TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Saturday, Dec. 10, the 345th day of 2016. There are 21 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On Dec. 10, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to mediate an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
On this date
1520 — Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant, or face excommunication. 1817 — Mississippi was admitted as the 20th state of the Union. 1931 — Jane Addams became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; the co-recipient was Nicholas Murray Butler. 1946 — Newspaperman Damon Runyon, known for his short stories featuring colorful Broadway denizens, died at a New York hospital at age 66. 1950 — Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first black American to receive the award. 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.” 1967 — Singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed when their plane crashed into Wisconsin’s Lake Monona. 1972 — Baseball’s American League adopted the designated hitter rule on an experimental basis for three years. 1984 — South African Bishop Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize. 1986 — Human rights advocate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. 1994 — Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize, pledging to pursue their mission of healing the anguished Middle East. 1996 — South African President Nelson Mandela signed the country’s new constitution into law during a ceremony in Sharpeville.
Five years ago
Tens of thousands of Russians staged anti-government protests, charging electoral fraud and demanding an end to Vladimir Putin’s rule.
Today’s Birthdays:
Former Agriculture Secretary Clayton Yeutter is 86. Actor Tommy Kirk is 75. Actress Fionnula Flanagan is 75. Pop singer Chad Stuart (Chad and Jeremy) is 75. Rhythm-andblues singer Ralph Tavares is 75. Actresssinger Gloria Loring is 70. Pop-funk musician Walter “Clyde” Orange (The Commodores) is 70. Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 65. Actress Susan Dey is 64. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is 60. Jazz musician Paul Hardcastle is 59. Actor-director Kenneth Branagh is 56. Actress Nia Peeples is 55. TV chef Bobby Flay is 52. Rock singer-musician J Mascis is 51. Rock musician Scot Alexander (Dishwalla) is 45. Actress-comedian Arden Myrin is 43. Rock musician Meg White (The White Stripes) is 42. Actress Emmanuelle Chriqui is 41. Rapper Kuniva (D12) is 41. Actor Gavin Houston is 39. Violinist Sarah Chang is 36. Rock musician Noah Harmon (Airborne Toxic Event) is 35. Actor Patrick John Flueger is 33. Actress Raven-Symone is 31.