December 24, 2023
QUOTE
Laughter is the closest distance between two people.
--Victor Borge
BIRTHDAYS
1732 – Richard Arkwright, English businessman and inventor, invented the Water frame and Spinning frame
1843 – Richard Conner, Sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
1907 – James Roosevelt, General and politician
1935 – Paul Hornung, Football player and sportscaster
1946 – Susan Lucci, Actress
IN MEMORY
1193 – Thorlak, patron saint of Iceland
1884 – John Chisum, Businessman and poker player
1939 – Anthony Fokker, Indonesia-born Dutch pilot and engineer, designed the Fokker Dr.I and Fokker D.VII
1982 – Jack Webb, Actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
2000 – Victor Borge, Comedian, pianist, and conductor
IN ON THIS DAY
484 – The Arian Vandal Kingdom ceases its persecution of Nicene Christianity.
1783 – George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.
1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System.
1941 –After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupies Wake Island.
1954 – First successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.
1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 417 metres (1,368 ft), making it the tallest building in the world.
1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.