- 1520: Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that
he recant, or face excommunication.
- 1817: Mississippi became the 20th state of the United States.
- 1851: Melvil Dewey, American librarian, was born. He devised a
system of classification for library books used in libraries all
over the world.
- 1868: The world's first traffic lights, built off London's
Parliament Square, began operation.
- 1869: Wyoming became the first American state to grant suffrage to
women when the territorial legislature decided to extend the vote
to women.
- 1898: The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Spanish-American
War.
- 1901: The king of Sweden distributed the first Nobel Prizes, in
accordance with the will of inventor Alfred Nobel. The first prizes
were awarded to Jean Henri Dunant and Frederic Passy.
- 1905: O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi" was published.
- 1906: President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to be
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1927: Radio announcer George Hay christened the WSM Barn Dance
broadcast "The Grand Ole Opry."
- 1930: Duke Ellington and his Orchestra recorded "Mood Indigo" on
Victor Records.
- 1931: Jane Addams became a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize,
the first American woman so honored.
- 1936: England's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry
American Wallis Simpson.
- 1938: Filming on "Gone With The Wind" began on the David O.
Selznick studio lot.
- 1946: The Toys For Tots Campaign was organized.
- 1950: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, undersecretary of the U.N., became the
first black to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1953: Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine first went on sale, containing
a photo of Marilyn Monroe. Hefner's investment was $7,600.
- 1958: The first domestic passenger jet flight took place in the
U.S. as a National Airlines Boeing 707 flew 111 passengers from New
York to Miami.
- 1963: Donny Osmond made his debut with the Osmonds on NBC's "Andy
Williams Show."
- 1964: Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received the
Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1965: The Warlocks adopted their new name, the Grateful Dead, for
their show at the Fillmore in San Francisco.
- 1967: Otis Redding was killed in a plane crash in Wisconsin. He had
just recorded what would become his biggest hit, "Sittin' on the
Dock of the Bay."
- 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas" the charity single by the
all-star group Band Aid, was released. It entered the U.K. pop
chart at No. 1, becoming the biggest-selling record of all time in
Britain.
- 1990: The Food and Drug Administration approved Norplant, a
long-acting contraceptive implant.
- 1994: Advertising executive Thomas J. Mosser of North Caldwell,
N.J., was killed by a mail bomb linked to a 16-year-old series of
bombings code-named "Unabomb" by FBI.
- 1996: President Nelson Mandela signed into law a new constitution
for South Africa, legally entrenching racial equality.
- 1997: Jordan recalled its charge d'affaires in Baghdad and sharply
cut Iraq's diplomatic presence in Amman in retaliation against
Baghdad's execution of four Jordanians.
*Happy Birthday*
----------------
- Kenneth Branagh, 38, actor/director
- Susan Dey, 46, actress, "The Partridge Family"
- Nia Peeples, 37, actress/R&B singer
- Raven-Symone Peerman, 13, actress, "The Cosby Show"