December 27th – Birthdays and Events
1977 - Thousands of people flocked to UK cinemas to watch the long-awaited blockbuster, Star Wars.
December 26th – Birthdays and Events
2015 - Weeks of heavy rain led to the worst floods Hebden Bridge (West Yorkshire) had ever seen. 1600 businesses were affected. 45% of flooded premises suffered structural damage, 75% lost stock and 46% lost office equipment – almost double the losses faced after the floods in summer 2012. By early spring 2016 almost 40% of businesses in the town were still closed.
December 25th – Birthdays and Events
2021 - The James Webb Space Telescope was launched from the Guiana Space Center. Jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, the telescope is the most advanced infrared telescope ever built.
December 24th – Birthdays and Events
1914 - World War 1 – Not a shot was fired, as German & British soldiers played football & handed out drinks, cigars & souvenirs.
December 23rd – Birthdays and Eventsp
1972 - Sixteen plane crash survivors were rescued after being stranded in the Andes for seventy days. Although 33 of the 45 onboard survived the crash, injuries and severe weather conditions killed many more. Survivors had to resort to cannibalism in order to stay alive.
December 22nd – Birthdays and Events
2010 - The Abbey Road zebra crossing in north London, made famous after appearing on a Beatles album cover was given Grade II listed status. The crossing, was being recognised for its "cultural and historical importance" following advice from English Heritage.
December 21st – Birthdays and Events
2020 - The death (aged 103) of RAF ‘Spitfire woman’ Eleanor Wadsworth. She was the last surviving of about 165 women to have taken on the task of transporting aircraft to the frontlines during World War II. The women operated out of White Waltham in Berkshire and flew without instruments, flying instructions or radios.
December 20th – Birthdays and Events
1928 - Harry Ramsden started his fish and chip restaurant in a hut at White Cross – Guiseley, near Bradford in West Yorkshire. It soon became the most famous fish and chip restaurant in the world.
December 19th – Birthdays and Events
1843 - English author Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol, which became one of the outstanding Christmas stories of modern literature. This popular novella sold out by Christmas Eve, selling 6,000 copies. Since then, “A Christmas Carol” has never gone out of print.