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.

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 that last appearance, emcee Horace Logan announced to the crowd the now famous phrase, "Elvis has left the building". Logan was trying to quiet the audience so that the remaining performers could play.
Full quote - "All right, all right, Elvis has left the building. I've told you absolutely straight up to this point. You know that. He has left the building. He left the stage and went out the back with the policemen and he is now gone from 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).