^B{^#!16!1 December^N! World Aids Day. Feast day of St Edmund Campion, St Agericus or Airy, St Eligius or Elroy, St Alexander Briant, St Anasanus, St Tudwal, and St Ralph Sherwin.
^B{1640^B} The Spanish were driven out of Portugal and the country regained its independence. ^B{1919^B} US-born Lady Nancy Astor became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons, as MP for the Sutton division of Plymouth. ^B{1925^B} The Locarno Pact was signed in London, guaranteeing peace and frontiers in Europe. ^B{1939^B} ^I{Gone with the Wind^I} premiered in New York. ^B{1941^B} Japanese warplanes launched a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet in their home base at Pearl Harbor, forcing the US to enter WWII. ^B{1942^B} The Beveridge Report on Social Security, which formed the basis of the welfare state in Britain, was issued. ^B{1953^B} The first issue of Hugh Heffner's ^I{Playboy^I} magazine was published; the center-spread nude featured Marilyn Monroe. ^B{1989^B} Pope John Paul II and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Rome, ending 70 years of hostility between the Vatican and the USSR. ^B{1991^B} France won its first Davis Cup tennis title in 59 years by defeating the US at the finals in Lyons, France.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}Madame Tussaud, French wax-modeler, ^B{1761^B}; Alicia Markova, British ballet dancer, ^B{1910^B}; Woody Allen, US film actor, writer and director, ^B{1935^B}; Lee Trevino, US golfer, ^B{1939^B}; Richard Pryor, US comedian and actor, ^B{1940^B}; Bette Midler, US comedienne and singer, ^B{1945^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}King Henry I, ^B{1135^B}; Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian sculptor and goldsmith, ^B{1455^B}; Vincent d'Indy, French composer, ^B{1931^B}; J B S Haldane, English scientist and writer, ^B{1964^B}; David Ben Gurion, Israeli statesman, ^B{1973^B}; James Baldwin, US writer, ^B{1987^B}.
