city of Paris during the successful invasion in the Franco-Prussian War (b. 1810) Frederick Richard Pickersgill, 80, British painter and illustrator (b. 1820) Saturday, December 22, 1900 In Beijing, at 11:00, the ministers of the Western nations and Japan signed the diplomatic note setting out conditions for China to accept. Born: Alan Bush, British composer, pianist and conductor; in London (d. 1995) Sunday, December 23, 1900 Reginald Fessenden made the first use of amplitude modulation (the basis for AM radio) for wireless transmission of the human voice in Maryland. Two towers, set a mile apart on Cobb Island in the Potomac River, were used for the experiment. Fessenden said "One, two, three, four. Is it snowing where you are, Mr. Thiessen? If it is, would telegraph back to me?" Alfred Thiessen telegraphed back that it was snowing. Foot binding in China was officially outlawed by decree of the Empress Dowager Cixi, after centuries of the practice of stunting the growth of girls' feet, and years of lobbying against it. With the encouragement of the American government, prominent Philippine citizens founded the Partido Federal, which advocated American statehood for the Philippines. Monday, December 24, 1900 The foreign powers presented their 12 conditions for reform to the Chinese Imperial government. In return for allowing the Emperor to come back to Beijing, China was to reduce its military, punish Boxer rebels, and pay $500,000,000 to the eight nations over a period of 60 years. Iskra, a newspaper published by Vladimir Lenin in support of Bolshevik rebellion in Russia, was published for the first time, printed in Leipzig, Germany. Pope Leo conducted ceremonies to close the Holy Year, with the closing of the holy door in St. Peter's Basilica a year after it had been opened. The event was witnessed by 80,000 and not done again until 1925. United States Secretary of War Elihu Root forever barred the hereditary right of slaughtering which had been granted a monopoly to the descendants of the Countess of Buena Vista. After 45 years, the last horse-drawn street car was retired from service in Boston, to be replaced by electric trolleys and elevated trains. Born: Hawayo Takata, Japanese healer, last of the Reiki Masters; in Hanamaulu, Hawaii Territory (d. 1980) Tuesday, December 25, 1900 The National Basket Ball League was the first professional basketball circuit in the United States, founded in 1898. In an NBBL game on Christmas