Daily Calendar for Friday, December 6, 2024

St. Nicholas (whose feast day is December 6) was likely a fourth-century bishop of Myra in what is now Turkey. Known for his generosity, he is said to have given a purse filled with gold as a dowry to each of three destitute young ladies so that they could be married. St. Nicholas’s life eventually merged with folklore, and the legend of Santa Claus was born. Learn more about St. Nicholas Day here.

Died

  • Jefferson Davis (served as the first and only President of the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War) –
  • Roy Orbison (musician) –
  • Don Ameche (actor) –
  • Phillip Berrigan (priest who fought Vietnam War and nuclear weapons) –

Born

  • Ira Gershwin (lyricist) –
  • Agnes Moorehead (actress) –
  • Steven Wright (comedian & actor) –
  • Nick Park (filmmaker & animator) –
  • Janine Turner (actress) –
  • Sabrina Ionescu (basketball player) –

Events

  • First international football game –
  • Monongah, West Virginia, coal mine disaster killed 362 men. One of the worst in U.S. history –
  • Ship explosion devastated Halifax, Nova Scotia –
  • The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed, giving Ireland dominion status and establishing Irish Free State –
  • President Truman dedicated Everglades National Park in Florida –
  • The Burl Ives narrated holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer made its television debut –
  • Kitty Hambleton reached 512.71 mph land speed –
  • Gunman kills 14 women at University of Montreal –

Weather

  • Five inches of snow, Savannah, Georgia –
  • A windstorm on this day toppled the national Christmas tree on the grounds of the White House –
  • Strong storms spread 60 mph winds throughout northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio –

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