TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 29, the 363rd day of 2021. There are two days left in the year.

On this date in:

1170: Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II.

1812: During the War of 1812, the American frigate USS Constitution engaged and severely damaged the British frigate HMS Java off Brazil.

1851: The first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in the United States was founded in Boston.

1890: The Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota as an estimated 300 Sioux Indians were killed by U.S. troops sent to disarm them.

1916: James Joyce’s first novel, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” was first published in book form in New York after being serialized in London.

1940: During World War II, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as “The Second Great Fire of London.”

1972: Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashed into the Florida Everglades near Miami International Airport, killing 101 of the 176 people aboard.

1992: New York Gov. Mario Cuomo commuted the prison sentence of Jean Harris, the convicted killer of “Scarsdale Diet” author Herman Tarnower.

1996: Guerrilla and government leaders in Guatemala signed an accord ending 36 years of civil conflict.

2006: Word reached the United States of the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (because of the time difference, it was the morning of Dec. 30 in Iraq when the hanging took place). In a statement, President George W. Bush called Saddam’s execution an important milestone on Iraq’s road to democracy.

2016: The United States struck back at Russia for hacking the U.S. presidential campaign with a sweeping set of punishments targeting Russia’s spy agencies and diplomats.