Today In History
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 22, the 357th day of 2020. There are nine days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 2001: Richard C. Reid, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives in his shoes, but was subdued by flight attendants and fellow passengers. (Reid is serving a life sentence in federal prison.)
ON THIS DATE
› 1858: Opera composer Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy.
› 1894: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism. (Dreyfus was eventually vindicated.)
› 1940: Author Nathanael West, 37, and his wife, Eileen McKenney, 27, were killed in a car crash in El Centro, California, while en route to the funeral of F. Scott Fitzgerald, who had died the day before.
› 1941: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington for a wartime conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
› 1944: During the World War II Battle of the Bulge, U.S. Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe rejected a German demand for surrender, writing “Nuts!” in his official reply.
› 1968: Julie Nixon married David Eisenhower in a private ceremony in New York.
› 2003: A federal judge ruled the Pentagon couldn’t enforce mandatory anthrax vaccinations for military personnel.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Hector Elizondo is 84. Country singer Red Steagall is 82. Former World Bank Group President Paul Wolfowitz is 77. Baseball Hall of Famer Steve Carlton is 76. Former ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer is 75. Rock singer-musician Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) is 72. Rock singer-musician Michael Bacon is 72. Baseball All-Star Steve Garvey is 72. Golfer Jan Stephenson is 69. Actor BernNadette Stanis is 67. Rapper Luther “Luke” Campbell is 60. Actor Ralph Fiennes is 58. Actor Lauralee Bell is 52. Country singer Lori McKenna is 52. Actor Dina Meyer is 52. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is 50. Actor Heather Donahue is 47. Actor Chris Carmack is 40. Actor Harry Ford is 38. Actor Greg Finley is 36. Actor Logan Huffman is 31. R&B singer Jordin Sparks is 31. Pop singer Meghan Trainor is 27.