Today in History: December 23, 2007

WAR!, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, EXECUTIONS,
POLITICS, SCIENCE, RELIGION, BIRTHDAYS

On Dec. 23, 1823, the poem "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" was published anonymously in the Troy (New York) Sentinel; the verse, more popularly known as "`Twas the Night Before Christmas," was later widely attributed to Clement C. Moore.

WAR!

In 1783, George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Va.

In 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese.

TERRORISM

In 1968, 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.

In 1987, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of President Ford in 1975, escaped from the Alderson Federal Prison for Women in West Virginia. (She was recaptured two days later.)

In 1997, : a jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to find him guilty of murder.

In 2006, The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. Iran immediately rejected the resolution.

DISASTERS

In 2002, a passenger plane crashed in central Iran during a flight from Turkey, killing 45 people, mostly from Ukraine.

POLITICS

In 2002, Senate Republicans unanimously elected Bill Frist to succeed Trent Lott as their leader in the next Congress.

EXECUTIONS

In 1948, former Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo.

RELIGION

In 1805, Joseph Smith Jr., principal founder of the Mormon religious movement, was born in Sharon, Vt.

In 1967, President Johnson, on his way home from a visit to Southeast Asia, held an unprecedented meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican.

SCIENCE

In 1947, scientists at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey demonstrated their just-invented point-contact transistor, which paved the way to a new era of miniaturized electronics.

BIRTHDAYS

Actor Gerald S. O'Loughlin is 86. Actor Ronnie Schell is 76. Emperor Akihito of Japan is 74. Actor Frederic Forrest is 71. Actor James Stacy is 71. Rock musician Jorma Kaukonen is 67. Rock musician Ron Bushy is 66. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 64. Actress Susan Lucci is 61. Singer-musician Adrian Belew is 58. Rock musician Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) is 51. Actress Joan Severance is 49. Singer Terry Weeks is 44. Rock singer Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) is 43. Actor Corey Haim is 36. Rock musician Jamie Murphy is 32. Actress Estella Warren is 29.

Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2007. There are eight days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
[image:xmission.com]
Source: Today in History



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