Today in History

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg was born November 27, 1957. She is an American author, attorney, and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. She is a member of the Kennedy family and the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Her father was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.

Dec. 2, 1804: Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of France in Paris.

December 4, 1872: The Mary Celeste is discovered abandoned in the Atlantic. The ten people known to have been aboard are gone.

December 7, 1703: The Great storm of 1703 kills between 8000-15000 in Britain.

December 17, 1903: The Wright Brothers first take to the air over Kitty Hawk, N.C. in powered flight.

December 19, 1777: Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army begin their long, difficult winter encampment at Valley Forge, near Philadelphia, Pa.

December 28, 1946

The French declare martial law in Vietnam as a full-scale war appears inevitable.

January 3, 1776 - General George Washington’s army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey.

That was actually 1777:

An excellent modern image of the battle:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Washington-at-Battle-of-Princeton-1777-by-Don-Troiani-/260434597889

Jan 9, 1967 - Georgia legislature seats Representative Julian Bond

February 5, 1723: Rev. John Witherspoon, the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, is born in Scotland.

2/13/1633 Astronomer Galileo in Rome for Inquisition trial] - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to stand trial for advocating that the Earth revolves around the Sun, a criminal heresy to the Roman Catholic Inquisition. Galileo will be found “vehemently suspect of heresy” and sentenced to indefinite house arrest, where he will remain until his death.

February 19, 1884: The Enigma tornado outbreak spawns over 60 tornadoes in the southeastern United States. The official death toll is 178, but the actual number is estimated by many to be as high as 1200. This would make the Enigma outbreak the deadliest in US history.

March 4, 1791: Vermont, an independent republic since 1777, joins the Union as the first state after the original thirteen.

March 6, 1836: The Alamo fell after a thirteen day siege.

March 25, 1655: Christiaan Huygens discovers Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

March 25, 1911: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City kills 146.

March 26, 1954: The Castle Romeo Test

March 27, 1964

Strongest quake in US history slams Alaska

The afternoon calm of Good Friday is shattered as a massively powerful 9.2 magnitude megathrust earthquake hits 78 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska. Fifteen people are killed by the earthquake itself, but tsunamis triggered by the quake will claim 124 additional victims, some as far away as California.

April 1, 1873: The SS Atlantic sinks off the coast of Nova Scotia. 535 passengers and crew are lost.