Today In History
Today is Monday, Dec. 26, the 361st day of 2016. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 1941: During World War II, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. Churchill grimly warned that “many disappointments and unpleasant surprises await us,” but also expressed faith that “the British and American peoples will, for their own safety and for the good of all, walk together in majesty, in justice and in peace.”
ON THIS DATE
› 1776: British forces suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
› 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.”
› 1865: James H. Nason of Franklin, Massachusetts, received a patent for “an improved coffee percolator.”
› 1908: Jack Johnson became the first African-American boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.
› 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. Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie” was first performed at the Civic Theatre in Chicago.
› 1966: Kwanzaa was first celebrated.
› 1967: “Magical Mystery Tour,” the Beatles’ poorly received TV special, was broadcast (in black and white) on BBC1.
› 1972: The 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Missouri, at age 88.
› 1980: Iranian television footage was broadcast in the United States, showing a dozen of the American hostages sending messages to their families.
› 2004: More than 230,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a 100-foot-high tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean.
› 2006: Iraq’s highest court rejected Saddam Hussein’s appeal of his conviction and death sentence and said the former president should be hanged within 30 days. (Saddam was executed on Dec. 30, 2006, Iraq time.)
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Donald Moffat is 86. Actor Caroll Spinney (Big Bird on TV’s “Sesame Street”) is 83. Rhythm and blues singer Abdul “Duke” Fakir (The Four Tops) is 81. Record producer Phil Spector is 77. “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh is 71. Country musician Bob Carpenter (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 70. Funk musician George Porter Jr. (The Meters) is 69. Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk is 69. Retired MLB All-Star Chris Chambliss is 68. Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith is 62. Former Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., is 61. Rock musician James Kottak (The Scorpions) is 54. Country musician Brian Westrum (Sons of the Desert) is 54. Rock musician Lars Ulrich (Metallica) is 53. Actress Nadia Dajani is 51. Rock musician J is 49. Country singer Audrey Wiggins is 49. Rock musician Peter Klett (Candlebox) is 47. Rock singer James Mercer (The Shins; Flake) is 46. Actor-singer Jared Leto is 45. Actress Kendra C. Johnson is 40. Rock singer Chris Daughtry is 37. Actress Beth Behrs is 31. Actor Kit Harington is 30. Actress Eden Sher is 25. Pop singer Jade Thirlwall (Little Mix Actor) is 24. Actor Zach Mills is 21.