TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS TUESDAY, DEC. 29,
the 363rd day of 2015. There are two days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1975, a bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people (it’s never been determined who was responsible).
In 1170,
Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II.
In 1808,
the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, N.C.
In 1812,
during the War of 1812, the American frigate USS Constitution engaged and severely damaged the British frigate HMS Java off Brazil.
In 1845,
Texas was admitted as the 28th state.
In 1890,
the Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota as an estimated 300 Sioux Indians were killed by U.S. troops sent to disarm them.
In 1916,
Grigory Rasputin, the “Mad Monk” who had wielded great influence with Czar Nicholas II, was killed by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg.
In 1934,
Japan formally renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.
In 1940,
during World War II, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as “The Second Great Fire of London.”
In 1972,
Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashed into the Florida Everglades near Miami International Airport, killing 101 of the 176 people aboard.
In 1989,
dissident and playwright Vaclav Havel
assumed the presidency of Czechoslovakia.
In 1992,
the United States and Russia announced agreement on a nuclear arms reduction treaty.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Country singer Rose Lee Maphis is 93. Actress Dina Merrill is 92. Actress Inga Swenson is 83. ABC newscaster Tom Jarriel is 81. Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 79. Actor Jon Voight is 77. Country singer Ed Bruce is 76. Rock musician Ray Thomas (The Moody Blues) is 74. Singer Marianne Faithfull and jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. are 69. Actor Ted Danson is 68. Actor Jon Polito is 65. Actress Patricia Clarkson and comedian Paula Poundstone are 56. Rock singer-musician Jim Reid (The Jesus and Mary Chain) is 54. Actor Michael Cudlitz is 51. Rock singer Dexter Holland (The Offspring) is 50. Actor-comedian Mystro Clark and actor Jason Gould are 49. CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield and movie director Andy Wachowski are 48. Actress Jennifer Ehle and actor Patrick Fischler are 46. Rock singer-musician Glen Phillips and actor Kevin Weisman are 45. Actor Jude Law is 43. Actress Maria Dizzia (TV: “Orange is the New Black”) and actor Mekhi Phifer are 41. Actor Shawn Hatosy is 40. Actress Katherine Moennig is 38. Actor Diego Luna is 36. Country singer Jessica Andrews is 32. Actress Jane Levy is 26. Singer-actor-dancer Ross Lynch is 20.