December 23
1783 - George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army.
1788 - Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the District of Columbia.
1823 - The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ("Twas the night before Christmas"), was published in the Troy Sentinel of New York.
1913 - President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the Federal Reserve System.
1928 - The National Broadcasting Company set up a permanent, coast-to-coast network.
1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt restored the civil rights of about 1,500 people who had been jailed for opposing World War I.
1941 - American forces on Wake Island surrendered to Japanese forces during World War II.
1947 - The transistor was unveiled by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley.
1948 - Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo.
1954 - The first successful human kidney transplant took place at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston as a surgical team removed a kidney from 23-year-old Rodney Herrick and implanted it in Herrick's twin brother, Richard.
1967 - President Lyndon B. Johnson, on his way home from a visit to Australia and Southeast Asia, held an unprecedented meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican; during the two-hour conference, Johnson asked the pope for help in bringing a peaceful end to the Vietnam War.
1968 - 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.
1986 - Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling aboard the experimental airplane "Voyager".
1995 - A fire in Dabwali, India killed 540 people, including 170 children, during a year-end party being held near the children's school.
1997 - A federal jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2003 - The U.S. government announced the first suspected case of mad cow disease in the United States.
2003 - A jury in Chesapeake, Virginia sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty.
2009 - The parents who pulled the "balloon boy" hoax in hopes of landing a reality TV show, were sentenced to jail by a judge in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Birthdays
23 - Reed Alexander (actor)
23 - Isabella Castillo (actress)
26 - Liz Nolan (reality star)
26 - Sofia Black D'elia (actress)
27 - Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (actress)
34 - Danielle Busby (reality star)
34 - Hanley Ramirez (baseball player)
38 - Holly Madison (model)
39 - Jodie Marsh (model)
52 - Martin Kratt (TV host)
53 - Eddie Vedder (singer)
54 - Jim Harbaugh (football coach)
71 - Susan Lucci (actress)
============================================
Today in Sports History - December 23
1933 - Howie Morenz becomes the NHL's all-time goals leader with 251.
1946 - The University of Tennessee refuses to play Duquesne University because Duquesne used an African American player on its men's basketball roster.
1951 - The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-17 in the NFL championship, and the first game televised live coast-to-coast in the United States.
1962 - The Dallas Texans defeated the Houston Oilers 20-17 in the AFL championship game.
1972 - The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13-7 in an NFL playoff game on a last-second touchdown catch by Franco Harris that was dubbed the "immaculate reception".
1972 - The New York Islanders end a 15-game winless streak.
1975 - A landmark decision by Peter Seitz begins a new era in major league baseball as the arbitrator's judgment makes pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally the first true free-agents in baseball history.
1978 - New York Islanders score 7 goals in one period against the New York Rangers, Trottier scores 8 points, five goals-NHL record six points in one period.
1991 - Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll retired after 23 seasons and four Super Bowl titles.
1994 - Baseball owners vote to impose a salary cap, which is fiercely opposed by the players' union.
1997 - Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls wins his 500th game as a head coach in his 682nd game, the fastest to 500 in NBA history.
1997 - Colorado Avalanche player Jari Kurri is 8th NHL player to score 600 career goals.
2007 - The New England Patriots set an NFL record with their 15th regular-season win, setting the mark for best start to a season in NFL history (15-0).
1783 - George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army.
1788 - Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the District of Columbia.
1823 - The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ("Twas the night before Christmas"), was published in the Troy Sentinel of New York.
1913 - President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the Federal Reserve System.
1928 - The National Broadcasting Company set up a permanent, coast-to-coast network.
1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt restored the civil rights of about 1,500 people who had been jailed for opposing World War I.
1941 - American forces on Wake Island surrendered to Japanese forces during World War II.
1947 - The transistor was unveiled by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley.
1948 - Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo.
1954 - The first successful human kidney transplant took place at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston as a surgical team removed a kidney from 23-year-old Rodney Herrick and implanted it in Herrick's twin brother, Richard.
1967 - President Lyndon B. Johnson, on his way home from a visit to Australia and Southeast Asia, held an unprecedented meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican; during the two-hour conference, Johnson asked the pope for help in bringing a peaceful end to the Vietnam War.
1968 - 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.
1986 - Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling aboard the experimental airplane "Voyager".
1995 - A fire in Dabwali, India killed 540 people, including 170 children, during a year-end party being held near the children's school.
1997 - A federal jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2003 - The U.S. government announced the first suspected case of mad cow disease in the United States.
2003 - A jury in Chesapeake, Virginia sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty.
2009 - The parents who pulled the "balloon boy" hoax in hopes of landing a reality TV show, were sentenced to jail by a judge in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Birthdays
23 - Reed Alexander (actor)
23 - Isabella Castillo (actress)
26 - Liz Nolan (reality star)
26 - Sofia Black D'elia (actress)
27 - Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (actress)
34 - Danielle Busby (reality star)
34 - Hanley Ramirez (baseball player)
38 - Holly Madison (model)
39 - Jodie Marsh (model)
52 - Martin Kratt (TV host)
53 - Eddie Vedder (singer)
54 - Jim Harbaugh (football coach)
71 - Susan Lucci (actress)
============================================
Today in Sports History - December 23
1933 - Howie Morenz becomes the NHL's all-time goals leader with 251.
1946 - The University of Tennessee refuses to play Duquesne University because Duquesne used an African American player on its men's basketball roster.
1951 - The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-17 in the NFL championship, and the first game televised live coast-to-coast in the United States.
1962 - The Dallas Texans defeated the Houston Oilers 20-17 in the AFL championship game.
1972 - The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13-7 in an NFL playoff game on a last-second touchdown catch by Franco Harris that was dubbed the "immaculate reception".
1972 - The New York Islanders end a 15-game winless streak.
1975 - A landmark decision by Peter Seitz begins a new era in major league baseball as the arbitrator's judgment makes pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally the first true free-agents in baseball history.
1978 - New York Islanders score 7 goals in one period against the New York Rangers, Trottier scores 8 points, five goals-NHL record six points in one period.
1991 - Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll retired after 23 seasons and four Super Bowl titles.
1994 - Baseball owners vote to impose a salary cap, which is fiercely opposed by the players' union.
1997 - Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls wins his 500th game as a head coach in his 682nd game, the fastest to 500 in NBA history.
1997 - Colorado Avalanche player Jari Kurri is 8th NHL player to score 600 career goals.
2007 - The New England Patriots set an NFL record with their 15th regular-season win, setting the mark for best start to a season in NFL history (15-0).
