TODAY IN HISTORY
the 339th day of 2017. There are 26 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1952, the Great Smog of London descended on the British capital; the unusually thick fog, which contained toxic pollutants, lasted five days and was blamed for causing thousands of deaths.
In 1782, the eighth president of the United States, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook, N.Y.; he was the first chief executive to be born after American independence. In 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.
In 1792, George Washington was re-elected president; John Adams was re-elected vice president.
In 1831, former President John Quincy Adams took his seat as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1916, British Prime Minister Herbert H. Asquith resigned (he was succeeded by David Lloyd George).
In 1933, national Prohibition came to an end as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment. In 1945, five U.S. Navy torpedo bombers mysteriously disappeared after taking off from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on a training mission with the loss of all 14 crew members; “The Lost Squadron” contributed to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.
In 1977, Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen in the wake of criticism that followed President Anwar Sadat’s peace overtures to Israel.
In 1994, Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades.
In 2013, Nelson Mandela, the antiapartheid leader who became South Africa’s first black president, died at age 95.
Singer Little Richard is 85. Author Calvin Trillin is 82. Opera singer Jose Carreras is 71. Pop singer Jim Messina, and College Football Hall-of-Famer and former NFL quarterback Jim Plunkett are 70. World Golf Hall-of-Famer Lanny Wadkins is 68. Actor Brian Backer is 61. Pro and College Football Hall-of-Famer Art Monk is 60. Rock singer-musician John Rzeznik (The Goo Goo Dolls) is 52. Comedian-actress Margaret Cho is 49. Writer-director Morgan J. Freeman is 48. Actress Paula Patton is 42. Actor Nick Stahl is 38. Actor Gabriel Luna is 35. Actor Frankie Muniz is 32. Actor Ross Bagley is 29.