This Day in History
1620: The Pilgrims, aboard the Mayflower, land at Plymouth, MA.
1776: After staging a surprise attack, Gen. George Washington and his Continental Army defeat the Hessian mercenaries at the Battle of Trenton, NJ during the American Revolution.
1898: French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover the element radium.
1971: U.S. bombers begin a massive five-day campaign against North Vietnam, in retaliation for alleged violations of earlier agreements.
1991: The Soviet Union is officially broken up.
1996: In a case that draws national attention, 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey is found murdered in her basement in Boulder, CO.
2003: A horrific earthquake in the ancient Iranian city of Bam kills 41,000.
2004: An extremely powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggers a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that slams into the coastlines of a number of countries, killing at least 178,000 people. Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko defeats Premier Viktor Yanukovich in a repeat presidential runoff election.
Today's Birthdays
1194: Frederick II, Holy Roman emperor (Lesi, Italy; died 1250)
1837: George Dewey, Spanish-American War naval hero (Montpelier, VT; died 1917)
1891: Henry Miller, novelist (New York, NY; died 1980)
1893: Mao Zedong (Tse-tung), Chinese Communist leader (Hunan Province, China; died 1976)
1907: Albert Gore Sr., congressman and senator and father of former Vice Pres. Al Gore (near Granville, TN; died 1998)
1914: Richard Widmark, actor (Sunrise, MN)
1921: Steve Allen, TV personality and writer (New York, NY; died 2000)
1927: Alan King, comedian (Brooklyn, NY; died 2004)
1935: Gnassingbe Eyadema, longtime ruler of Togo (Pya, Togo; died 2005)
1942: Gray Davis, CA governor (Bronx, NY)
1947: Carlton Fisk, baseball player (Bellows Falls, VT)
1954: Susan Butcher, sled dog racer (Cambridge, MA; died 2006)
1956: David Sedaris, author and radio personality (Johnson City, NY). Ozzie Smith, baseball player (Mobile, AL)
1971: Jared Leto, actor (Bossier County, LA)
1975: Marcelo Rios, tennis player (Santiago, Chile)
