^B{^#!16!26 December^N! Boxing Day in Britain (Handsel Day in Scotland). Feast day of St Stephen, St Dionysius, pope, St Archelaus of Kashkar, St Vicentia Lopez, St Zosimus, pope, and St Tathai or Athaeus.
^B{1898^B} Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium. ^B{1908^B} Texan boxer 'Galveston Jack' Johnson knocked out Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia, to become the first black boxer to win the world heavyweight title. ^B{1943^B} The German battlecruiser ^I{Scharnhorst^I} was sunk in the North Sea, during the Battle of North Cape. ^B{1956^B} Fidel Castro attempted a secret landing in Cuba to overthrow the Batista regime; all but 11 of his supporters were killed. ^B{1959^B} The first charity walk took place, along Icknield Way, in aid of the World Refugee Fund. ^B{1991^B} The Soviet Union's parliament formally voted the country out of existence.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}Thomas Gray, English poet, ^B{1716^B}; Charles Babbage, English mathematician, ^B{1792^B}; Henry Miller, US novelist, ^B{1891^B}; Mao Zedong, Chinese Communist leader, ^B{1893^B}; Richard Widmark, US film actor, ^B{1914^B}; Jane Lapotaire, English actress, ^B{1944^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}John Wilkes, British politician and journalist, ^B{1797^B}; Heinrich Schliemann, German archeologist, ^B{1890^B}; Charles PathΘ, French film pioneer, ^B{1957^B}; Harry S Truman, 33rd US president, ^B{1972^B}; Jack Benny, US comedian, ^B{1974^B}.
