DAY IN HISTORY

Thursday, December 23, 2020

Today is the 358th day of 2020 and the third day of winter.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1783, George Washington resigned as commander in chief of the Continental Army.

In 1823, the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (better known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”) was first published anonymously in the Troy (New York) Sentinel. The poem was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.

In 1954, the first successful kidney transplant was performed at Brigham Hospital in Boston.

In 1986, the lightweight composite aircraft Voyager completed the first nonstop flight around the globe without refueling.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Joseph Smith (1805-1844), religious leader; Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919), entrepreneur; Norman Maclean (1902-1990), author; Akihito (1933- ), emperor of Japan; Harry Shearer (1943- ), actor/ comedian; Wesley Clark (1944- ), Army general;

Susan Lucci (1946- ), actress; Bill Kristol (1952- ), political commentator; Jim Harbaugh (1963- ), football player/coach; Eddie Vedder (1964- ), singer-songwriter; Finn Wolfhard (2002- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: In 2006, an original handwritten copy of “A Visit From St. Nicholas” sold in a private sale for $280,000.

TODAY’S SPORTS:

In 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Oakland Raiders, 13-7, on a bizarre last-second touchdown that became known as the “Immacuby Andrews Mcmeel Almanac late Reception.”

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“They were still so young they hadn’t learned to count the odds and to sense they might owe the universe a tragedy.” — Norman Maclean, “Young Men and Fire”

TODAY’S NUMBER: 16 — survivors of the “Miracle of the Andes” plane crash rescued on this day in 1972, after surviving for more than two months at the crash site in the mountains along the border between Argentina and Chile.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 21) and full moon (Dec. 29).