Today in History
Today is Saturday, Dec. 30, the 364th day of 2023. There is one day left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 30, 1922, Vladimir Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which lasted nearly seven decades before dissolving in December 1991.
On this date:
In 1813, British troops burned Buffalo, New York, during the War of 1812.
In 1853, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to buy some 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico for $10 million in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase.
In 1860, 10 days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the state militia seized the United States Arsenal in Charleston.
In 1903, about 600 people died when fire broke out at the recently opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago.
In 1954, Olympic gold medal runner Malvin G. Whitfield became the first Black recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award for amateur athletes.
In 1972, the United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.
In 1994, a gunman walked into a pair of suburban Boston abortion clinics and opened fire, killing two employees. (John C. Salvi III was later convicted of murder; he died in prison, an apparent suicide.)
In 2004, a fire broke out during a rock concert at a nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 194 people.
In 2006, a state funeral service was held in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for former President Gerald R. Ford.
In 2009, seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer were killed by a suicide bomber at a U.S. base in Khost (hohst), Afghanistan.
In 2012, recalling that the shooting rampage that killed 20 first graders in Connecticut as the worst day of his presidency, President Barack Obama pledged on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to put his “full weight” behind legislation aimed at preventing gun violence.
In 2015, Bill Cosby was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. (Cosby’s first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked; he was convicted on three charges at his retrial in April 2018 and was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction in June 2021 and Cosby went free.)
In 2020, Dawn Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann on the 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island,” died in Los Angeles at age 82 from causes related to COVID-19.
In 2021, a wildfire driven by wind gusts up to 105 mph swept through towns northwest of Denver, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Russ Tamblyn is 89. Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax is 88. Folk singer Noel Paul Stookey is 86. TV director James Burrows is 83. Actor Concetta Tomei (toh-MAY’) is 78. Singer Patti Smith is 77. Rock singer-musician Jeff Lynne is 76. TV personality Meredith Vieira is 70. Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph is 68. Actor Patricia Kalember is 67. Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 67. Actor-comedian Tracey Ullman is 64. Radio-TV commentator Sean Hannity is 62. Sprinter Ben Johnson is 62. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is 60. Actor George Newbern is 60. Movie director Bennett Miller is 57. Singer Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) is 54. Rock musician Byron McMackin (Pennywise) is 54. Actor Meredith Monroe is 54. Actor Daniel Sunjata is 52. Actor Maureen Flannigan is 51. Actor Jason Behr is 50. Golfer Tiger Woods is 48. TV personality-boxer Laila Ali is 46. Actor Lucy Punch is 46. Singer-actor Tyrese Gibson is 45. Actor Eliza Dushku is 43. Rock musician Tim Lopez (Plain White T’s) is 43. Actor Kristin Kreuk is 41. Folk-rock singer-musician Wesley Schultz (The Lumineers) is 41. NBA star LeBron James is 39. R&B singer Andra Day is 39. Actor Anna Wood is 38. Pop-rock singer Ellie Goulding (GOL’-ding) is 37. Actor Caity Lotz is 37. Actor Jeff Ward is 37. Country musician Eric Steedly is 33. Pop-rock musician Jamie Follesé (FAHL’-es-ay) (Hot Chelle (shel) Rae) is 32.
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