DAILY ALMANAC
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.
1845: Texas was admitted as the 28th state.
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.
1989: Dissident and playwright Vaclav Havel assumed the presidency of Czechoslovakia.
1992: New York Gov. Mario Cuomo commuted the prison sentence of Jean Harris, the convicted killer of “Scarsdale Diet” author Herman Tarnower.
1996: Gguerrilla 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.
2007: Tthe New England Patriots ended their regular season with a remarkable 16-0 record following a 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants. (New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule.)
Ten years ago: Fed-up voters in Jamaica threw out the ruling party and delivered a landslide triumph to the opposition People’s National Party and its leader, former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.
Actor Inga Swenson (“Benson”) is 89. Actor Jon Voight is 83. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 75. Actor Ted Danson is 74. Singer-actor Yvonne Elliman is 70. Actor Patricia Clarkson is 62. Comedian Paula Poundstone is 62. Guitarist-singer Jim Reid of The Jesus And Mary Chain is 60. Actor Michael Cudlitz (“The Walking Dead”) is 57. Singer Dexter Holland of The Offspring is 56. Actor
Jason Gouldis 55. News anchor Ashleigh Banfield is 54. Director Lilly Wachowski (“The Matrix”) is 54. Singer-guitarist
Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 51. Actor Kevin Weisman (“Alias”) is 51. Actor Jude Law is 49. Actor Maria Dizzia (“Orange Is the New Black”) is 47. Actor Mekhi Phifer is 47.