TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

Dec. 20, 1989

The United States launched Operation Just Cause, sending troops into Panama to topple the government of Gen. Manuel Noriega.

ALSO ON THIS DATE

1803

The Louisiana Purchase was completed as ownership of the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States.

1860

South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union as all 169 delegates to a special convention in Charleston voted in favor of separation.

1864

Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Georgia, as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman nearly completed his “March to the Sea.”

1924

Adolf Hitler was released from prison after serving nine months for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch.

1963

The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.

1968

Author John Steinbeck died in New York at age 66.

1995

An American Airlines Boeing 757 en route to Cali, Colombia, slammed into a mountain, killing all but four of the 163 people aboard. In BosniaHerzegovina, NATO began its peacekeeping mission, taking over from the United Nations.

1996

Astronomer Carl Sagan died in Seattle at age 62.

1999

The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples of the opposite sex.

2005

A federal judge ruled that “intelligent design” could not be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, delivering a stinging attack on the Dover Area School Board.