What Happened On
Sold Murder Victims as BBQ
December 16, 1996
Joe Metheny is arrested after he tried to chop up a woman to use as meat in a roadside BBQ stand he operated. He said his BBQ was delicious and no one can tell the difference between pork and human flesh when they are mixed together. The 450-pound (204 kg) murderer claims to have killed seven people and that he started his killing spree when his crack-addicted wife ran off with their son. He went under a bridge where he thought she would be, but she wasn't there, so he killed and chopped up two men who were there. Later that night, he lured two women under the bridge and killed them. An old man who was fishing happened to see him, so he killed him too. Two and a half weeks later he was arrested and charged with the murders of the two men he chopped up and spent 18 months in jail awaiting trial; however, the case was thrown out due to lack of evidence. He then lured two more women to his trailer and chopped up their bodies for meat which he used in an open-pit BBQ stand he operated. When he ran out his special ingredient, he lured another women to his trailer for the purpose of chopping her up, but she managed to escape and summoned authorities. They found the remains of his victims buried around his property.
Santa Claus Sighted by Astronauts and the First Musical Instruments Played in Space
December 16, 1965
The Crew of Gemini 6 report seeing a UFO: "…this is Gemini VI. We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, up in a polar orbit. … Very low. Looks like he might be going to reenter soon. Stand by one … You might just let me try to pick up that thing … I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit". The crew of Wally Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford then broke into a chorus of Jingle Bells, accompanied by a harmonica and small bells.
These were the first musical instruments played in space, and are now on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution.
Escape from Alcatraz - Almost
December 16, 1962
Bank robbers Darl Parker and John Paul Scott attempt to escape the infamous San Francisco Alcatraz prison. While working on culinary duty below the kitchen, they bent the bars of a window in the latrine, climbed down a rope, and made it to the water. They then blew up rubber gloves and used them as water wings to float to the San Francisco shore, a distance of 1.4 miles. Parker had to give up after a short time because he had broken his ankle during the escape. He was recaptured, twenty minutes after the escape was discovered, on the rock formation Little Alcatraz, which lies 100 yards from Alcatraz Island. Later that morning four teenagers found John Paul Scott unconscious at Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. He was immediately apprehended.
The famous escape from Alcatraz in which three men escaped, never to be heard from again, had occurred just six months earlier.
Photo Credit: BKP
Photo Credit: BKP
Elvis Has Left the Building
December 16, 1956
Elvis Presley makes his final appearance on the local television show Louisiana Hayride. Elvis had become so popular on the show that after his appearance, emcee Horace Logan announced to the crowd the now famous phrase, "Elvis has left the building".
Dragnet
December 16, 1951
The TV series Dragnet debuts on NBC. Contrary to popular belief, Sgt. Joe Friday never said, "Just the facts, ma'am" in Dragnet. The actual line was, "All we want need are the facts, ma'am."
Dragnet was created by and starred Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday (he carries a badge) and was based on Webb's radio version of the show. Barton Yarborough, who also starred in the radio version, co-starred as his partner; however, he died of a heart attack after filming the second episode. This was worked into the storyline with Yarborough's character also dying on the show. Ben Alexander eventually took over the role as Friday's partner. Harry Morgan played Friday's partner Bill Gannon in the revival of Dragnet from 1967 to 1970.
Rabbit of Seville
December 16, 1950
The classic Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd cartoon, Rabbit of Seville, is released.
The cartoon is based musically on the opera The Barber of Seville (1816) by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini.
U.S. tank destroyers moving forward during heavy fog
U.S. tank destroyers moving forward during heavy fog
World War II - Battle of the Bulge
December 16, 1944
The Battle of the Bulge begins when Adolf Hitler's army attempts to drive the Allies from the western borders of Germany. The Germans were attempting to split the Allied armies by means of a surprise attack through the Ardennes to Antwerp.
It was during this battle that Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe gave his famed response of "NUTS!" when the German commander demanded he surrender. The Germans had encircled the Allied forces with armored units and thinking they had certain victory, sent an ultimatum to McAuliffe to surrender or face immediate annihilation. Upon hearing the demand, McAuliffe replied, "Aw nuts". He then sent back the following message:
"To the German Commander.
NUTS!
The American Commander."
The battle ended on January 25, 1945 with an Allied victory, but almost 20,000 American soldiers were killed in the fighting. This was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II.
Coandă's 1910 Jet Aircraft
Coandă's 1910 Jet Aircraft
First Jet Aircraft
December 16, 1910
A wooden plane propelled by jet engines is test flown by its Romanian creator Henri Marie Coandă. It crashed after briefly going airborne. While watching the crashed jet burn, he noticed that burning gases hugged the sides of the aircraft. This effect, which he researched, became known as the Coandă effect.
First edition cover
First edition cover
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
December 16, 1901
Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit is first released. The story is about Peter Rabbit, his triplet siblings, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and their widowed mother who warned them to stay clear of McGregor's garden, who's wife had put their father in a pie after he was caught in the garden.
The original story was written in 1893 for the five-year-old son of Potter's former governess. Potter revised the story in 1901 and after several publishers' rejections had 250 copies privately printed. The book has since sold over 45 million copies and is one of the best-selling books in history.
The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor, by Nathaniel Currier, 1846
The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor, by Nathaniel Currier, 1846
Boston Tea Party
December 16, 1773
American Colonists, some disguised as Indians, dump 350 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This was done in defiance of the British Tea Act of 1773. Even though the Tea Act effectively lowered the cost of tea to the colonists and was used to pay salaries of colonial officials, the colonists felt it violated their rights to "no taxation without representation." Afterwards, Benjamin Franklin urged that the destroyed tea be paid for at a cost of about £9,000 (approx. $1.75 million in today's U.S. dollars). This is one of the seminal events leading up to the American Revolution.
