TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, Dec. 26, the 360th day of 2021. There are five days left in the year.

Today’s highlight

On Dec. 26, 1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

On this date

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 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, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.

In 1966, Kwanzaa was first celebrated.

In 1974, comedian Jack Benny died in Los Angeles at age 80.

In 1980, Iranian television footage was broadcast in the United States showing a dozen of the American hostages sending messages to their families.

In 1994, French commandos stormed a hijacked 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, Colo. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved.) In 2003, an earthquake struck the historic Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 26,000 people.

In 2004, more than 230,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a 100-foothigh tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean.

In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage at age 93.

In 2012, Toyota Motor Corp. said it had reached a settlement worth more than $1 billion in a case involving unintended acceleration problems in its vehicles.

Today’s birthdays

Singer Abdul “Duke” Fakir (The Four Tops) is 86. “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh is 76. Musician Bob Carpenter (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 75. Musician George Porter Jr. (The Meters) is 74. Baseball Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk is 74. Retired MLB All-star Chris Chambliss is 73. Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith is 67. Former Sen. Evan Bayh, Dind., is 66. Humorist David Sedaris is 65. Musician James Kottak (The Scorpions) is 59. Musician Lars Ulrich (Metallica) is 58. Actor Nadia Dajani is 56. Musician J is 54. Actorsinger Jared Leto is 50. Actor Kendra C. Johnson is 45. Singer Chris Daughtry is 42. Actor Beth Behrs is 36. Actor Kit Harington is 35. Actor Eden Sher is 30. Singer Jade Thirlwall (Little Mix Actor) is 29. Actor Zach Mills is 26.