chaplin died; he made 67 films before the age of 30. 2016 English singer, songwriter, and record producer George Michael died at the age of 53. Did you know …? The second best-selling game of all time is Jenga. Jenga is a Swahili word, meaning ‘to build’. Quote of the day I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people. Sir Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician and astronomer born 25/12/1642 |
26th December
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Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung is a book of selected statements from speeches and writings by Mao Tse-tung, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party, published from 1964 to about 1976 and widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution. The most popular versions were small with bright red covers and became commonly known in the West as the Little Red Book. It is considered to be one of the most printed books in history. On this day … 1893 Mao Tse-Tung, founding father of the People’s Republic of China, was born. 2004 A 9.3 magnitude earthquake created a tsunami which devastated areas of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives and other countries around the rim of the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people. Quote of the day Always be sincere, even if you don’t mean it. Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the U.S. who died 26/12/1972 Did you know …? Sir Isaac Newton took up the post of Warden of the Mint, responsible for investigating cases of counterfeiting, in 1696, and subsequently held the office of Master of the Royal Mint from 1699 until his death in 1727. |
27th December
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Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance ii (1951) – American painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly, who died 27/12/2015 Kelly’s Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance is one of the first abstract works the artist produced after abandoning figure painting. A series of eight collages made up of hundreds of squares of colour randomly placed on a white or black background, Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance was the product of a mathematical system: numbered slips of paper referred each to one of eighteen different hues to be placed on a grid 40 inches by 40 inches. For each one of the eight collages Kelly used a different process, working one colour at a time and always unaware of the results. On this day … 1831 HMS Beagle set out on its famous scientific voyage around the world with Charles Darwin on board. It was during the voyage that Darwin wrote On the Origin of the Species. 1923 French civil engineer and architect Gustav Eiffel died. 1948 French actor Gerard Depardieu was born. 2007 Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was killed while leaving a campaign rally. Quote of the day A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world. Louis Pasteur, French chemist born 27/12/1822 Did you know …? The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world before the construction of the Empire State Building in 1930. |
28th December
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It is what it is (2009) – Jeremy Deller This car was destroyed in a major attack on a book market in the cultural centre of Baghdad in 2007; the street itself was totally destroyed, 35 people were killed, and hundreds were injured. In 2009 Jeremy Deller towed the car from New York to LA, stopping off in 14 towns and cities on the way – a classic American road trip route – accompanied by an Iraqi citizen and an American soldier. It was presented in as neutral a way as possible, and conversations about Iraq, inspired by the car’s story, were filmed and posted on YouTube. Deller described it as ‘the conversation piece from hell.’ On this day … 1732 Benjamin Franklin published Poor Richard’s Almanack. The Almanack contained the calendar, weather, astronomical information and the the occasional mathematical exercise, but is chiefly remembered for Franklin’s own aphorisms. 1895 Auguste and Louis Lumière put on a show at the Grand Café in Paris which is widely considered to be the birth of cinema. However, they believed people would soon tire of paying money to watch what they could see outside for free - Louis Lumière said ‘the cinema is an invention without a future’. 1954 American actor Denzil Washington was born. 1983 The Beach Boys' drummer Dennis Wilson drowned shortly after his thirty-ninth birthday. Did you know …? The word cinema comes from the Lumière brothers’ cinématographe, a three-in-one machine which was a film recorder, developer and projector. |
29th December
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Hawaiian sumo wrestler Konishiki Yasokichi, born 31/12/1963 Konishiki was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach the second highest rank in the sport. At a peak weight of 287 kg (633 lb) he was also the heaviest wrestler ever in sumo, earning him the nickname ‘The Dump Truck’. On this day … 1890 The Wounded Knee Massacre, the last conflict between Native Americans and US troops, took place on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. By the time it was over, more than 200 men, women, and children of the Lakota people had been killed by the 7th Cavalry. Quote of the day A bargain is something you don’t need at a price you can’t resist. Franklin P. Jones American journalist and humorist who died 29/12/1980. Did you know …? It’s often said that the human body is 70% water, but the water content of a body depends on age, sex and fat content. Fat tissue contains less water than other body tissue, so the fatter a person is, the lower the proportion of water their body will have. On average, an infant’s body mass is around 72% water, a young man’s 59% and a young woman’s 50% (women tend to carry more fat tissue than men). Older men and women are about 45% water. |
30th December
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Tiger Woods (2010) and Paris Hilton (2008) – Jonathan Yeo Jonathan Yeo’s first collage using photos from pornographic magazines was a portrait of George W. Bush in 2007. After it was displayed in a gallery in London it went viral and Yeo’s website got five or six million hits in three days. Yeo thought porn was the obvious choice for a collage of a face because all the skin tones are already there. On this day … 1865 English novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay. 1916 Mystical Russian faith healer and private adviser to the Romanovs Grigori Rasputin was murdered. Quote of the day Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps. Tiger Woods, American golfer born 30/12/1975 Did you know …? In 1907, Rudyard Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient at the time. |
31st December |
Image of the day
View of Collioure (1905) – French artist Henri Matisse, born 31/12/1869 Matisse is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, as one of the three artists who helped to define the revolutionary developments in art in the early decades of the twentieth century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture. This painting is an example of the style that Matisse employed during his early period of Fauvism, a term which comes from the French word fauves, meaning wild beasts. On this day … 1935 The patent for the game Monopoly was issued. 1963 Hawaiian sumo wrestler Konishiki Yasokichi was born (see image for 29th December). Quote of the day Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all. Anon. Did you know …? Over a third of the world’s commercial supply of pineapples comes from Hawaii. |