This Day in History
In Alaska
• In 1935, William Monroe, Klondike gold rusher and builder of a railroad from Nome to Anvil Creek, died at the age of 94. (He was also the founder of the city of Monrovia in California.)
• In 1967, one hundred and fifty-seven technicians and clerks went on strike at the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Center site at Clear, Alaska. (The BMEWS remained in operation.)
In the nation
• In 1776, the British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
• In 1799, George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
• In 1917, during World War I, the U.S. government took over operation of the nation's railroads.
• In 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
• In 1944, Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie" was first performed publicly, at the Civic Theatre in Chicago.
• In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo.
• In 1974, comedian Jack Benny died in Los Angeles at age 80.
• In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colo. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved.)
• In 1999, soul singer and songwriter Curtis Mayfield died in Roswell, Ga., at age 57.
• In 2000, Michael McDermott, an employee at an Internet firm in Wakefield, Mass., shot and killed seven co-workers. (McDermott was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.)
• In 2003, three snowboarders were killed in an avalanche in Provo Canyon, Utah.
In the world
• In 1839, Charles John Seghers, who became the Catholic Bishop of Vancouver Island, was born in Belgium.
• In 1893, Chinese leader Mao Zedong was born in Hunan province.
• In 1944, in the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.