This Day in History
1777: During the American Revolution, the Continental Army establishes a camp at Valley Forge, PA.
1958: The satellite Atlas transmits the first radio voice broadcast from space, containing Christmas greetings from Pres. Dwight Eisenhower.
1984: Chinese Prem. Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Min. Margaret Thatcher sign an agreement granting China sovereignty over Hong Kong as of July 1, 1997.
1986: The Soviet Union releases dissidents Andrei Sakharov and Yelena Bonner from internal exile in Gorky.
1998: The U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach Pres. Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with a cover-up of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
2002: U.S. Sec. of State Colin Powell declares Iraq to be in "material breach" of UN resolutions.
2003: After 9 months of secret talks, Pres. George W. Bush and British Prime Min. Tony Blair announce that Libyan Pres. Muammar al-Qaddafi has agree to eliminate his country's chemical, biological, and nuclear programs and to accept international inspections.
2004: Two car bombs explode about an hour apart in the southern Iraqi cities of Karbala and Najaf, killing about 70 people and wounding at least 175 more.
Today's Birthdays
1790: Sir William Parry, Arctic explorer (Bath, England; died 1855)
1814: Edwin McMasters Stanton, U.S. secretary of war (Steubenville, OH; died 1869)
1875: Carter Woodson, educator/historian (New Canton, VA; died 1950)
1902: Sir Ralph Richardson, actor (Gloucestershire, England; died 1983)
1906: Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet leader (Kamenskoye, Ukraine; died 1982)
1910: Jean Genet, French novelist and dramatist (Paris, France; died 1986)
1915: Edith Piaf, singer (Paris, France; died 1963)
1920: David Susskind, TV journalist/producer (New York, NY; died 1987)
1933: Cicely Tyson, actress (New York, NY)
1940: Phil Ochs, folk singer (El Paso, TX; died 1976)
1944: Richard Leakey, anthropologist/paleontologist (Nairobi, Kenya). Tim Reid, actor (Norfolk, VA)
1946: Robert Urich, actor (Toronto, Ontario, Canada; died 2002)
1957: Kevin McHale, basketball player (Hibbing, MN)
1961: Reggie White, football player (Chattanooga, TN; died 2004)
1972: Alyssa Milano, actress (New York, NY)
1980: Jake Gyllenhaal, actor (Los Angeles, CA)
