A Blast From The Past

Today is Dec. 24.

German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun launched the first surface-to-surface guided missile on this date in 1942. Von Braun later came to work for the United States after World War II, and in Feb. 1949, headed the team of scientists at the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico that fired the first rocket to reach outer space. The two-stage rocket was set in the nose of a German V2 missile.

It was on this date in 1990 that Iraq's Saddam Hussein reportedly threatened to attack Tel Aviv, Israel, if the U.S.-led Allies tried to retake Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. During "Operation Desert Storm," Hussein did in fact fire a few Scud missiles at Israel.

The War of 1812 officially ended on this date in 1814 when representatives of the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent.

Having been defeated for re-election the previous month, President Bush issued some very controversial Christmas Eve pardons on this date in 1992. He pardoned former Defense Secretary Weinberger and five others snared in the Reagan administration's Iran-Contra scandal of the late 1980s.

It was on this date in 1997 that a French court convicted the international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal of the 1975 murders of three men in Paris. Carlos was sentenced to life in prison.

And the bells of St. Basil's Cathedral, on Red Square in Moscow, rang to celebrate Christmas on this date in 1990. It marked the first time the bells had rung since the death of Lenin.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.

Today is Dec. 25.

The Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated today. Actually, Jesus' exact birth date isn't known --- although it's been estimated he was born in about 3 B.C. in the town of Bethlehem --- and in fact, he may've been born in the spring, not winter.

Christmas as a Feast of the Nativity dates from the 4th century, when the Western church set Dec. 25 for the feast --- possibly as a substitute for the various pagan celebrations of the time, including the Roman Saturnalia and Druidic winter solstice rites.

Speaking of Christmas, it was on this date in 1818 that the first known Christmas carol was sung at Oberndorf, Austria. It was "Silent Night, Holy Night," and it was written by organist Franz Gruber and Father Joseph Mohr, to be accompanied by guitar, because the church's pipe organ was broken.

William the Conqueror was crowned King William I of England on this date in 1066. William was the last person to invade the British Isles. He made French the language of the court and of the educated class, forever changing the way English is spoken.

On Christmas night 1989, a broadcast of a Christmas symphony on Romania's state-run television was interrupted by the news that toppled dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife and second-in-command, Elena, had been executed. Ceausescu had been ousted in a brutally fast uprising. Their deaths brought an end to the last hard-line regime in the Soviet bloc.

The United States moved quickly to officially recognize the new Romanian government.

It was on this date in 1990 that Mikhail Gorbachev was given direct control of the Soviet Cabinet and all government ministries in a major widening of his power. Exactly one year later, in 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the Soviet president. The next day, the Supreme Soviet voted to end the Soviet Union.

And it was on this date in 1997 that comedian Jerry Seinfeld announced that his popular NBC-TV sitcom "Seinfeld" would cease production at the end of the season. While the last new "Seinfeld" episode aired in May 1998, the show lives on in syndication.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.

Today is Dec. 26.

On Christmas night 1776, American forces under Gen. George Washington crossed the Delaware River under cover of darkness, and the next day, they attacked and defeated Hessian mercenary troops fighting for the British in Trenton, N.J. More than 1,000 Hessians were taken prisoner. The Battle of Trenton marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War.

The famous painting, "George Washington Crossing the Delaware," was inspired by the battle.

It was on this date in 1972 that Harry Truman, 33rd president of the United States, died at age 88. Truman had become president in April 1945 upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was re-elected in 1948 but was defeated in 1952 by World War II hero-turned-politician Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A young woman who had been the focus of a right-to-die case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court died on this date in 1990 in a Missouri hospital. Nancy Cruzan had suffered irreversible brain damage, and her family fought to have her removed from life-support systems and let her die in peace.

And it was on this date in 1996 that child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, age 6, was found slain in a basement room of her family's posh Boulder, Colo., home. Her parents had awoken that morning to find the child missing and a ransom note on the stairs. JonBenet's killing remains unsolved.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.

Today is Dec. 27.

Coordinated terrorist attacks took place on this date in 1985 at the airports in Rome and in Vienna, Austria. Gunmen opened fire on passengers waiting for flights at the Israeli airline El Al terminal, killing 20 people and wounding 110 more. President Reagan blamed the attacks on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

It was on this date in 1941 that Japanese warplanes bombed Manila in the Philippines -- even though it had been declared an "open city."

The Apollo VIII astronauts splashed down in the Pacific on this date in 1968 after orbiting the moon 10 times on Christmas Eve and Day. The first manned lunar mission paved the way for later moon LANDINGS.

The smallest of the Chukwu octuplets -- born earlier in the month in Houston, Texas -- died on this date in 1998. The babies were the first set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States.

Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City on this date in 1932.

And it was on this date in 1947 that the first "Howdy Doody" show, under the title "Puppet Playhouse," was telecast on NBC. It was one of the first TV shows for children, and the first NBC series to be shown in color. The show was set in the circus town of Doodyville, which was populated by people and puppets. Children sat in the "Peanut Gallery" and took part in activities on the show, such as songs and stories. The host was "Buffalo" Bob Smith.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.

Today is Dec. 28.

The first U.S. vice president to resign did so on this date in 1832. John Calhoun had served as vice president to two American presidents, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. However, he found himself increasingly in disagreement with Jackson and decided to step down instead. Calhoun would spend much of the rest of his political life as a U.S. senator for South Carolina.

It was on this date in 1950 that advancing Chinese troops crossed the 38th Parallel -- dividing line between North and South Korea -- to help the communist North Koreans fight American-led United Nations forces.

The ancient town of Messina, Sicily, was partially destroyed on this date in 1908 by an earthquake. Nearly 80,000 people were killed in the disaster.

This was a bad time to be a chicken in Hong Kong. It was on this date in 1997 that officials in Hong Kong announced that all chickens in the territory would be killed in an attempt to eradicate carriers of the avian flu, which had killed several people.

And it was on this date in 1732 that the Pennsylvania Gazette carried the first known advertisement for the first issue of "Poor Richard's Almanack," by Richard Saunders (Benjamin Franklin). America's most famous almanac was published through the year 1758 and has been imitated many times since.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.

Today is Dec. 29.

The Wounded Knee Massacre took place on this date in 1890. More than 200 Indian men, women and children were massacred by the U.S. 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee Creek, S.D. Government efforts to suppress a religious practice known as the Ghost Dance (which would make white men disappear and bring back the Indian way of life) had led to the death of Chief Sitting Bull two weeks earlier, further inflaming disgruntled Indians and resulting in the slaughter at Wounded Knee.

It was on this date in 1916, that Russian monk and mystic Rasputin -- an influential favorite of the Romanov court -- was shot to death and his body thrown into the ice-covered Neva River after an attempt to poison him failed. Rasputin, born Grigori Effimovich Novjkh in Siberia about 1870, was notoriously corrupt. In fact, "Rasputin" is a nickname from the Russian word "rasputny," meaning debauched, profligate, licentious.

Thomas a' Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered at Canterbury Cathedral in England on this date in 1170.

The first U.S. chapter of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) opened in Boston on this date in 1851. It was modeled after an organization begun in London in 1844.

A mass defection from Cuba took place on this date in 1992. A Cuban airliner was hijacked to Miami, and 48 of the 53 people aboard asked for and were granted political asylum.

The "home alone" case out of suburban Chicago first made headlines on this date, also in 1992. A couple returning from a nine-day Mexican vacation was arrested as they got off the plane at Chicago O'Hare International Airport for leaving their young daughters at home alone. The kids were placed in a foster home, and the couple later gave them up for adoption.

And gaslights were installed at the White House for the first time on this date in 1848.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.

Today is Dec. 30.

A few days ago, we told you about the end of the Soviet Union. It was on this date in 1922, at the first Soviet Congress, that Russia, Ukraine and two other Soviet republics signed a treaty -- creating the Soviet Union.

It was on this date in 1972 that President Nixon once again ordered a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam, and announced that peace talks with the Hanoi government would resume in Paris in January. Those negotiations would be successful -- leading to the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War in early 1973 and the release of American POWs held by Hanoi.

602 people were killed on this date in 1903, when flames swept the Iroquois Theater in Chicago. The fire led to safety regulations for theaters around the world.

19 years after the assassination of John Lennon, an attack on another former Beatle made the news. It was on this date in 1999 that a mentally ill man broke into George Harrison's mansion and attacked him and his wife. Harrison suffered serious stab wounds but recovered.

The Union ironclad ship USS Monitor achieved fame after its battle with the Confederate vessel Merrimac. But it was on this date in 1862 that the Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C., during a storm. 16 members of the crew were lost.

The U.S.A. grew a bit on this date in 1853, when the United States bought 45,000 square miles of land along the Gila River from Mexico. The price tag: $10 million. The area is now southern Arizona and New Mexico.

Newt Gingrich was poised to become the next House Speaker. But first he was embroiled in a controversy surrounding his acceptance of a $4.5 million advance from HarperCollins Publishing Inc. for two books. It was on this date in 1995 that the Republican congressman from Georgia announced he would give up the money but still write the books.

And it was on this date in 1992 that Ling-Ling -- the giant female panda who delighted visitors to Washington's National Zoo for more than two decades -- died of heart failure.

We now return you to the present, already in progress.