This Day In History

17 December, 1903

Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight.

18 December 1946

Happy Birthday Steve Spielberg.

Thanks for keeping the thread alive, Dave.

I both appreciate and enjoy.

My pleasure Tony, I love history!

1936 - Death of Andrija Mohorovičić, discoverer of the Mohorovičić discontinuity between the earth's crust and the upper mantle. Universally known as the Moho so that people don't have to pronounce Mohorovičić.

1976 December 18 - Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter made its debut on ABC. A great day in television history!

December 19, 1732

On this day, Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia first published Poor Richard's Almanack. The book, filled with proverbs preaching industry and prudence, was published continuously for 25 years and became one of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.

December 19, 1917
The first two NHL games are played.

December 19, 1984
Wayne Gretzky scores his career 1,000th point.


Hmmmm. Both are hockey things . . . I'm Canadian Eh.

December 20, 1989

The United States invades Panama in an attempt to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega, who had been indicted in the United States on drug trafficking charges and was accused of suppressing democracy in Panama and endangering U.S. nationals. Noriega's Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) were promptly crushed, forcing the dictator to seek asylum with the Vatican anuncio in Panama City, where he surrendered on January 3, 1990.

In 1992, Noriega was found guilty on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering, marking the first time in history that a U.S. jury convicted a foreign leader of criminal charges. He was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

Great posts, guys. Very interesting thread. Keep 'em coming.

2012 THE END OF THE WORLD ... oh wait...

Decemder 21, 1945

On this day, General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. 3rd Army, dies from injuries suffered not in battle but in a freak car accident. He was 60 years old.

Dec. 21, 1898: William McKinley issues his "benevolent assimilation proclamation" regarding the Phillipine Islands, which basically annexed the Phillipines and authorized U.S. Army personnel to use force to enforce American rule. Within two months, open rebellion against American rule would break out.

December 22, 1984 ...

While riding on a NYC subway, Bernhard Goetz felt threatened and intimidated by four African-American men. He fired 5 shots, seriously wounding all four.

December 22, 1864

On this day Union General William T. Sherman presents the city of Savannah, Georgia, to President Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas present. Sherman captured the city after his famous March to the Sea from Atlanta. Savannah had been one of the last major ports that remained open to the Confederates.

12/22/2001

Richard Reid (a/k/a The Shoe Bomber), a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives in his shoes, but was subdued by flight attendants and fellow passengers.

12/22/1882 Thomas Edison creates the first string of Christmas tree lights.

December 23, 1968

The crew and captain of the U.S. intelligence gathering ship Pueblo are released after 11 months imprisonment by the government of North Korea. The ship, and its 83-man crew, was seized by North Korean warships on January 23 and charged with intruding into North Korean waters.

December 23, 1783

On this day in 1783, following the signing of the Treaty of Paris, General George Washington resigns as commander in chief of the Continental Army and retires to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

December 23, 1823

The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly and mistakemly called "'Twas the night before Christmas"), written by either Clement C. Moore or Maj. Henry Livingston, Jr., was published in the Troy Sentinel of New York.