Jake Gyllenhaal’s  birthday (1980)

Jake Gyllenhaal was only 11 years old when he made his big-screen debut opposite Billy Crystal in City Slickers.

You could say that showbiz is in the genes when it comes to the Gyllenhaal clan. His sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, their father Stephen is a director and their mother Naomi is a producer and screenwriter. And, though she isn’t related by blood, Jamie Lee Curtis is Jake’s godmother.

In turn, Gyllenhaal is godfather to Matilda Ledger, the daughter of Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger.’

Anniversary of:
• the release of Charles Dickens’ Yuletide tale A Christmas Carol in Britain (1843)
• the death of Emily Brontë (1848)
• the first radio broadcast from space, where US President Dwight D Eisenhower sent a Christmas message (1958)
• the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration to transfer Hong Kong back to China in 1997 (1984)
• the impeachment of US President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice (1998)