TUESDAY INHISTORY

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 26, the 360th day of 2017. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day.

Highlight in History:

On Dec. 26, 1947, heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.

On this date:

In 1776, British forces suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.

In 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.”

In 1917, during World War I, President Wood row Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation’s railroads.

In 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.

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

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.

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.

Ten years ago: Six people were found dead at a rural property east of Seattle; the property owners’ daughter and her boyfriend were arrested.

Five years ago: Toyota Motor Corp. said it had reached a settlement worth more than $1 billion in a case involving unintended acceleration problems in its vehicles.

One year ago: Star gymnast Simone Biles was voted AP Female Athlete of the Year after her golden run at Rio Olympics.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Caroll Spinney (Big Bird on TV’s “Sesame Street”) is 84. “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh is 72. Rock musician Lars Ulrich is 54. Actorsinger Jared Leto is 46. Rock singer Chris Daughtry is 38.

Thought for Today: “Christmas has come and gone, and I— to speak selfishly — am glad of it. The season always gives me the blues in spite of myself, though I manage to get a good deal of pleasure from thinking of the multitudes of happy kids in various parts of the world.” — Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (1869-1935).