Video: 'Piltdown Man Hoax on Discovery Science'
(Wednesday, December 18, 1912) — The Piltdown Man made its public debut today as fossil collector Charles Dawson reported to the Geological Society of London his discovery of supposedly fragmented early human remains at a gravel pit in Piltdown, East Sussex, England.
More than four decades later, the Piltdown Man was exposed as a hoax.
Video: 'Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker (BBC Royal Opera House)'
(Sunday, December 18, 1892) — Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker publicly premiered today at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Video: 'Apollo 17 "On The Shoulders of Giants" - NASA Space Program &' (Dec. 17, 1972 at 24:20)
(Sunday, December 17, 1972, 3:27 p.m. EST) — During the trip back to Earth from man’s last (to date) visit to the Moon, Apollo 17 astronaut Ron Evans successfully conducted a one hour and seven minute spacewalk to retrieve exposed film from the instrument bay on the exterior of the Command/Service Module (CSM).
Video: 'The Heartbreak Kid'
(Sunday, December 17, 1972) — The Heartbreak Kid, a black comedy film about love and hypocrisy, opened today at the Sutton in New York City.
Directed by Elaine May, the film starred Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin, Eddie Albert and Audra Lindley.
Video: 'Random Harvest' (trailer)
(Thursday, December 17, 1942) — Random Harvest, a film about an amnesiac World War I vet who falls in love with a music hall star, opened today at the Music Hall in New York City. Continue reading ‘Random Harvest’ opens in New York City 70 years ago today (1942)
Video: Dec. 16, 1972 (at 10:36; labeled as Dec. 15)
(Saturday, December 16, 1972, during the Vietnam War) — Henry A. Kissinger said in Washington today the Vietnam peace talks have not yet produced an agreement “that the president considers just and fair” and blamed Hanoi, which he portrayed as pursuing tactics of delay and sudden, inexplicable changes during secret bargaining in Paris that broke off Dec. 13.
Video: 'AFTER TWO YEARS: A CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT'
(Sunday, December 16, 1962, evening) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy said today the Cuban Missile Crisis had made a Soviet-American understanding less likely in the foreseeable future. Continue reading Cuban Missile Crisis darkened hope of peace, JFK says 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: Aug. 30, 1972 (only 'Imagine' missing from ABC-TV broadcast of Dec. 15, 1972)
(Friday, December 15, 1972, 10 p.m. EST) — An Aug. 30, 1972, performance by ex-Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono with The Plastic Ono Elephant’s Memory band at Madison Square Garden in New York City to benefit the Willowbrook School for Children, a home for retarded children, was televised tonight on ABC.
Video: Dec. 15, 1992 (at 15:41/33:54)
(Tuesday, December 15, 1992) — Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney was filmed today working on the unreleased song Is It Raining In London?, a track co-written with Hamish Stuart, at the Abbey Road Studios in London for the documentary film Movin’ On.
Video: 'Fredericksburg: The Wall, December 11, 1862' (Dec. 15, 1862, at 5:35)
(Monday, December 15, 1862, during the Battle of Fredericksburg, part of the American Civil War) — Having suffered a decisive defeat, Federal forces retreated today across the Rappahannock River, ending the Battle of Fredericksburg. In all, the Union army suffered 12,653 casualties, including 1,284 killed, 9,600 wounded and 1,769 captured/missing.
