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December 3
Works by the English writer H. Rider Haggard consist largely of adventure fiction, but also of non-fiction. The eighth child of a Norfolk barrister and squire, through family connections he gained employment with Sir Henry Bulwer during the latter's service as lieutenant-governor of Natal, South Africa. Rider Haggard travelled to southern Africa in 1875 and remained in the country for six years, during which time he served as Master of the High Court of the Transvaal and an adjutant of the Pretoria Horse. Rider Haggard's time in Africa proved inspirational for him. He returned to Britain in 1881 and was called to the bar; while studying he wrote his first book, Cetywayo and His White Neighbours, a critical examination of Britain's policies in South Africa. In 1885 he wrote one of his most popular novels, King Solomon's Mines—detailing the life of the adventurer Allan Quatermain—which was followed by She: A History of Adventure (1886), which introduced the female character Ayesha; both characters became the focus of series of books. According to the author Morton N. Cohen, writing for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, much of Rider Haggard's reputation rests on these two works. (Full list...)
December 7
American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor has received several awards and nominations for her work in music. She signed a record deal with Epic Records in 2014 and released her debut single "All About That Bass", which earned her Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It also received an ASCAP Pop Music Award and Billboard Music Awards for both Top Hot 100 Song and Top Digital Song. Trainor's follow-up single, "Lips Are Movin", earned her a nomination for Choice Break-Up Song at the Teen Choice Awards. Trainor released her major-label debut album, Title, in 2015. It won Favorite Album at the 42nd People's Choice Awards. In 2016, Trainor won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and received a nomination for the Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist. Trainor has received two nominations at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for her soundtrack songs "Better When I'm Dancin'" and "I'm a Lady". Her second major-label studio album, Thank You, was preceded by its lead single "No", which earned a nomination for Favorite Song at the 43rd People's Choice Awards. (Full list...)
December 10
The Mystery Dungeon video game series was conceived by Koichi Nakamura, founder of Chunsoft and co-creator of the Dragon Quest series, as Chunsoft's first original work, basing the design on the game Rogue. Most of the titles were developed by Chunsoft; other titles were developed by different companies with permission from Chunsoft to use the trademark. Most Mystery Dungeon games center on exploring a dungeon with randomly generated layouts and fighting other characters in those dungeons in a turn-based manner; every time the player performs an action, such as attacking or walking, the opponents also take action. The first title, Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon (1993), starred Torneko, a shopkeeper character from Chunsoft's Dragon Quest IV. The games of the Mystery Dungeon series can be largely divided into five groups: those related to the Dragon Quest series; the Shiren the Wanderer series; those related to the Chocobo series; those related to the Pokémon franchise; and individual spin-off games of other franchises. (Full list...)
December 14
American director John Ford directed more than 140 films. Ford began working for the Fox Film Corporation in 1920. During the next ten years he directed more than 30 films. In 1931, Ford began working for other studios, starting with Arrowsmith for Samuel Goldwyn. In 1934, he began a lengthy association with producer Merian C. Cooper at RKO Radio Pictures. The following year he directed The Informer, which brought him his first Academy Award for Best Director. With the coming of World War II, Ford was appointed to the Office of Strategic Services as a field photographer in the United States Navy. During the war he made several documentaries. In 1947, Ford reunited with Merian Cooper and began making films for their own company, Argosy Productions. Over the next nine years they made Fort Apache, 3 Godfathers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, and The Searchers. For The Quiet Man, Ford won his fourth Academy Award for Best Director. (Full list...)
December 17
Azerbaijan international footballers have represented Azerbaijan in international association football since 1992, after the country declared independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to this, Azerbaijani players had represented the Soviet Union national football team. Rashad Sadygov (pictured) is Azerbaijan's most capped player of all time and is the only player to have accumulated 100 caps for the national team. As of November 2018, Sadygov has played 110 times for the country as a defender, having made his debut in 2001 against Sweden, and received his last cap in 2017. Gurban Gurbanov, who accumulated 66 caps during his international career, is the country's highest scorer of all time with 12 goals and is the only player to have scored ten or more goals for Azerbaijan as of November 2018. The first player to accumulate 25 caps for Azerbaijan was Tarlan Ahmadov, on 2 April 1997 in a 2–1 defeat to Finland. (Full list...)
December 21
The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously. The trophy, designed by sculptor Gilbert Bayes, is awarded by the Royal Automobile Club. It has been awarded in most years since 1930; it is not presented if, in the opinion of the committee, no achievement has been sufficient to deserve the award. The inaugural recipient of the Segrave Trophy was Australian-born Charles Kingsford Smith (pictured) who flew solo from Ireland to Newfoundland, across the Atlantic, in just over 31 hours. He also won the 1930 England to Australia air race, covering the distance solo in 13 days. A subsidiary award, the Segrave Medal, may also be given to those individuals who have "played a fundamental role in helping the Segrave Trophy winner to achieve their goal". (Full list...)
December 24
Sixty-two churches are cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust in Southwest England. The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk which have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968. The Trust's primary aim is to ensure that the buildings in its care are weatherproof and to prevent any deterioration in their condition. The majority of the churches remain consecrated, and many are occasionally still used for worship. The churches in South West England are in the counties of Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The majority of the churches are in villages. One of the churches is in Imber, Wiltshire, from where the entire civilian population was evicted in 1943 to provide an exercise area for American troops preparing for the invasion of Europe during the Second World War. (Full list...)
December 28
The British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror has been nominated for seventy-nine awards, winning twenty-one of them. The series was created by Charlie Brooker (pictured). Premiering on 4 December 2011, the first two series aired on British network Channel 4, as did the special "White Christmas", whereas the following two series were released on the American streaming platform Netflix. The most acclaimed episodes are "USS Callister", which won four Emmy Awards, and "San Junipero", which won two. As actors rarely appear in more than one episode, the only people to receive two awards for their work on the show are writer Brooker, production designer Joel Collins and editors Kenny Clark and Michael Maroussas. The series has been nominated for fourteen British Academy Film Awards, winning two, and thirteen Emmy Awards, winning five. (Full list...)
December 31
Many Maryland Terrapins football players have received accolades. The team was founded in 1892 to represent the University of Maryland in intercollegiate competition and has participated in the sport all but one season since its inception. Over the course of the team's history, the Terrapins' performance has run the gamut from national championships to winless seasons. In total, Terrapins have been named to an All-America team 58 times, an All-Atlantic Coast Conference team 196 times, an All-Big Ten Conference team 7 times, and an All-Southern Conference team 14 times. Terrapins have won several nationally recognized individual awards, including the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Dick Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, and the Outland Trophy, each of which recognizes the best player at a particular position in a given season. The College Football Hall of Fame has inducted six former Maryland players, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame has enshrined two. (Full list...)