Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) was a British politician and writer who twice served as prime minister. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli entered the House of Commons in 1837. In 1846, after clashing with the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, Disraeli became a major figure in the party, though many in it did not favour him. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons in the 1850s and 1860s, and became prime minister briefly in 1868 before losing that year's election. In his second term as prime minister (1874–80), he arranged Britain's purchase of a major interest in the Suez Canal Company, and worked at the Congress of Berlin to maintain peace in the Balkans and to make terms that favoured Britain and weakened Russia. He had throughout his career written novels, and he published his last completed one, Endymion, shortly before he died. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". (Full article...)
At COP 21, parties to the UNFCCC adopt an agreement to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above pre-industrial levels.
Saudi Arabia holds its first municipal elections open to women, and 20 female candidates are elected.
Sixty-six races have been red-flagged in Formula One, the highest class of open-wheeledauto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, motorsport's world governing body. A red flag(pictured) is shown when there has been an accident or the track conditions are poor enough to warrant the race being stopped. The flags are displayed by the marshals at various points around the circuit. Following a red flag being shown, the exit of the pit lane is closed and cars must proceed to the starting grid slowly, without overtaking. From 2005, a ten-minute warning is given before the race is resumed behind the safety car, which leads the field for a lap before it returns to the pit lane. Twenty-six of the sixty-six red-flagged Formula One races were restarted on the first lap. Thirteen races were not restarted, nine because of rain and four due to accidents involving drivers. Five races were stopped due to incidents that resulted in fatalities. (Full list...)
American singer Elvis Presley meeting then-president Richard Nixon on December 21, 1970. During the meeting, the singer expressed his patriotism and his contempt for hippies, the growing drug culture, and the counterculture in general. Presley then asked Nixon for a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs badge, to signify official sanction of his patriotic efforts. Nixon gave Presley the badge and expressed a belief that Presley could send a positive message to young people and that it was therefore important he retain his credibility.
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