Today in history
Today is Saturday, December 30, the 364th day of 2017 and the 10th day of winter.
On this date in the SCV: In 1948, The Signal reported that a Val Verde woman was in Community Hospital in serious condition as the result of an attack alleged to have been made upon her by a Val Verde man. Sheriff’s Deputies Larson and Boulanger had been called by residents who told them that the man beat the woman with the iron handle of an automobile jack. The assailant was later found aboard a bus pulling out for Fresno and was arrested by the deputies. He was held on a charge of attack with a deadly weapon, pending the outcome of his victim’s injuries. At Community Hospital, where the woman was taken, 80 stitches were required to close lacerations about her face and head. She also had severe bruises on shoulders and arms and a possible skull fracture. She was pronounced to be in serious condition. Witnesses of the attack told officers the man had been drinking.
Today’s Highlights in History: In 1853, the United States completed the Gadsden Purchase, establishing the border with Mexico. In 1916, a group of Russian aristocrats carried out the murder of Rasputin, private adviser to the ruling Romanov family. In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics was officially established. In 2006, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed.
Today’s fact: Though historically known as “The Mad Monk,” infamous Russian mystic Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin had left Verkhoture Monastery and returned to his home village by age 19, well before completing his training.
Today’s sports: In 1908, a special commission tasked with discovering the origins of baseball ruled that Abner Doubleday had invented the sport in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. The finding has since been
debunked.
Today’s number: 28 – record-setting number of tropical and subtropical storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. This includes one unnamed storm in October that was identified after the season ended.
Today’s moon: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 26) and full moon (Jan. 1).
Birthdays
Rudyard writer; singer-songwriter; Bo Kipling Diddley (1865-1936), Sandy (1928-2008), Koufax (1935- Jones (1945-2012), ), baseball player; singer; Davy Patti Smith (1946- ) singer-songwriter; Meredith Vieira (1953- ), TV
journalist; Tracey Ullman (1959- ), actress/comedian; Sean Hannity (1961- ), TV host; Tiger Woods (1975- ), pro golfer; Tyrese Gibson (1978- ), singer/actor; Eliza
Dushku (1980- ), actress; LeBron James (1984- ), basketball player;
Carson Wentz (1992- ), football
player.