Profession: Jazz Musician
Nationality:
Biography: Renown jazz pianist and composer and winner of 8 grammys.
Born: August 15, 1925
Birthplace:Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died: December 23, 2007 (aged 82)
Cause of Death: Kidney failure
Sadat was the first Arab head of state to visit Israel and address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. His visit came under severe criticism both in Israel and in the Arab world. Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 for their attempts to bring a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The second spacecraft to land on the Moon, Apollo 12 was the 6th manned flight of NASA’s Apollo program. Crew members Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean became the 3rd and 4th humans to step on the surface of the Moon. The first 2 were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
The Brazilian footballer, often considered to be the greatest athlete of the 20th century, made his 1,000th professional goal against Vasco da Gama at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The concentration camp in occupied Poland was set up in 1941. In November 1943, in anticipation of the advancement of Soviet troops, the Nazis tried to evacuate the camp and used the inmates to remove traces of executions and mass killings in the past. On this day, the inmates staged an uprising and attempted to escape. Most escapees, however, were recaptured and killed.
The treaty, officially known as, Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty and The United States of America, was signed between representatives of the United States and Britain. It called for the British to surrender northwestern posts to the U.S. and for them to consider the United States as a most favored nation for trade between the two countries.
You probably already knew that the idea of Santa Claus came from St. Nicholas. The saint wasn’t really a bearded man who wore a red suit; that look came much later. In the fourth century, the Christian bishop gave away his large inheritance to the poor and rescued women from servitude. In Dutch, his name is Sinter Klaas, which later morphed into Santa Claus.
Over 900 people committed suicide at the behest of Jim Jones the founder and head of a group called Peoples Temple. Formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the mid-1050s, members of the group moved to Guyana in 1974 and set up a settlement outside Georgetown and called in Jonestown.
Bell systems started replacing rotary dial phones by push button phone in the United States. Push button phones use keys or buttons to dial a number.
The battle was bought between German forces on one side and British and French forces on the other during the First World War. Thought to be one of the bloodiest battles of the 20th century – the conflict started on July 1, 1916, and was fought on the banks of the river Somme in France.
The treaty created the Panama Canal Zone and set up the terms for the construction of the Panama Canal. Until 1979, the Panama Canal Zone was a territory of the United States. The French began construction on the Panama Canal in 1881 but had to stop due to engineering problems. The US took over the construction in 1904 and finished building the canal in 1914.
Prior to this, most cities had their own local time, making it difficult for railways to be on time and confusing passengers. To solve this problem, private railways decided to divide the continent into 4 distinct time zones – the lines of which are very close to the time zone lines today.
