Also on this date
In 1776, British forces suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African-American boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.
In 1910, the London Palladium, Britain’s famous variety theater, first opened.
In 1917, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation’s railroads.
In 1941, during World War II, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
In 1980, Iranian television footage was broadcast in the United States, showing a dozen of the American hostages sending messages to their families.
In 1985, Ford Motor Co. began selling its Taurus and Sable sedans and station wagons.
In stormed 1994, French a hijacked commandos Air France jetliner on the ground in Marseille, killing four Algerian hijackers and freeing 170 hostages.
In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved.)
In 2003, an earthquake struck the historic Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 26,000 people.
In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93. Ten years ago: A powerful East Coast blizzard stranded thousands of travelers and dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas.
Five years ago: Chicago police killed 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier, a college student who an officer said was coming at him with a bat, and 55-year-old Bettie Jones, a neighbor who police said was shot accidentally. One year ago: The pilot and six passengers died when a tour helicopter crashed on the top of a mountain on the island of Kauai.