Today in history
Today is Saturday, Dec. 21, the 355th day of 2019. There are 10 days left in the year. Winter arrives at 8:19 p.m.
On this date in history On Dec. 21, 1988, 270 people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pam Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage crashing to the ground.
1620 — Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts.
1861 — President Abraham Lincoln signed a congressional act authorizing the Navy Medal of Honor.
1864 — During the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman concluded their “March to the Sea” as they captured Savannah, Georgia.
1891 — The first basketball game, devised by James Naismith, is believed to have been played at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. (The final score of this experimental game: 1-0.)
1913 — The first newspaper crossword puzzle, billed as a “Word-Cross Puzzle,” was published in the New York World.
1914 — The U.S. government began requiring passport applicants to provide photographs of themselves.
1945 — U.S. Army Gen. George S. Patton, 60, died in Heidelberg, Germany, 12 days after being seriously injured in a car accident.
1967 — Louis Washkansky, the first human heart transplant recipient, died at a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, 18 days after receiving the donor organ. The satirical comedy-drama “The Graduate,” starring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman, was released by Embassy Pictures.
1968 — Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon.
1969 — Vince Lombardi coached his last football game as his team, the Washington Redskins, lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-10.
1991 — Eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics proclaimed the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the death of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
1995 — The city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control.
Ten years ago — President Barack Obama hailed a crucial, early-morning test vote in the Senate on his health care overhaul, in which all 58 Democrats and two independents held together against unanimous Republican opposition. The Obama administration imposed a 3-hour limit on how long airlines can keep passengers waiting inside planes delayed on the ground.
One year ago — The House and Senate adjourned without a deal on spending, guaranteeing that a partial government shutdown would begin at midnight; President Donald Trump continued to push for $5 billion in border wall funding, a proposal Democrats staunchly opposed.
Today’s birthdays Talk show host Phil Donahue is 84. Actress Jane Fonda is 82. Actor Larry Bryggman is 81. Singer Carla Thomas is 77. Musician Albert Lee is
76. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is 75. Actor Josh Mostel is 73. Actor Samuel L. Jackson is 71. Rock singer Nick Gilder is 69. Movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg is
69. Actor Dennis Boutsikaris is 67. Singer Betty Wright is
66. International Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert is 65. Actress Jane Kaczmarek is
64. Country singer Lee Roy Parnell is 63. Entertainer Jim Rose is 63. Former child actress Lisa Gerritsen is 62. Actor-comedian
Ray Romano is
62. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is 57. Country singer Christy Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 57. Rock musician Murph (The Lemonheads; Dinosaur Jr.) is 55. Actor-comedian Andy Dick is 54. Rock musician Gabrielle Glaser is
54. Actress Michelle Hurd is
53. Actor Kiefer Sutherland is 53. Actress Karri Turner is
53. Actress Khrystyne Haje is
51. Country singer Brad Warren (The Warren Brothers) is 51. Actress Julie Delpy is
50. Country singer-musician Rhean Boyer (Carolina Rain) is 49. Contemporary Christian singer Natalie Grant is
48. Actor Glenn Fitzgerald is 48. Singer-musician Brett Scallions is 48. World Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb is
45. Rock singer Lukas Rossi (Rock Star Supernova) is 43. Actress Rutina Wesley is 41. Rock musician Anna Bulbrook (Airborne Toxic Event) is 37. Country singer Luke Stricklin is 37. Actor Steven Yeun is 36. Actress Kaitlyn Dever is 23.
Thought for today
“It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them.” — Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French author and dramatist (1732-1799).