# Today in History **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530 "2016-07-10T04:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/322 "2016-12-20T15:58:45Z")
December 20, 1946 –\* It’s a Wonderful Life\* is first released in New York City. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/323 "2016-12-21T05:26:00Z")
**December 21, 1923** : The French airship [\*Dixmude](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixmude_(airship))\*is struck by lightning and explodes killing all 52 aboard. At the time it was the deadliest airship accident ever to have occurred. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/324 "2016-12-21T06:46:22Z")
**December 21, 1988:** Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, as well as 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/325 "2016-12-21T12:56:08Z")
**December 21, 1913:** Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, is published in the _New York World._ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/326 "2016-12-21T15:33:49Z")
December 21, 1919 – American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/327 "2016-12-22T04:54:53Z")
**December 21, 1913:** The first crossword puzzle – with 32 clues – is printed in the _New York World_. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/328 "2016-12-22T12:43:12Z")
**December 22, 1989:** Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/329 "2016-12-22T13:40:41Z")
**December 22, 856** : [The Damghan earthquake](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/856_Damghan_earthquake&ved=0ahUKEwicwaOV9YfRAhWp34MKHfcJCncQFggtMAM&usg=AFQjCNFbj-H-YWaA7msvQ0iazBHG5YL0ww&sig2=RIfpT7ZuYbfcySFs-LfLHQ) in Persia kills 200,000-- one of history’s deadliest natural natural disasters. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/330 "2016-12-22T15:45:51Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > **December 21, 1913:** The first crossword puzzle – with 32 clues – is printed in the _New York World_. Psst. Look two posts above. December 22, 1807 – The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by Congress at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/331 "2016-12-23T05:29:41Z")
\*\*December 23, 1972 \*\*: The last survivors of [Uruguayan Flight 571](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nUj1XaBbLsU)are rescued in the Andes. They had managed to stay alive in sub-zero temperatures and harsh conditions for over two months, even resorting to cannibalism to avoid starvation. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/332 "2016-12-23T10:19:48Z")
December 23, 1970: The North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/333 "2016-12-24T04:54:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Psst. Look two posts above. D’oh! :smack: Time to get new glasses. **December 23, 1888:** Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor and sends it to a prostitute for safekeeping. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/334 "2016-12-24T05:20:38Z")
**December 24, 1945** : Faulty electrical wiring causes a house fire in Fayetteville, West Virginia that claims the life of five children in the Sodder family. [Or _was it arson?_](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodder_children_disappearance&ved=0ahUKEwiJsYDMhozRAhVIKiYKHR_iASUQFggbMAA&usg=AFQjCNGNKmO430GpVOLVPllrLvBZkqU0lg&sig2=qA7VLQSoSKiDx7EB7IY2HA) And [_did the children really die that night?_](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.wvgazettemail.com/News/201312230105&ved=0ahUKEwjU5-v3iIzRAhUJWCYKHaHCAAUQFghrMAc&usg=AFQjCNGSWrdB-e04QpP-5B8azqR_tMlwBg&sig2=Sovi_kNh7S9GALMLZC5s2A) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/335 "2016-12-24T13:36:11Z")
**December 24, 1968:** The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/336 "2016-12-24T20:45:24Z")
**December 24, 1818:** “Silent Night,” composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, is sung for the first time at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/337 "2016-12-25T05:10:10Z")
**December 25, 1914** : [The Christmas Truce](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-story-of-the-wwi-christmas-truce-11972213/&ved=0ahUKEwjQwfT3x47RAhWC7iYKHSMcDx4Q1ScIqgEwFQ&usg=AFQjCNHy02pkCvFbgumlC9faFNBkM-k6JQ&sig2=43_pA3ht8pg1_4iFRWkM4g) (much to the dismay of some military leaders) led to group carols, gift exchanges, supply sharing and even a soccer game or two between English and German troops from opposite trenches during WW1. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/338 "2016-12-25T06:13:56Z")
**December 25, 1991:** Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/339 "2016-12-25T17:40:00Z")
**December 25, AD 800:** Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/340 "2016-12-26T05:52:30Z")
**December 26, 1943** : [The Battle of North Cape](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.warhistoryonline.com/featured/battle-north-cape-utter-destruction-battleship-scharnhorst.html&ved=0ahUKEwjYiMDUk5HRAhWG2SYKHQjmBrEQFgiVATAU&usg=AFQjCNHexcVTHTnTy0wTpm0rF2EuT11c7g&sig2=HQKLxsiiu2iDMUl4N-6mOw) led to the sinking of the German battleship \*Scharnhorst \*in the cold arctic waters of the North Atlantic. Nearly 2000 of her crew died. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530/341 "2016-12-26T08:58:18Z")
**December 26, 1963:** The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-history/759530.md?page=18)