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Andrews McMeel Almanac for December 26, 2014

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | December 26th, 2014

Today is the 360th day of 2014 and the sixth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1776, after staging a surprise attack, George Washington and the Continental Army scored a major upset victory over the British in the Battle of Trenton.

In 1908, boxer Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns, becoming the first African-American heavyweight champion.

In 1966, the pan-African holiday Kwanzaa, founded by UCLA professor Maulana Karenga, was celebrated for the first time.

In 2004, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami that claimed the lives of at least 226,000 in Southeast Asia and east Africa.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Gray (1716-1771), poet; Charles Babbage (1791-1871), mathematician/inventor; Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Chinese leader; Richard Widmark (1914-2008), actor; Steve Allen (1921-2000), entertainer; Alan King (1927-2004), actor/comedian; John Walsh (1945- ), TV personality/activist; Ozzie Smith (1954- ), baseball player; David Sedaris (1956- ), writer; Lars Ulrich (1963- ), musician; Jared Leto (1971- ), actor/musician; Chris Daughtry (1979- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Despite its impact in the Colonies, the Battle of Trenton was fought by relatively small numbers on both sides -- an estimated 2,400 Continental Army soldiers defeated the 1,500-strong British/Hessian garrison.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1919, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Real love amounts to withholding the truth, even when you're offered the perfect opportunity to hurt someone's feelings." -- David Sedaris, "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $700 million -- estimated amount Americans donated, privately or via corporations, to the 2004 tsunami relief efforts.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 21) and first quarter moon (Dec. 28).

oddities

Andrews McMeel Almanac for December 25, 2014

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | December 25th, 2014

Today is the 359th day of 2014 and the fifth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1868, President Andrew Johnson unconditionally pardoned all those who had participated in the Southern rebellion that led to the Civil War.

In 1974, 25-year-old Marshall Fields crashed his car through a White House gate and threatened to detonate a bomb; he surrendered after a four-hour standoff.

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee launched the first World Wide Web server.

In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president. The Soviet Union was officially dissolved the next day.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), scientist; Clara Barton (1821-1912), American Red Cross founder; Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), actor; Cab Calloway (1907-1994), bandleader/singer; Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), Egyptian president; Rod Serling (1924-1975), screenwriter/producer; Jimmy Buffett (1946- ), singer-songwriter; Sissy Spacek (1949- ), actress; Karl Rove (1950- ), political strategist; Annie Lennox (1954- ), singer; Rickey Henderson (1958- ), baseball player.

TODAY'S FACT: Americans spent $46.5 billion shopping online during the holiday season in 2013.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1989, former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin died in an automobile accident.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "You must never so much think as whether you like it or not, whether it is bearable or not; you must never think of anything except the need, and how to meet it." -- Clara Barton

TODAY'S NUMBER: $0 -- amount Tim Berners-Lee charges to let people use his Web innovations, including HTML, URLs and HTTP.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 21) and first quarter moon (Dec. 28).

oddities

Andrews McMeel Almanac for December 24, 2014

Andrews McMeel Almanac by by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
by the Editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Andrews McMeel Almanac | December 24th, 2014

Today is the 358th day of 2014 and the fourth day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1943, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander.

In 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first humans to orbit the moon.

In 1973, Congress passed legislation allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to elect a mayor and council with limited authority.

In 1992, President George Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others associated with the Iran-Contra scandal.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Kit Carson (1809-1868), Army scout/frontiersman; Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), poet/critic; Howard Hughes (1905-1976), businessman/aviator/film producer; Ava Gardner (1922-1990), actress; Mary Higgins Clark (1927- ), author; Robert Joffrey (1930-1988), dancer/choreographer; Kate Spade (1962- ), fashion designer; Ricky Martin (1971- ), singer/actor; Stephenie Meyer (1973- ), author; Ryan Seacrest (1974- ), TV/radio personality.

TODAY'S FACT: Kit Carson left his apprenticeship as a saddle and harness maker to join a wagon train headed west when he was 15 years old.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1950, the Cleveland Browns won the NFL championship by defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 30-28, when Lou "The Toe" Groza kicked a field goal with 20 seconds left.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Come to me in my dreams, and then /

By day I shall be well again. / For then the night will more than pay / The hopeless longing of the day." -- Matthew Arnold

TODAY'S NUMBER: 5 -- Academy Awards won by "The Aviator," a 2004 film based on the life of Howard Hughes. The film received 11 nominations.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 21) and first quarter moon (Dec. 28).

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