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December 1
Chinese books represent about one fourth of the 223 National Treasures of Japan in the category "writings". The term National Treasure has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897, although the definition and the criteria have changed since the introduction of the term. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". Written language was introduced to Japan around 400 AD in the form of Chinese books written in Classical Chinese. Japanese interest in Chinese writings and culture gradually increased towards the end of the 6th century when Japanese rulers sent missions to the mainland for cultural studies, and to bring back books. During circa 300 years in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a large number of Chinese books were brought to Japan. By the 8th century, Chinese works were customarily copied at Japanese libraries to satisfy the demand for education of the male aristocracy. (Full list...)
December 4
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There have been 35 champions at the ANA Inspiration, an annual women's golf competition staged at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. It was established in 1972, and is the first of the five women's major championships played each year. The event is conducted in stroke play. The champions are presented with the "Dinah Shore Trophy", in honor of Shore, who promoted the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and helped found the ANA Inspiration. Past champions are honored with a plaque on the walk-up to the 18th green that is called the "Dinah's Walk of Champions." Since 1994, champions have taken the plunge into "Poppie's Pond". This first occurred in 1988, when Amy Alcott took the plunge, as a spontaneous act of celebration. Alcott, Betsy King, and Annika Sörenstam (pictured) hold the record for the most victories with three each. Sörenstam is the only player to win back-to-back titles as a major, winning in both 2001 and 2002. As a non-major, Sandra Post won back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979. (Full list...)
December 8
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The 2015 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below-average tropical cyclone season which featured the highest number of deaths since the 2010 season. Despite inactivity in the Bay of Bengal caused by the ongoing El Niño, the season produced an above-average number of tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea. The first storm of the season, Ashobaa, formed on 7 June, while the final storm of the season, Megh, ultimately dissipated on 10 November. A total of twelve depressions were recorded, of which nine intensified into deep depressions. Of these nine, a total of four further strengthened into cyclonic storms, while two attained their peaks as extremely severe cyclonic storms. In late July and early August, Cyclonic Storm Komen resulted in between 187–280 deaths in northeastern India, Bangladesh and Myanmar due to torrential rains as it slowly moved through the region. In early November, Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Chapala (pictured), the strongest storm of the season, became the first recorded tropical cyclone to produce hurricane-force winds in Yemen. (Full list...)
December 11
The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually at the Hong Kong Film Awards. It is given to honour an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a Hong Kong film. The 1st Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held in 1982, with no formal nomination procedure established; the award was given to Kara Hui for her role in My Young Auntie. After the first award ceremony, a nomination system was put in place whereby no more than five nominations are made for each category and each entry is selected through two rounds of voting. Maggie Cheung (pictured) holds the title for the most awards received having been honoured on five separate occasions. Sylvia Chang holds the record for the most nominated actress with ten nominations. Since its inception, 81 actresses have been nominated for the award with 26 actresses winning at least one of the 36 awards. (Full list...)
December 15
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American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars has received numerous awards and nominations. Mars initially came to prominence as an acknowledged music producer and lyricist, who composed songs for other artists along with his production team The Smeezingtons. They were responsible for composing Mars' first collaboration with B.o.B, the single "Nothin' on You", which won Song of the Year at the 2010 Soul Train Music Awards and at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Mars' debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, released in 2010, produced two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade". The former won a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, while the latter received three nominations including Song of the Year at the following ceremony. Mars' second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox, was nominated for four Grammy Awards at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album and Record of the Year for "Locked Out of Heaven"; it won the former award. Mars received seven awards at the 2017 American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year. (Full list...)
December 18
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of the Government of the United Kingdom, and chairs Cabinet meetings. There is no specific date when the office of Prime Minister first appeared, as the role was not created but rather evolved over a period of time. The term was used in the House of Commons in 1805 and it was certainly in parliamentary use by the 1880s, and in 1905 the post of Prime Minister was officially given recognition in the order of precedence. Modern historians generally consider Sir Robert Walpole (pictured), who led the government of Great Britain from 1721 to 1742, as the first Prime Minister. Walpole is also the longest-serving Prime Minister by this definition. However, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was the first Prime Minister and Margaret Thatcher the longest-serving Prime Minister to have been officially referred to as such. Due to the gradual evolution of the post of Prime Minister, the title is applied to early Prime Ministers only retrospectively; this has sometimes given rise to academic dispute. (Full list...)
December 22
The Val Barker Trophy is presented every four years to the most "outstanding boxer" at the Olympic Games. In theory, the award goes to the top "pound for pound" boxer in the Olympics. The winner is selected by a committee of International Boxing Association (amateur) (AIBA) officials. The trophy is named after British boxer Val Barker who won the Amateur Boxing Association of England heavyweight title in 1891, before becoming the secretary of the AIBA between 1926 and 1929. The inaugural recipient of the Val Barker Trophy was American flyweight Louis Laurie who won bronze at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He is one of just three boxers who did not win gold at the same Olympics in which they were presented with the trophy. American boxers are the most successful with six awards, while Kazakhstani boxers have won the trophy on three occasions. In the 2016 Games, two Val Barker Trophies were presented for the first time, one for men and one for women. (Full list...)
December 25
English architect E. G. Paley designed nearly 50 new, rebuilt, and restored churches. Paley partnered with Edmund Sharpe in 1845, and by 1847 Paley was responsible for most of the firm's work, carrying out commissions independently from at least 1849. During the time Paley was being trained by Sharpe the practice was involved mainly with ecclesiastical work, although it also undertook commissions for country houses and smaller projects. When Paley became sole principal in 1856, he continued to work mainly on churches, designing new ones and restoring, rebuilding, and making additions and alterations to existing churches. In almost all his designs, Paley used the Gothic Revival style, initially with Early English or Decorated features. During the early 1860s he introduced Perpendicular features. Paley was an Anglican and most of his ecclesiastical work was carried out on Church of England churches: exceptions include St Mary and St Michael, Bonds (pictured), and St Peter, Lancaster, both Roman Catholic, and Clark Street Congregational Church, Morecambe. (Full list...)
December 29
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The award nominations received by American Horror Story, a horror television series, include fifteen Critics' Choice Television Awards (four wins), seventy-eight Emmy Awards (fifteen wins), nine Golden Globe Awards (two wins), three People's Choice Awards (one win), eleven Satellite Awards (three wins), and sixteen Saturn Awards. American Horror Story is created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, and broadcast on the cable television channel FX in the United States. Described as an anthology series, each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries, following a disparate set of characters and settings, and a storyline with its own "beginning, middle, and end". Actress Jessica Lange (pictured), who was featured in the first four seasons, has won the most awards of the franchise, including the Primetime Emmy Award, the Golden Globe Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance. Lange, James Cromwell, and Kathy Bates each won an Emmy. (Full list...)