Abraham Lincoln - A House Divided
December 16, 1992
The earliest-known draft of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's "house divided" speech (1858) is auctioned for $1,500,000.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free."
The speech was given by Lincoln after accepting the Illinois Republican Party's nomination as that state's U.S. senator. Lincoln was trying to differentiate himself from the incumbent Stephen A. Douglas, who advocated each new state choose to be either free or slave. Douglas went on to win the election.
First Synthetic Diamonds
December 16, 1954
A girls almost-best friends are produced at General Electric Research Laboratories by Prof. H. Tracy Hall.
Napoleon Divorces Josephine
December 16, 1809
The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Josephine because she is unable to provide him an heir.
Birthdays
Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Born December 16, 1917 d. 2008
British science fiction author. Writings: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
The third of "Clarke's Three Laws" states "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
The other two are:
1 - "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."
2 - "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."
Those Who Cannot Remember the Past are Condemned to Repeat It
George Santayana (Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás)
Born December 16, 1863 d. 1952
Spanish-American poet. Quote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Writings: The Realms of Being (1928-40).
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born December 16, 1770 d. 1827
German composer. He is considered the greatest composer in the history of music; his 5th and 9th symphonies are unequaled. He is one of the "Three Bs of Music" (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms).
William "Refrigerator" Perry
Born December 16, 1962
American football player (NFL, Chicago Bears). At his peak size, he was 6′ 2″ in, 382 lbs (1.8 m, 173.4 kg), prompting the nickname "The Refrigerator." He was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for his appearance in WrestleMania 2.
Steven Bochco
Born December 16, 1943 d. 2018
American Emmy-winning writer, producer. TV: Hill Street Blues (1981-87), L.A. Law, Doogie Howser M.D., and NYPD Blue.
Lesley Stahl
Born December 16, 1941
American journalist. TV: Face the Nation (moderator), and 60 Minutes (correspondent).
Liv Ullmann
Born December 16, 1938
Norwegian actress. Film: Persona (1966) and Cries and Whispers (1972).
Joyce Bulifant (Joyce Boulifant)
Born December 16, 1937
American actress. TV: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1971-77, Murray Slaughter's wife).
Philip K. Dick
Born December 16, 1928 d. 1982
American Hugo-winning science fiction writer. Writings: The Man in the High Castle (1962, Hugo Award for Best Novel) and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968, the inspiration for the 1982 film Blade Runner).
Harry Spear (Harry Sherman Bonner)
Born December 16, 1921 d. 2006
American actor, one of the Little Rascals. He appeared in 31 Our Gang films (1927-29, during the silent era).
Margaret Mead
Born December 16, 1901 d. 1978
American anthropologist, known for her studies of primitive cultures. She posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1979).
Sir Noel Pierce Coward
Born December 16, 1899 d. 1973
English playwright, composer, actor, director. Writings: Mad Dogs and Englishmen.
Dr. Ivan Joseph Martin Osiier
Born December 16, 1888 d. 1965
Danish fencer. He tied the record for longest span of Olympic competition (1908-48), along with sailor Durward Knowles, sailor Magnus Konow, and sailor Paul Elvstrøm. His wife Ellen was the first female fencing champion (1924).
Jane Austen
Born December 16, 1775 d. 1817
English novelist. Writings: Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Persuasion (1818).
Catherine of Aragon
Born December 16, 1485 d. 1536
Queen of England, Henry VIII's first wife. After the Pope refused to sanction the King's divorce from her, the King established the Church of England and declared himself the religious ruler for his land.
Deaths
KFC logo (1952-78)
KFC logo (1952-78)
Colonel Sanders (Harland David Sanders)
Died December 16, 1980 b. 1890
American restaurateur. Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (1952). In 1930 Sanders began selling fried chicken and other food from a gas station. In 1939 he was dissatisfied with the 35 minutes it took to fry chicken in an iron frying pan. Since he believed deep frying lowered the quality, he came up with the idea of deep frying them in a pressure cooker, a new invention of the day. This could cook chicken as fast a deep fryer yet he felt it retained the quality of pan frying. The following year, he finalized his "Original Recipe" of 11 herbs and spices.
Wilhelm Karl Grimm
Died December 16, 1859 b. 1786
German author. He and his brother Jakob Grimm created Grimms' Fairy Tales (1812-15), a collection of German folk tales. This included Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Pied Piper of Hamlin. Critics of the time considered some of the tales as unsuitable for children. They made changes from the originals in future editions, such as switching the "evil mother" to the "evil stepmother" in the stories of Snow White and Hansel and Gretel.
Dan Fogelberg
Died December 16, 2007 b. 1951
American singer. Music: Longer (1979, #2) and Leader of the Band (1982).
Moses Gunn
Died December 16, 1993 b. 1929
American actor. TV: Father Murphy (Moses Gage) and Roots (Kintango).
Team Lotus Eleven cars for Le Mans 24 Hour race 1956
Photo Credit: Raycrosthwaite
Team Lotus Eleven cars for Le Mans 24 Hour race 1956Photo Credit: Raycrosthwaite
Founder of Lotus Cars
Colin Chapman
Died December 16, 1982 b. 1928
British auto designer. Founder of Lotus Cars Ltd. (1952). He introduced the "monocoque" racing chassis (1962), and "ground effects" (the use of air pressure to hold down the car).
William Somerset Maugham
Died December 16, 1965 b. 1874
English author. Writings: Of Human Bondage.
Phil Davis
Died December 16, 1964 b. 1906
American cartoonist. Drew Mandrake the Magician.
William Petty
Died December 16, 1687 b. 1623
English statistician. He co-wrote the first book of statistics.
John VIII
Died December 16, 882 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 107th Pope (872-882).