Tuesday, December 29th
The 363rd day of 2009.
There are 2 days left in the year.
Go to a previous date.
Go to lesson
Today's Highlights in History
On Dec. 29, On Dec. 29, 1940, during World War II, Germany began dropping incendiary bombs on London. (Go to article.)
On Dec. 29, 1808, Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States and the first American president to be impeached, was born. Following his death on July 31, 1875, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On December 29, 1906, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Theodore Roosevelt's appointment of Attorney General William Moody to the U.S. Supreme Court. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in England.
1808 Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, was born in Raleigh, N.C.
1809 British Prime Minister William E. Gladstone was born in Liverpool.
1845 Texas was admitted to the union as the 28th state.
1851 The first American Young Men's Christian Association was organized, in Boston.
1890 U.S. troops killed as many as 400 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee, S.D.
1916 Gregory Rasputin, the monk who had wielded powerful influence over the Russian court, was murdered by a group of noblemen.
1934 Japan renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
1975 A bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people.
1986 Former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan died at age 92.
1989 Playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia by the country's Federal Assembly, becoming the first non-Communist to hold the post in more than four decades.
1996 War-weary guerrilla and government leaders in Guatemala signed an accord ending 36 years of civil conflict.
1998 Khmer Rouge leaders apologized for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed 1 million lives.
1999 The Nasdaq composite index closed above 4,000 for the first time, ending the day at 4,041.46.
2007 The New England Patriots became the first NFL team in 35 years to finish the regular season undefeated when they beat the New York Giants 38-35 to go 16-0.
Current Birthdays
Jon Voight turns 71 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer Actor Jon Voight turns 71 years old today.
92 Clarence Swensen
Actor ("The Wizard of Oz")
77 Inga Swenson
Actress ("Benson")
75 Tom Jarriel
Broadcast journalist
72 Mary Tyler Moore
Actress
69 Ed Bruce
Country singer, actor
68 Ray Thomas
Flutist (The Moody Blues)
63 Marianne Faithfull
Rock singer
62 Ted Danson
Actor ("Cheers," "Becker")
59 Jon Polito
Actor
58 Yvonne Elliman
Singer, actress
50 Paula Poundstone
Comedian
48 Jim Reid
Rock singer, musician (The Jesus and Mary Chain)
46 Sean Payton
Football coach
44 Dexter Holland
Rock singer (The Offspring)
43 Mystro Clark
Actor, comedian
43 Jason Gould
Actor
42 Andy Wachowski
Director ("Matrix" films)
40 Jennifer Ehle
Actress
39 Glen Phillips
Rock musician
39 Kevin Weisman
Actor ("Alias")
37 Jude Law
Actor
35 Mekhi Phifer
Actor ("ER")
34 Shawn Hatosy
Actor
32 Laveranues Coles
Football player
30 Diego Luna
Actor
26 Jessica Andrews
Country singer
Historic Birthdays
Andrew Johnson
12/29/1808 - 7/31/1875
17th President of the United States (1865-69)
(Go to obit.)
75 William Gaddis
12/29/1922 - 12/16/1998
American novelist
76 Klaus Fuchs
12/29/1911 - 1/28/1988
German-born American physicist and spy
86 Jess Willard
12/29/1881 - 12/15/1968
American prizefighter
56 William Mitchell
12/29/1879 - 2/19/1936
U.S. Army officer and early advocate of a separate air force
96 Pablo Casals
12/29/1876 - 10/22/1973
Spanish cellist and conductor
88 William Gladstone
12/29/1809 - 5/19/1898
English statesman and four-time prime minister (1868-74, 1880-85, 1886, 1892-94)
59 Charles Goodyear
12/29/1800 - 7/1/1860
American inventor; pioneered commercial use of rubber
76 Charles Macintosh
12/29/1766 - 7/25/1843
Scottish chemist and inventor
42 Jeanne-Antoinette Pompadour
12/29/1721 - 4/15/1764
French mistress of Louis XV
Go to a previous date.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
Front Page Image Provided by UMI
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Children's Privacy Notice