THURSDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Thursday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2017. There are three days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On Dec. 28, 1917, the New York Evening Mail published “A Neglected Anniversary,” a facetious essay by H.L. Mencken supposedly recounting the history of bathtubs in America, starting with the “first” one in Cincinnati in 1842. Among the spoof’s other straightfaced claims: that Millard Fillmore was the first president to have a bathtub installed in the White House. (Mencken was astonished when people took his “tissue of absurdities” seriously.)

On this date:

In 1612, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei observed the planet Neptune, but mistook it for a star. (Neptune wasn’t officially discovered until 1846 by Johann Gottfried Galle.)

In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down because of differences with President Andrew Jackson.

In 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union.

In 1895, the Lumiere brothers, Auguste and Louis, held the first public showing of their movies in Paris.

In 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1981, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first American “testtube” baby, was born in Norfolk, Va.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush used a “pocket veto” to reject a sweeping defense bill because he objected to a provision that would have exposed the Iraqi government to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era.

Five years ago: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning Americans from adopting Russian children.

One year ago: Actress Debbie Reynolds, who lit up the screen in “Singin’ in the Rain” and other Hollywood classics, died at age 84 a day after losing her daughter, Carrie Fisher, who was 60.

Today’s Birthdays: Comic book creator Stan Lee is 95. Actress Nichelle Nichols is 85. Actress Dame Maggie Smith is 83. Rock singer-musician Charles Neville is 79. Actor Denzel Washington is 63. Talk show host Seth Meyers is 44. Rhythm-andblues singer John Legend is 39. Actress Mackenzie Rosman is 28. Pop singer David Archuleta is 27.

Thought for Today: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”— Carl Sagan, American astronomer (1934-1996).