GMT 12/26/2017

Today in History December 26

1776--After crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey, George Washington leads an attack on Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, and takes 900 men prisoner.

1786--Daniel Shay leads a rebellion in Massachusetts to protest the seizure of property for the non-payment of debt.

1806--Napoleon's army is checked by the Russians at the Battle of Pultusk.

1862--38 Santee Sioux are hanged in Mankato, Minnesota for their part in the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota. Little Crow has fled the state.

1917--As a wartime measure, President Woodrow Wilson places railroads under government control, with Secretary of War William McAdoo as director general.

1932--Over 70,000 people are killed in a massive earthquake in China.

1941--General Douglas MacArthur declares Manila an open city in the face of the onrushing Japanese Army.

1962--Eight East Berliners escape to West Berlin, crashing through gates in an armor-plated bus.

1966--Dr. Maulana Karenga celebrates the first Kwanza, a seven-day African-American celebration of family and heritage.

1979--The Soviet Union flies 5,000 troops to intervene in the Afghanistan conflict.

1982--Time magazine chooses a personal computer as it "Man of the Year," the first non-human ever to receive the honor.

1991--The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union formally dissolves the Soviet Union.

1996--JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty queen, is found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, one of the most high-profile crimes of the late 20th century in the US.

1999--Lothar, a violent, 36-hour windstorm begins; it kills 137 and causes $1.3 billion (US dollars) damage in Central Europe.

2004--A tsunami caused by a 9.3-magnitude earthquake kills more than 230,000 along the rim of the Indian Ocean.

2006--Former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford dies at age 93. Ford was the only unelected president in America's history.


Born on December 26

1939--Phil Spector, record producer; creator of the "Wall of Sound" production method; convicted in 2009 of murdering actress Lana Clarkson, he was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.

2000--Samuel Sevian, chess prodigy; at age 12 became youngest-ever United States International Master.


JOKE OF THE DAY

A mother is in the kitchen making dinner for her family when her daughter walks in. “Mother, where do babies come from?” The mother thinks for a few seconds and says, “Well dear, Mommy and Daddy fall in love and get married. One night they go into their bedroom, they kiss and hug, and have sex.” The daughter looks puzzled so the mother continues, “That means the daddy puts his penis in the mommy’s vagina. That’s how you get a baby, honey.” The child seems to comprehend. “Oh, I see, but the other night when I came into your room you had daddy’s penis in your mouth. What do you get when you do that?” “Jewelry, my dear. Jewelry.”