On Dec. 9, 1608,

In 1854 Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s famous poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” was published in England.

Clarence Birdseye, developer of frozen foods, was born in New York.

circus clown Emmett Kelly was born in Sedan, Kansas.

Christmas seals went on sale for the first time, at the Wilmington, Del., post office; proceeds went to fight tuberculosis.

actor and filmmaker John Cassavetes was born in New York.

British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa during World War II. China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy. In 1958 the anti-Communist John Birch Society was formed in Indianapolis.

President Gerald Ford signed a $2.3 billion seasonal loan authorization to prevent New York City from having to default.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the religious broadcaster, died in New York; he was 84.In Solidarity founder Lech Walesa won Poland’s presidential runoff in a landslide.

Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation.

U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., was chosen to become the new head of the NAACP.

archaeologist and anthropologist Mary Leakey died in Nairobi, Kenya; she was 83.

the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt in the Florida vote count on which Al Gore pinned his best hopes of winning the White House. Also in 2000, Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke won the Heisman Trophy.

United Airlines filed the biggest bankruptcy in aviation history after losing $4 billion in the previous two years.

the owners of a Rhode Island nightclub and the tour manager for the rock band Great White were indicted on charges related to a fire the previous February that killed 100 people. Also in 2003, former Sen. Paul Simon died in Springfield; he was 75.

Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was constitutional.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on allegations of widespread political corruption.

poet John Milton was born in London. the Aram Khachaturian ballet “Gayane,” featuring