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1948 |
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Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo. They had been found guilty of crimes against humanity. |
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1953 |
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Soviet secret police chief Lavrenti Beria and six of his associates were shot for treason following a secret trial. |
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1987 |
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Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ford in 1975, escaped from the Alderson Federal Prison for Women in West Virginia. She was recaptured two days later. |
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1989 |
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Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were captured as they were attempting to flee their country. |
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1995 |
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The bodies of 16 members of the Solar Temple religious sect were found in a clearing near Grenoble, France. 14 were presumed shot by two people who then committed suicide. |
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1997 |
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Terry Nichols was convicted by a Denver jury on charges of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in the 1995 federal building bombing in Oklahoma City. The bomb killed 168 people.
1998: Guerrillas in south Lebanon fired dozens of rockets at northern Israel.
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1919 |
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The first ship designed to be used as an ambulance for the transport patients was launched. The hospital ship was named USS Relief and had 515 beds. |
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1968 |
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Eighty-two crewmembers of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured. |
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1995 |
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A fire in Dabwali, India, killed 540 people, including 170 children, during a year-end party being held near the children's school. |
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1981 |
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NASA approved a plan to continue the Voyager II spacecraft on a trajectory that would take it within 66,000 miles of Uranus on July 24, 1986. |
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1986 |
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The experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California. |
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1922 |
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The British Broadcasting Corporation began daily news broadcasts. |
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1930 |
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Ruth Elizabeth Davis, an unknown actress, arrived in Hollywood, under contract to Universal Studios. Universal changed her name to Bette Davis for the movies. |
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1938 |
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"Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" was heard for the final time on the radio. |
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1943 |
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"Hansel and Gretel," the opera, was televised on New York's WRBG. It was the first complete opera to be televised. |
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1954 |
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The Walt Disney movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was released. |
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1957 |
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Dan Blocker made his acting debut on television in the "Restless Gun." |
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1880 |
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Thomas Edison incorporated the Edison Electric Light Company of Europe. |
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1888 |
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Following a quarrel with Paul Gauguin, Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his own earlobe. |
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1930 |
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Ruth Elizabeth Davis, an unknown actress, arrived in Hollywood, under contract to Universal Studios. Universal changed her name to Bette Davis for the movies. |
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1990 |
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Elections in Yugoslavia ended, leaving four of its six republics with non-Communist governments. |
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1823 |
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The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore (" 'Twas the night before Christmas...") was published. |
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1951 |
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A National Football League (NFL) championship game was televised nationally for the first time. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cleveland Browns 24-17. The DuMont Network had paid $75,000 for the rights to the game. |
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1972 |
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The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13-7 in an NFL playoff game on a last-second play that was dubbed the "Immaculate Reception." Pittsburgh's Franco Harris caught a deflected pass and ran it in for the winning touchdown. |
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1947 |
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John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley invented the transistor. |
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1823 |
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The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore (" 'Twas the night before Christmas...") was published. |
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1852 |
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The Theatre of Celestial John opened on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, CA. It was the first Chinese theatre in the U.S. |
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1893 |
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The Engelbert Humperdinck opera "Hansel und Gretel" was first performed, in Weimar, Germany. |
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1788 |
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Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the seat of the national government. About two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia. |
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1913 |
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The Federal Reserve Bill was signed into law by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. The act established 12 Federal Reserve Banks. |
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1880 |
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Thomas Edison incorporated the Edison Electric Light Company of Europe. |
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1834 |
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English architect Joseph Hansom patented his 'safety cab', better known as the Hansom cab. |
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1965 |
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A 70-mph speed limit was introduced in Britain. |
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1783 |
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George Washington returned home to Mount Vernon, after the disbanding of his army following the Revolutionary War. |
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1941 |
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During World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese. |
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1942 |
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Bob Hope agreed to entertain U.S. airmen in Alaska. It was the first of the traditional Christmas shows. |
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1948 |
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Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo. They had been found guilty of crimes against humanity. |
