Born in 1873 – Charles Péguy, French poet and journalist.

“He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.”

“We must always tell what we see. Above all, and this is more difficult, we must always see what we see.”

Also: Zora Neale Hurston

In 1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II, who is said to have urged them on saying, “What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?”

Above: Detail from earliest known portrayal of Thomas Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral, c. 1200.

Barry Lopez, American Writer, who died on Christmas Day.

“One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse.”

Previously, on his birthday.

It’s the feast day of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, founder of The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose aim is to spread devotion to the Heart of Jesus by through the practice of spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The sisters conduct homes for the aged and the sick, orphanages, industrial schools, sewing classes; they visit hospitals and prisons, and give religious instruction to retreatants in their convents.

Born in 1861 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.

Above: The shooting star in Méliès’s 1907 film L’Éclipse du Soleil en Pleine Lune.