Today In History
Today is Saturday, Dec. 10, the 344th day of 2022. There are 21 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY
On Dec. 10, 2013, South Africa held a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, during which U.S. President Barack Obama energized tens of thousands of spectators and nearly 100 visiting heads of state with a plea for the world to emulate “the last great liberator of the 20th century.” (The ceremony was marred by the presence of a sign-language interpreter who deaf advocates said was an impostor waving his arms around meaninglessly.)
ON THIS DATE
› 1817: Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state of the Union.
› 1861: The Confederacy admitted Kentucky as it recognized a pro-Southern shadow state government that was acting without the authority of the pro-Union government in Frankfort.
› 1898: A treaty was signed in Paris officially ending the Spanish-American War.
› 1958: The first domestic passenger jet flight took place in the U.S. as a National Airlines Boeing 707 flew 111 passengers from New York to Miami in about 2 1/2 hours.
› 1964: Martin Luther King Jr. received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, saying he accepted it “with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind.”
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Fionnula Flanagan is 81. Actor-singer Gloria Loring is 76. Popfunk musician Walter “Clyde” Orange (The Commodores) is 76. Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 71. Actor Susan Dey is 70. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is 66. Jazz musician Paul Hardcastle is 65. Actor John York (TV: “General Hospital”) is 64. Actor-director Kenneth Branagh is 62. Actor Nia Peeples is 61. TV chef Bobby Flay is 58. Rock singer-musician J Mascis is 57. Rock musician Scot Alexander (Dishwalla) is 51. Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 48. Actor Emmanuelle Chriqui is 47. Actor Gavin Houston is 45. Actor Alano Miller is 43. Violinist Sarah Chang is 42. Actor Patrick John Flueger is 39. Country singer Meghan Linsey is 37. Actor Raven-Symone is 37. Actor/singer Teyana Taylor is 32. Actor Kiki Layne is 31. NFL quarterback Joe Burrow is 26.