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Today in History

1398
Tamerlane's Mongols destroy the army of Mahmud Tughluk, Sultan of Delhi, at Panipat.
1861
The Stonewall Brigade begins to dismantle Dam No. 5 of the C&O Canal.
1886
At a Christmas party, Sam Starr (husband to infamous outlaw queen Belle Starr) shoots his old enemy Frank West, but is fatally wounded himself.
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.
1938
Italy declares the 1935 pact with France invalid because ratifications had not been exchanged. France denies the argument.

1939
In the Battle of River Plate near Montevideo, Uruguay, the British trap the German pocket battleship Graf Spee. German Captain Langsdorf sinks his ship believing that resistance is hopeless.
1944
U.S. approves end to internment of Japanese Americans. U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt issues Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that Japanese American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to their homes effective January 2, 1945.
1944
The German Army renews the attack on the Belgian town of Losheimergraben against the defending Americans during the Battle of the Bulge.
1948
The Smithsonian Institution accepts the Kitty Hawk - the Wright brothers' plane.
1950
The French government appoints Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny to command their troops in Vietnam.
1952
Yugoslavia breaks relations with the Vatican.
1965
Ending an election campaign marked by bitterness and violence, Ferdinand Marcos is declared president of the Philippines.
1981
Red Brigade terrorists kidnap Brigadier General James Dozier, the highest-ranking U.S. NATO officer in Italy.
1989
Fernando Color de Mello becomes Brazil's first democratically elected president in nearly 30 years.
1989
The Simpsons, television's longest-running animated series, makes its US debut.

1990
Jean-Bertrand Aristide wins Haiti's first free election.
2002
Congolese parties of the inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord in the Second Congo War, providing for transitional government and elections within two years.
2010
Mohamed Bouazizi immolates himself, the catalyst for the Tunisian revolution and the subsequent Arab Spring.







Joke of the Day

There was a competition to cross the English channel doing only the breaststroke, and the three women who entered the race were a brunette, a redhead and a blonde.
After approximately 14 hours, the brunette staggered up on the shore and was declared the fastest. About 40 minutes later, the redhead crawled up on the shore and was declared the second place finisher.

Nearly 4 hours after that, the blonde finally came ashore and promptly collapsed in front of the worried onlookers.
When the reporters asked why it took her so long to complete the race, she replied, "I don't want to sound like I'm a sore loser, but I think those two other girls were using their arms..."