Happy Birthday December 20

The English music hall star Dan Leno was born on December 20, 1860. He was best known for his dame roles in the annual pantomimes that were popular at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, from 1888 to 1904. He was paid £200 for each of the pantomime seasons. Leno later became known as ‘the King’s Jester’ after entertaining Edward VII at Sandringham.

Maria Skobtsova was born Elizaveta Pilenko on December 20, 1891 in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire. A Russian noblewoman, poet and nun, Mother Maria devoted her life to the poor. As a member of the French Resistance during World War II, her convent became a haven for persecuted Jewish women and children. Money poured in to help them to flee from France and hundreds escaped. She died in the terrible Ravensbruck concentration camp and was canonized a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

For more December 20 anniversaries, including the death of Martin Luther's wife Katharina von Bora, the publication of Grimm's Fairy Tales and the release of It's a Wonderful Life, check out OnThatDay.