12 Posts of Christmas (No. 7)

I remember watching the Den of old on Christmas Day a number of years back and Ray D'Arcy and the gang were excitedly reporting that Dustin the Turkey and his topping the charts in Ireland had made it to Sky News. It struck upon me though to consider how notable the day has been in history other than of course being the centre piece to the Christian calendar and see if the day is traditionally a slow news day. Without having to think for long I remembered from primary school history that William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in 1066 following the Norman invasion. So too I have the selected the following noteworthy events: 1939 - Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was read on radio for the first time, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer appeared for the first time in shops in the US, 1941 - World War II - The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong begins, 1957 - The longest pro-football game finally ended when Garo Yepremian kicked a field goal in the second quarter of a sudden death overtime. Miami’s Dolphins nipped Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24. The game lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds, 1971 - Shane McGowan born, 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union, 2003 - Beagle 2, a European space probe, crashed on Mars. It has never been found, 2006 - James Brown dies