On This Day: December 6, 2024

Birthdays

1888 Will Hay, Music hall comedian and actor

1892 Sir Osbert Sitwell, Celebrated writer, brother of Dame Edith

1896 Ira Gershwin, American lyricist; with brother George

1942 Len Barry, Pop star of the 60's

1943 Mike Smith, Of the Pop group 'The Dave Clark Five'

1944 Jonathon King, 60's Pop singer and TV presenter

1961 Eugene Wild, 'Soul' star

Events

1492 Christopher Columbus discovered Hispaniola, later changed to Haiti

1774 Austria became the first nation to introduce state education

1877 Thomas Edison demonstrated the first gramophone, with a recording of himself reciting 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'

1882 The English novelist, Anthony Trollope, died in London

1921 As a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the 'Irish Free State' was formally created

1926 Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, introduced a tax on bachelors

1973 In America, Gerald Ford was sworn in as Vice President

1980 The new Ooni of lfe, Oba Okunade Sijuade, receives his Staff of Office.

1983 Lars Ljunberg from Sweden became the first person to receive a heart and lung transplant in Britain