December 20
1790 - Samuel Slater built the nation's first cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1803 - The United States purchased the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million.
1860 - South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union as all 169 delegates to a special convention in Charleston voted in favor of separation.
1864 - Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Georgia, as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman nearly completed his “March to the Sea.”
1924 - Adolf Hitler was released from prison after serving nine months for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch.
1963 - The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.
1968 - Author John Steinbeck died at age 66.
1987 - More than 4,300 people were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.
1989 - The United States invaded Panama as part of Operation Just Cause and installed a new government but failed to capture Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega.
1995 - An American Airlines Boeing 757 en route to Cali, Colombia, slammed into a mountain, killing all but four of the 163 people aboard.
1996 - Astronomer Carl Sagan died at age 62.
1999 - The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded heterosexual couples.
2002 - Trent Lott resigned as Senate Republican leader two weeks after igniting a political firestorm with racially charged remarks.
2005 - A federal judge ruled that “intelligent design” could not be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, delivering a stinging attack on the Dover Area School Board.
2016 - President Barack Obama designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
2017 - Cardinal Bernard Law, the disgraced former archbishop of Boston, died in Rome at the age of 86; his failure to stop child molesters in the priesthood had triggered a crisis in American Catholicism.
2020 - The Trump campaign continued with its unprecedented efforts to overturn the results of the November presidential election; a petition asked the Supreme Court to reverse a trio of Pennsylvania Supreme Court cases having to do with mail-in ballots, and also asked that the state General Assembly be allowed to pick its own slate of electors.
Birthdays
27 - DaniLeigh (singer)
30 - Isabel Durant (actress)
30 - Colin Woodell (actor)
31 - India Reynolds (model)
31 - JoJo (singer)
37 - Bob Morley (singer)
38 - Jonah Hill (actor)
38 - Lara Stone (model)
38 - Lucy Pinder (model)
39 - David Cook (singer)
39 - David Wright (baseball player)
51 - Nicole deBoer (actress)
57 - Kris Tyler (singer)
58 - Joel Gretsch (actor)
64 - Billy Bragg (singer)
65 - Blanche Baker (actor)
67 - Michael Badalucco (actor)
69 - Jenny Agutter (actress)
73 - Alan Parsons (musician)
75 - Dick Wolf (producer)
76 - Peter Criss (musician)
===================================
Today in Sports History - December 20
1921 - The American League votes to return the World Series to a best-of-seven format, while the National League favors a best-of-nine; Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts the deciding vote in favor of a best-of-seven format.
1966 - The NBA granted a franchise to Seattle.
1969 - #14 Nebraska defeated Georgia 45-6 in the Sun Bowl; NU finishes the season 9-2 and ranked #11/#12 in the final polls.
1973 - Henri Richard (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 1,000th point.
1983 - Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens) became the 10th NHL player to score 500 goals.
1985 - Denis Potvin became the highest defenseman scorer when he got his 916th point.
1998 - Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) became the first NFL player to throw at least 30 touchdown passes for five seasons.
1790 - Samuel Slater built the nation's first cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1803 - The United States purchased the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million.
1860 - South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union as all 169 delegates to a special convention in Charleston voted in favor of separation.
1864 - Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Georgia, as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman nearly completed his “March to the Sea.”
1924 - Adolf Hitler was released from prison after serving nine months for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch.
1963 - The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.
1968 - Author John Steinbeck died at age 66.
1987 - More than 4,300 people were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.
1989 - The United States invaded Panama as part of Operation Just Cause and installed a new government but failed to capture Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega.
1995 - An American Airlines Boeing 757 en route to Cali, Colombia, slammed into a mountain, killing all but four of the 163 people aboard.
1996 - Astronomer Carl Sagan died at age 62.
1999 - The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded heterosexual couples.
2002 - Trent Lott resigned as Senate Republican leader two weeks after igniting a political firestorm with racially charged remarks.
2005 - A federal judge ruled that “intelligent design” could not be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, delivering a stinging attack on the Dover Area School Board.
2016 - President Barack Obama designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
2017 - Cardinal Bernard Law, the disgraced former archbishop of Boston, died in Rome at the age of 86; his failure to stop child molesters in the priesthood had triggered a crisis in American Catholicism.
2020 - The Trump campaign continued with its unprecedented efforts to overturn the results of the November presidential election; a petition asked the Supreme Court to reverse a trio of Pennsylvania Supreme Court cases having to do with mail-in ballots, and also asked that the state General Assembly be allowed to pick its own slate of electors.
Birthdays
27 - DaniLeigh (singer)
30 - Isabel Durant (actress)
30 - Colin Woodell (actor)
31 - India Reynolds (model)
31 - JoJo (singer)
37 - Bob Morley (singer)
38 - Jonah Hill (actor)
38 - Lara Stone (model)
38 - Lucy Pinder (model)
39 - David Cook (singer)
39 - David Wright (baseball player)
51 - Nicole deBoer (actress)
57 - Kris Tyler (singer)
58 - Joel Gretsch (actor)
64 - Billy Bragg (singer)
65 - Blanche Baker (actor)
67 - Michael Badalucco (actor)
69 - Jenny Agutter (actress)
73 - Alan Parsons (musician)
75 - Dick Wolf (producer)
76 - Peter Criss (musician)
===================================
Today in Sports History - December 20
1921 - The American League votes to return the World Series to a best-of-seven format, while the National League favors a best-of-nine; Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts the deciding vote in favor of a best-of-seven format.
1966 - The NBA granted a franchise to Seattle.
1969 - #14 Nebraska defeated Georgia 45-6 in the Sun Bowl; NU finishes the season 9-2 and ranked #11/#12 in the final polls.
1973 - Henri Richard (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 1,000th point.
1983 - Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens) became the 10th NHL player to score 500 goals.
1985 - Denis Potvin became the highest defenseman scorer when he got his 916th point.
1998 - Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) became the first NFL player to throw at least 30 touchdown passes for five seasons.
