TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20, the 354th day of 2017. There are 11 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed as ownership of the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States.
In 1790, the first successful cotton mill in the United States began operating at Pawtucket, R.I.
In 1812, German authors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of the first edition of their collection of folk stories, “Children’s and Household Tales.”
In 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union as all 169 delegates to a special convention in Charleston voted in favor of separation.
In 1864, Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Ga., as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman nearly completed his “March to the Sea.”
In 1924, Adolf Hitler was released from prison after serving nine months for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch.
In 1945, the Office of Price Administration announced the end of tire rationing, effective Jan. 1, 1946.
In 1946, the Frank Capra film “It’s A Wonderful Life,” starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, had a preview showing for charity in New York, a day before its official world premiere.
In 1963, the Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays. In 1976, Richard J. Daley, the mayor of Chicago since 1955, died in office at age 74.
In 1987, more than 4,300 people were killed when the Doña Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.
In 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause, sending troops into Panama to topple the government of Gen. Manuel Noriega.
In 1995, an American Airlines Boeing 757 en route to Cali, Colombia, slammed into a mountain, killing all but four of the 163 people aboard. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, NATO began its peacekeeping mission, taking over from the United Nations.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Original Mouseketeer Tommy Cole (TV: “The Mickey Mouse Club”) is 76. Rhythm and blues singer-musician Walter “Wolfman” Washington is 74. Rock musician-music producer Bobby Colomby is 73. Rock musician Peter Criss is 72. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, psychic/ illusionist Uri Geller and producer Dick Wolf (“Law & Order”) are 71. Rock musician Alan Parsons is 69. Actress Jenny Agutter is 65. Actor Michael Badalucco is 63. Actress Blanche Baker is 61. Rock singer Billy Bragg and rock singer-musician Mike Watt (The Secondmen, Minutemen, fIREHOSE) are 60. Actor Joel Gretsch is 54. Country singer Kris Tyler is 53. Rock singer Chris Robinson is 51. Actress Nicole deBoer and movie director Todd Phillips are 47. Singer David Cook (“American Idol”) is 35. Actor Jonah Hill is 34. Actor Bob Morley is 33. Singer JoJo is 27.