Notable Historical Events In December 29

Today is Sunday, Dec. 29, the 363rd day of 2013. There are two days left in the year. On Dec. 29, 1913, the first true “cliffhanger” movie serial,
“The Adventures of Kathlyn,” starring Kathlyn Williams, premiered.

On this date:

In 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II.

In 1808, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, N.C.

In 1812, during the War of 1812, the American frigate USS Constitution engaged and severely damaged the British frigate HMS Java off Brazil.

In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state.

In 1934, Japan formally renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.

In 1940, during World War II, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as “The Second Great Fire of London.”

In 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, crashed into the Florida Everglades near Miami International Airport, killing 101 of the 176 people aboard.

In 1975, a bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people.

In 1986, former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan died at his home south of London at age 92.

Ten years ago: Monsignor Michael Courtney, Pope John Paul II’s ambassador in Burundi (boo-ROON’-dee), was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen. Actor Earl Hindman (HYND’-man), who’d played the mostly unseen neighbor Wilson on “Home Improvement,” died in Stamford, Conn., at age 61.

Five years ago: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer responded to impeachment charges, saying a vague array of charges and evidence did not merit removing his client from office. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf resigned, saying he had lost control of the country to Islamic insurgents.

The African Union suspended Guinea after a coup in the West African nation. Grammy-winning jazz musician Freddie Hubbard died in Sherman Oaks, Calif., at age 70. French fashion designer Ted Lapidus died in Cannes at age 79.

One year ago: Maine’s same-sex marriage law went into effect. Shocked Indians mourned the death of a woman who’d been gang-raped and beaten on a bus in New Delhi nearly two weeks earlier; six suspects were charged with murder. (Four were later sentenced to death; one died in prison; the sixth, a juvenile at the time of the attack, was sentenced to a maximum of three years in a reform home.)

Thought for Today: “The wise man must be wise before, not after.” Sicilian Greek comic poet (? - c.450 B.C.)