Today in History for 16th December 2025

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Historical Events

1877 - Anton Bruckner reluctantly steps in to conduct the premiere of his "Symphony No. 3," dedicated to Richard Wagner; it is a critical disaster and undergoes many revisions
1923 - National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (11-0-1) repeat as champions
1962 - Nepal establishes its constitution and becomes a Constitutional Hindu Monarchy
1990 - Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected President of Haiti
1993 - Jule Styne, Norman and Bob Merrill's musical "Red Shoes", based on the 1948 film, opens at Gershwin Theater, NYC; runs for 5 performances

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Famous Birthdays

1915 - Georgy Sviridov, Soviet Russian neo-romantic composer (The Blizzard; Time; Forward!), born in Fatezh, Kursk Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1998)
1944 - N!xau [ǂToma], Namibian farmer and actor (The Gods Must Be Crazy), born in Tsumkwe, Namibia (d. 2007)
1946 - Adriaan van Dis, Dutch author (Promised Country), born in Bergen aan Zee, Netherlands
1971 - Laurence Cottle, Welsh session rock, jazz, and jazz-fusion bass guitarist and composer (Earthworks; Alan Parsons Project; Black Sabbath), born in Swansea, Wales
1979 - Trevor Immelman, South African golfer (US Masters 2008), born in Cape Town, Western Cape

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Famous Deaths

882 - John VIII, Italian Pope (872-82), dies
1921 - Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (Samson et Dalila; Organ Symphony), dies of a heart attack at 86
1984 - Debs Garms, American baseball utility (World Series 1944 St. Louis Cardinals; NL batting champion 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 77
2006 - Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950)
2020 - Kálmán Sóvári, Hungarian soccer defender (17 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, VM Egyetértés), dies at 79

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