December 23
1783 - George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army.
1788 - Maryland voted to cede an area of land 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.
1941 - American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese during World War II.
1947 - The transistor was unveiled by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brittain and William Shockley.
1948 - Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed.
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 Ronald Herrick and implanted it in Herrick's twin brother, Richard.
1962 - Cuba began releasing prisoners from the failed Bay of Pigs invasion under an agreement in which Cuba received more than $50 million worth of food and medical supplies.
1968 - 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.
1972 - A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Nicaragua; the disaster claimed some 5,000 lives.
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. (Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)
2003 - The government announced the first suspected case of mad cow disease in United States.
2003 - A jury in Chesapeake, Virginia, sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty.
2004 - Former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. (He served 10 months in prison.)
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.
2011 - After days of stalemate and rancor, Congress approved a two-month renewal of payroll tax cuts for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits for millions; President Barack Obama immediately signed the bill into law.
2016 - The United States allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law; the decision to abstain from the council’s 14-0 vote was one of the biggest American rebukes of its longstanding ally in recent memory.
2020 - Pfizer said it would supply the U.S. government with an additional 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine under a new agreement between the pharmaceutical giant and the Trump administration.
Birthdays
23 - Tori Keeth (actress)
28 - Caleb Foote (actor)
29 - Spencer Daniels (actor)
31 - Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (actress)
34 - Elvy Yost (actress)
42 - Holly Madison (reality star/model)
43 - Estella Warren (actress)
54 - Carla Bruni (model/former first lady of France)
57 - Eddie Vedder (singer)
58 - Jim Harbaugh (football coach)
58 - Terry Weeks (singer)
63 - Joan Severance (actress)
75 - Susan Lucci (actress)
85 - Frederic Forrest (actor)
90 - Ronnie Schell (actor)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - December 23
1951 - A NFL championship game was televised nationally for the first time. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cleveland Browns 24-17. The DuMont Network had paid $75,000 for the rights to the 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."
1991 - Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll retired after 23 seasons and had guided the franchise to four Super Bowl victories.
1997 - Jari Kurri (Colorado Avalanche) became the 8th NHL player to score 600 goals.
1997 - Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson becomes the fastest to reach 500 wins in NBA history (682 games).
1783 - George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army.
1788 - Maryland voted to cede an area of land 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.
1941 - American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese during World War II.
1947 - The transistor was unveiled by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brittain and William Shockley.
1948 - Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed.
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 Ronald Herrick and implanted it in Herrick's twin brother, Richard.
1962 - Cuba began releasing prisoners from the failed Bay of Pigs invasion under an agreement in which Cuba received more than $50 million worth of food and medical supplies.
1968 - 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.
1972 - A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Nicaragua; the disaster claimed some 5,000 lives.
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. (Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)
2003 - The government announced the first suspected case of mad cow disease in United States.
2003 - A jury in Chesapeake, Virginia, sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty.
2004 - Former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. (He served 10 months in prison.)
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.
2011 - After days of stalemate and rancor, Congress approved a two-month renewal of payroll tax cuts for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits for millions; President Barack Obama immediately signed the bill into law.
2016 - The United States allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law; the decision to abstain from the council’s 14-0 vote was one of the biggest American rebukes of its longstanding ally in recent memory.
2020 - Pfizer said it would supply the U.S. government with an additional 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine under a new agreement between the pharmaceutical giant and the Trump administration.
Birthdays
23 - Tori Keeth (actress)
28 - Caleb Foote (actor)
29 - Spencer Daniels (actor)
31 - Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (actress)
34 - Elvy Yost (actress)
42 - Holly Madison (reality star/model)
43 - Estella Warren (actress)
54 - Carla Bruni (model/former first lady of France)
57 - Eddie Vedder (singer)
58 - Jim Harbaugh (football coach)
58 - Terry Weeks (singer)
63 - Joan Severance (actress)
75 - Susan Lucci (actress)
85 - Frederic Forrest (actor)
90 - Ronnie Schell (actor)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - December 23
1951 - A NFL championship game was televised nationally for the first time. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cleveland Browns 24-17. The DuMont Network had paid $75,000 for the rights to the 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."
1991 - Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll retired after 23 seasons and had guided the franchise to four Super Bowl victories.
1997 - Jari Kurri (Colorado Avalanche) became the 8th NHL player to score 600 goals.
1997 - Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson becomes the fastest to reach 500 wins in NBA history (682 games).
