TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS MONDAY, DEC. 11, the 345th day of 2017. There are 20 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1917, British Gen. Edmund Allenby entered Jerusalem two days after his forces expelled the Ottoman Turks; in a show of respect, Allenby and his officers made their way into the Holy City on foot.
In 1602, forces sent by the Duke of Savoy attempted to seize the walled city-state of Geneva by scaling the wall with ladders; the Genevans were able to repel the invaders.
In 1792, France’s King Louis XVI went before the Convention to face charges of treason. Louis was convicted and executed the following month.
In 1936, Britain’s King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson; his brother, Prince Albert, became King George VI.
In 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind.
In 1946, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established.
In 1957, the movie “Peyton Place,” based on the novel by Grace Metalious, had its world premiere in Camden, Maine, where most of it was filmed.
In 1961, a U.S. aircraft carrier carrying Army helicopters arrived in Saigon — the first direct American military support for South Vietnam’s battle against Communist guerrillas.
In 1972, Apollo 17’s lunar module landed on the moon with astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt aboard; during three extravehicular activities (EVAs), they became the last
two men to date to step onto the lunar surface.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating a $1.6 billion environmental “superfund” to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps.
In 1997, more than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth’s greenhouse gases.
In 2008, financier Bernie Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Madoff is serving a 150-year federal prison sentence.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor JeanLouis Trintignant is 87. Actress Rita Moreno is 86. Pop singer David Gates (Bread) and actress Donna Mills are 77. Singer Brenda Lee and actress Lynda Day George are 73. Music producer Tony Brown is 71. Actress Teri Garr is 70. Movie director Susan Seidelman is 65. Actress Bess Armstrong is 64. Singer Jermaine Jacksun is 63. Rock musician Mike Mesaros (The Smithereens) is 60. Rock musician Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 59. Rock musician Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones) is 56. Singer-musician Justin Currie (Del Amitri) and rock musician David Schools (Hard Working Americans, Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic) are 53. Actor Gary Dourdan is 51. Actress-comedian Mo’Nique is 50. Actor Max Martini is 48. Actor Rider Strong is 38. Actress Xosha Roquemore is 33. Actress Karla Souza is 31. Actress Hailee Steinfeld is 21.