Thursday, December 17th
The 351st day of 2009.
There are 14 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C. (Go to article.)
On Dec. 17, 1894, Arthur Fiedler, the American conductor who conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra , was born. Following his death on July 10, 1979, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On December 17, 1898, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1777 France recognized America's independence.
1830 South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar died in Colombia.
1933 In the first NFL championship game, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 at Wrigley Field.
1944 The U.S. Army announced the end of its policy of excluding Japanese-Americans from the West Coast.
1957 The United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.
1969 The U.S. Air Force closed its Project "Blue Book" by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings.
1969 An estimated 50 million viewers watched singer Tiny Tim marry Miss Vicky on NBC's "Tonight Show."
1975 Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. (She was released in August 2009.)
1986 Eugene Hasenfus, an American convicted by Nicaragua for his part in running guns to the Contras, was pardoned and released.
1989 The animated TV series "The Simpsons" premiered on Fox.
1992 President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in separate ceremonies.
1996 Kofi Annan of Ghana became United Nations secretary-general.
2002 Congo's government, rebels and opposition parties signed a peace agreement to end four years of civil war.
2004 President George W. Bush signed into law the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence-gathering in 50 years.
2005 President George W. Bush acknowledged he'd personally authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. following Sept. 11, calling it "crucial to our national security."
2007 Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a measure making New Jersey the first state to abolish the death penalty in more than 40 years.
Current Birthdays
Milla Jovovich turns 34 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg Actress Milla Jovovich turns 34 years old today.
79 Bob Guccione
Magazine publisher ("Penthouse")
79 Armin Mueller-Stahl
Actor
74 George Lindsey
Actor
73 Tommy Steele
Singer, actor
72 Art Neville
Rock musician, singer (The Neville Brothers)
66 Christopher Cazenove
Actor
65 Bernard Hill
Actor
64 Ernie Hudson
Actor
63 Eugene Levy
Actor ("American Pie" movies, "SCTV")
62 Wes Studi
Actor
61 Jim Bonfanti
Rock musician (The Raspberries)
60 Paul Rodgers
Rock singer (Bad Company)
58 Wanda Hutchinson
R&B singer (The Emotions)
56 Barry Livingston
Actor ("My Three Sons")
56 Bill Pullman
Actor
56 Sharon White
Country singer
53 Peter Farrelly
Director, producer
51 Mike Mills
Rock musician (R.E.M.)
48 Sarah Dallin
Singer (Bananarama)
47 Tim Chewning
Country musician
43 Tracy Byrd
Country singer
43 Duane Propes
Country musician
39 DJ Homicide
DJ (Sugar Ray)
39 Sean Patrick Thomas
Actor
36 Eddie Fisher
Rock musician (OneRepublic)
35 Sarah Paulson
Actress
35 Giovanni Ribisi
Actor
35 Marissa Ribisi
Actress
34 Bree Sharp
Rock singer
31 Chase Utley
Baseball player
30 Jennifer Carpenter
Actress
23 Vanessa Zima
Actress
Historic Birthdays
Arthur Fiedler
12/17/1894 - 7/10/1979
American conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
(Go to obit.)
87 Sir Roger L'Estrange
12/17/1616 - 12/11/1704
English journalist and pamphleteer
51 Domenico Cimarosa
12/17/1749 - 1/11/1801
Italian composer
80 Joseph Henry
12/17/1797 - 5/13/1878
American scientist
84 John Greenleaf Whittier
12/17/1807 - 9/7/1892
American poet and abolitionist
65 Ford Madox Ford
12/17/1873 - 6/26/1939
English novelist and editor
75 Mackenzie King
12/17/1874 - 7/22/1950
Canadian prime minister (1921-26, 1926-30, 1935-48)
60 Edwin Cohn
12/17/1892 - 10/1/1953
American biochemist
83 Erskine Caldwell
12/17/1903 - 4/11/1987
American author
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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