Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is 80 years old today.

On December 17, 1892, Arthur Baldwin Turnure first publishes
a new magazine, dedicated to “the ceremonial side of life”
and targeted at “the sage as well as the debutante, men of
affairs as well as the belle.”

A product of the Gilded Age, Vogue has chronicled and
influenced high society, fashion and culture ever since.

The magazine has remained popular and relevant ever since,
regularly featuring the work of world-famous models,
photographers and writers.

   
Arthur Baldwin Turnure (1856–1906)

December 2025

Schindler’s List, starring Liam Neeson in the true story of
a German businessman who saves the lives of more than
a thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust, opened in
theaters.

The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and took
home seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best
Director.

It was the first Best Director win for Spielberg, who had
been nominated in the category for three of his earlier
films: 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1981’s
Raiders of the Lost Ark and 1982’s E.T.: The Extra-
Terrestrial.

Director Steven Spielberg will be 79 December 18th.
 

On December 10, 1690, a failed attack on Quebec and
subsequent near-mutiny force the Massachusetts Bay
Colony to issue the first paper currency in the history
of the Western Hemisphere.

Sir William Phips
(February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695)

The envoy of Sir William Phips (right) demanding the
surrender of Quebec, 1690.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a animated television special.
It is the first TV special based on the comic strip Peanuts,
by Charles M. Schulz.

The special aired on this day in 1965 for the first time and
CBS executives, unhappy with the music, the pacing, lack 
of a  laugh track and Linus reading a Bible verse (from Luke)
almost refused to air it.        

       
However, contrary to their collective apprehension, A
Charlie Brown Christmas received high ratings and
acclaim from critics. It received an Emmy, a Peabody
Award, and became an annual presentation

   
    

Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz 
(November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000)