So what’s happened on this day throughout the years?*
1653 – Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and everyone gave up partying whilst old warty was in charge.
1773 – Boston Tea Party
So, historically a day for bashing the Brits, royals and that sort of stuff.
People born on this day (obviously a very edited list):
1485 – Catherine of Aragon – poor love generally had a bit of a raw deal
1770 – Beethoven – there is a thread of musical genius running through this day (see Noel Coward and Benny Andersson), unfortunately the stars must have been in a different alignment when I was born
1775 – Jane Austen – pretty hot on literary bods too (there are some I haven’t included because I haven’t read their books)
1899 – Noel Coward – general all round clever so and so
1917 – Arthur C Clarke – see there’s a precedent that us 16th December bods are literary – why in that case does my ‘writing’ end up at the bottom of the drawer?
1946 – Benny Andersson – musical genius and general bear-like keyboard hero
* I was born
Featherduster 