Tuesday, December 20, 2011

20th of December

Today is the 354th day of the year, with only 11 days remaining.

69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of emperor.

1192 - Richard the Lionheart is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third Crusade.

1803 - The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

1860 - South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States.

1917 - Cheka, the first Soviet secret police is founded.

1924 - Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison.

1941 - It is the first battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.

1946 - An earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaid, Japan, killing over 1,300 people and destroy over 38,000 homes.

1951 - The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho, becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity.  The electricity powered four light bulbs.

1968 - The Zodiac killer, kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.

1989 - The United States sends troops into Panama in order to overthrow the government of Manuel Noriega.  This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft.

1996 - NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.

2005 - U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones III rules against mandating the teaching of intelligent design in the court case, Kitzmiller Vs. Dover Area School District.

2007 - Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months, and 29 days.

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