On Dec. 29, 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II.
On this date:
In 1808, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, N.C.
In 1813, British forces burned Buffalo, N.Y., during the War of 1812.
In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state.
In 1848, gas lights were installed at the White House.
In 1851, the first YMCA in the U.S. was organized, in Boston.
In 1890, the Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota as an estimated 300 Sioux Indians were killed by U.S. troops sent to disarm them.
In 1916, Grigory Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk" who'd wielded great influence with Czar Nicholas II, was murdered by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg, Russia. [Note for extra credit: Rasputin died on 30 December under the modern (Gregorian) calendar, on 17 December under the old (Julian) calendar; Russia didn't adopt the modern calendar until after the Revolution of 1917. Some sources list the death date as the 29th (or 16th) of December, on the theory that Rasputin died before midnight on the night of his murder. — Ed.]
In 1934, Japan formally renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.
In 1937, the Constitution of Ireland, changing the Irish Free State into Eire, went into effect.
In 1940, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as "The Second Great Fire of London."
In 1957, the Detroit Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns, 59-14, to win the NFL Championship at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.
In 1975, a bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people.
In 1978, during the Gator Bowl, Ohio State University coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson player Charlie Bauman, who'd intercepted an Ohio pass. (Hayes was fired by Ohio State the next day.)
In 1983, the United States announced its withdrawal from UNESCO, charging the U.N. cultural and scientific organization was biased against Western nations.
In 1986, former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan died at his home in Sussex, England, at age 92.
In 1989, playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia by the country's Federal Assembly, becoming the first non-Communist to hold the post in more than four decades.
In 1996, war-weary guerrilla and government leaders in Guatemala signed an accord ending 36 years of civil conflict.
In 1997, Hong Kong began killing 1.4 million chickens to stem the spread of a mysterious bird flu that had already killed four people.
In 1998, Khmer Rouge leaders apologized for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed 1 million lives. [Another version:] Two top Khmer Rouge leaders apologized for the deaths of as many as two million people during their regime in the 1970s, and asked Cambodians to forget the past.
In 1999, the Nasdaq composite index closed above 4,000 for the first time, ending the day at 4,041.46.
In 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell, making the rounds of the Sunday TV talk shows, said there was still time to find a diplomatic resolution to North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, and that the situation hadn't yet reached the crisis stage.
In 2003, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that armed air marshals would be placed on foreign flights entering U.S. airspace that were believed to be at risk of terrorist attacks. Monsignor Michael Courtney, Pope John Paul II's ambassador in Burundi, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen. Also in 2003, five bodies were recovered from the Christmas Day mudslide in California's San Bernardino Mountains, running the total to 12 with two others missing.
In 2004, President George W. Bush assembled a four-nation coalition to organize humanitarian relief for Asia and made clear the United States would help bankroll long-term rebuilding in the region leveled by a massive earthquake and tsunamis. Bush denounced Osama bin Laden's call to boycott the Iraqi elections, saying that the balloting would mark a crossroads for Iraq.
In 2006, word reached the United States of the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (because of the time difference, it was the morning of December 30th in Iraq when the hanging took place). In a statement, President Bush called Saddam's execution a milestone on Iraq's road to democracy. Gerald R. Ford's flag-draped casket was carried into a church in Palm Desert, California, for a public viewing that marked the start of six days of mourning for the former president. More than 400 people died when a crowded Indonesian ferry sank in the Java Sea. AT&T won U.S. approval to complete an $85 billion takeover of BellSouth Corp. after it made a series of consumer-friendly concessions.
In 2007, Australian David Hicks, the first person convicted at an American war crimes trial since World War II, was freed from prison in Adelaide after completing a US-imposed sentence. The New England Patriots became the first NFL team in 35 years to finish the regular season undefeated when they beat the New York Giants 38-35 to go 16-0. (New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule.) [You'd think The AP would note that the Pats went all the way to the Super Bowl & then LOST THE BIG GAME!!]
In 2008, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's lawyer responded to impeachment charges, saying a vague array of charges and evidence did not merit removing his client from office. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf resigned, saying he had lost control of the country to Islamic insurgents. The African Union suspended Guinea after a coup in the West African nation. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack told the Knesset that Israel was involved in "all-out war" with the militant group Hamas, the de facto ruler in Gaza. His remarks came as Israel pounded Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip from the air for a third day with the death toll topping 300. Also in 2008, French fashion designer Ted Lapidus died in Cannes at age 79.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Inga Swenson is 77. ABC newscaster Tom Jarriel is 75. Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 73. Actor Jon Voight is 71. Country singer Ed Bruce is 70. Rock musician Ray Thomas is 68. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 63.
Born on This Date, But Not Celebrating:
Madame de Pompadour, mistress of French King Louis XV (1721); Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh, who patented a waterproof fabric (1766); Charles Goodyear, invented vulcanized rubber (1800); Pablo Casals, virtuoso cellist (1876); William "Billy" Mitchell, military aviator (1879); Vera Brittain, novelist, poet (1893); band leader Clyde "Sugar Blues" McCoy (1903); former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (1917); actor Ed Flanders ("St. Elsewhere") (1934).
Today In Entertainment History December 29
In 1955, 13-year-old Barbra Streisand made her first recording, "You'll Never Know."
In 1957, singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were married in Las Vegas.
In 1967, musician Dave Mason left the band Traffic to pursue a solo career. Paul Whiteman, the "King of Jazz" and most popular bandleader of the pre-swing era, died in Doylestown, Pa., at age 77.
In 1975, Paul Kantner and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane divorced.
In 1980, singer-songwriter Tim Hardin died of a heroin overdose in Los Angeles at the age of 40. He's best known for composing the song "If I Were A Carpenter."
In 1989, Jane Pauley marked her last day as co-host of the "Today" show after 13 years. Her successor was Deborah Norville.
In 1992, actor Todd Bridges was arrested in Burbank, California. Police say they found speed and a loaded gun in his car, but Bridges claimed he had been framed. At the time, Bridges had been doing public service announcements telling kids to stay away from drugs.
In 2003, actor Earl Hindman, who'd played the mostly unseen neighbor Wilson on "Home Improvement," died in Stamford, Conn., at age 61.
In 2006, burlesque artist Dita Von Teese filed for divorce from singer Marilyn Manson, citing irreconcilable differences. They had been married barely a year.
In 2008, Grammy-winning jazz musician Freddie Hubbard died in Sherman Oaks, Calif., at age 70.
Thought for Today: "The wise man must be wise before, not after." - Epicharmus, Sicilian Greek comic poet (? - c. 450 B.C.E.) [Greco-Sicilian stand-up in the fifth century B.C.? Huh. — Ed.]
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