Boxing Day Wrap Up: Dead Ex-Presidents

Today is Wednesday, December 26th, the 360th day of 2007.
There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day.
Today's Highlight in History:
In 2004, more than 280,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a tsunami triggered by the world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years beneath the Indian Ocean.
On this date:
In 1776, the British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
In 1799, former President Washington was eulogized by Colonel Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
In 1865, James H. Nason received a patent for a coffee percolator.
In 1917, during World War I, President Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation's railroads.
In 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
In 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.
In 1947, heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.
In 1966, the first Kwanzaa was celebrated.
In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Missouri, at age 88.
In 1985, zoologist Dian Fossey was found murdered in Rwanda. [Or on 27 December 1985. See above. 'Zup, AP? — Ed.]
In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved, despite a widely publicized "confession" by John Mark Karr.) [Also to date, the phrase "six-yr.-old beauty queen" gives us the willies. — Ed.]
Ten years ago: Badly battered South Korean financial markets surged after the International Monetary Fund and the Group of Seven countries agreed on 10 billion dollar emergency loans to Seoul.
Five years ago: It was announced that West Virginia resident Jack Whittaker had won the 314.9 million-dollar Powerball lottery jackpot, at that time a record prize. Israeli soldiers killed seven Palestinians in West Bank raids and reimposed a curfew on Bethlehem after briefly withdrawing over Christmas.
One year ago: Former President Gerald R. Ford, who took over the White House after Richard Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal, died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93. Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam Hussein's appeal of his conviction and death sentence and said the former president should be hanged within 30 days. (Saddam was hanged on December 30th, 2006.)

Today's Birthdays:
Actor Richard Widmark is 93.[Aw-reet!! One of the last (maybe the only) remaining great movie actors of the post-WWII generation, & we didn't even know he was still on this mortal coil. As good a portrayer of the twisted cinematic psycho as anyone, he was also Sandy Koufax' father-in-law for a while. Hang in there, Dick, only seven yrs. to the big one-oh-oh! — Ed.]
Actor Donald Moffat is 77. Rhythm-and-blues singer Abdul "Duke" Fakir (The Four Tops) is 72. Record producer Phil Spector is 67. "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh is 62. Country musician Bob Carpenter (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 61. Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk is 60. Former baseball player Chris Chambliss is 59. Rock musician James Kottak (The Scorpions) is 45. Country musician Brian Westrum (Sons of the Desert) is 45. Rock musician Lars Ulrich (Metallica) is 44. Actress Nadia Dajani is 42.

And The Dead:
Frederick II, Holy Roman emperor (1194)
Thomas Gray, poet (1716)
Charles Babbage, mathematician (1791)
George Dewey, admiral (1837) ["Fire when ready, Gridley!" — Ed.]
Mao Zedong, founder, People's Republic of China (1893)
Steve Allen, comedian, actor, author (1921)

World of Entertainment:
In 1944, Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie" was first performed publicly in Chicago.
In 1955, Decca Records released "See You Later, Alligator" by Bill Haley and the Comets.
In 1957, Elvis Presley got a temporary draft deferment so he could finish the movie "King Creole."
In 1957, the Ingmar Bergman film "Wild Strawberries," starring Victor Sjostrom, opened in Sweden.
In 1963, Capitol Records released the single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles, which became the band's first number one hit in the US.
In 1967, "Magical Mystery Tour," The Beatles' critically drubbed one-hour special, aired on BBC-1 television. [Fuck a bunch of critics! — Ed.]
In 1968, Led Zeppelin played its first U. S. show, opening for Vanilla Fudge.
In 1973, "The Exorcist" made its premiere nationwide.
In 1974, comedian Jack Benny died. He was 80. ["Oh Rochester! I'm dead!" — Ed.]
In 1999, musician Curtis Mayfield died outside Atlanta at the age of 57.