December 20
1790 - Samuel Slater built the nation's first cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1803 - The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million.
1860 - South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.
1864 - Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Georgia, as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman nearly completed his “March to the Sea.”
1945 - The Office of Price Administration announced the end of wartime tire rationing, effective Jan. 1, 1946.
1963 - The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.
1968 - Author John Steinbeck died at age 66.
1987 - More than 4,300 people were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.
1989 - The United States launched Operation Just Cause and invaded Panama and installed a new government but failed to capture Gen. Manuel Noriega.
1995 - An American Airlines Boeing 757 en route to Cali, Colombia, slammed into a mountain, killing all but four of the 163 people aboard.
1996 - Astronomer Carl Sagan died at age 62.
1999 - The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that gay couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded heterosexual couples.
2001 - The U.N. Security Council authorized a multinational force for Afghanistan.
2002 - Trent Lott resigned as Senate Republican leader two weeks after igniting a political firestorm with racially charged remarks.
2016 - President Barack Obama designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
2017 - Cardinal Bernard Law, the disgraced former archbishop of Boston, died in Rome at the age of 86; his failure to stop child molesters in the priesthood had triggered a crisis in American Catholicism.
Birthdays
32 - Colin Woodell (actor)
32 - Isabel Durant (actress)
33 - JoJo (singer)
33 - India Reynolds (model)
39 - Bob Morley (singer)
40 - Jonah Hill (actor)
41 - David Cook (singer)
53 - Nicole deBoer (actress)
57 - Chris Robinson (singer)
59 - Kris Tyler (singer)
60 - Joel Gretsch (actor)
66 - Billy Bragg (singer)
67 - Blanche Baker (actress)
71 - Jenny Agutter (actress)
75 - Alan Parsons (musician)
77 - Dick Wolf (producer)
78 - Peter Criss (musician)
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Today in Sports History - December 20
1921 - The American League votes to return to a best-of-seven format for the World Series while the National League votes for a best-of-nine format; Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts the tie-breaking vote in favor of the best-of-seven format.
1925 - The Chicago Cardinals win the NFL championship.
1966 - The NBA granted a franchise to Seattle.
1973 - Henri Richard (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 1,000th point.
1983 - Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens) became the 10th NHL player to score 500 goals.
1985 - Denis Potvin became the highest defenseman scorer when he got his 916th point.
1991 - The NHL approves expansion franchises for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators.
1998 - Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) became the first NFL player to throw at least 30 touchdown passes for five seasons.
1790 - Samuel Slater built the nation's first cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1803 - The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million.
1860 - South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.
1864 - Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Georgia, as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman nearly completed his “March to the Sea.”
1945 - The Office of Price Administration announced the end of wartime tire rationing, effective Jan. 1, 1946.
1963 - The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.
1968 - Author John Steinbeck died at age 66.
1987 - More than 4,300 people were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.
1989 - The United States launched Operation Just Cause and invaded Panama and installed a new government but failed to capture Gen. Manuel Noriega.
1995 - An American Airlines Boeing 757 en route to Cali, Colombia, slammed into a mountain, killing all but four of the 163 people aboard.
1996 - Astronomer Carl Sagan died at age 62.
1999 - The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that gay couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded heterosexual couples.
2001 - The U.N. Security Council authorized a multinational force for Afghanistan.
2002 - Trent Lott resigned as Senate Republican leader two weeks after igniting a political firestorm with racially charged remarks.
2016 - President Barack Obama designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
2017 - Cardinal Bernard Law, the disgraced former archbishop of Boston, died in Rome at the age of 86; his failure to stop child molesters in the priesthood had triggered a crisis in American Catholicism.
Birthdays
32 - Colin Woodell (actor)
32 - Isabel Durant (actress)
33 - JoJo (singer)
33 - India Reynolds (model)
39 - Bob Morley (singer)
40 - Jonah Hill (actor)
41 - David Cook (singer)
53 - Nicole deBoer (actress)
57 - Chris Robinson (singer)
59 - Kris Tyler (singer)
60 - Joel Gretsch (actor)
66 - Billy Bragg (singer)
67 - Blanche Baker (actress)
71 - Jenny Agutter (actress)
75 - Alan Parsons (musician)
77 - Dick Wolf (producer)
78 - Peter Criss (musician)
================================
Today in Sports History - December 20
1921 - The American League votes to return to a best-of-seven format for the World Series while the National League votes for a best-of-nine format; Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts the tie-breaking vote in favor of the best-of-seven format.
1925 - The Chicago Cardinals win the NFL championship.
1966 - The NBA granted a franchise to Seattle.
1973 - Henri Richard (Montreal Canadiens) scored his 1,000th point.
1983 - Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens) became the 10th NHL player to score 500 goals.
1985 - Denis Potvin became the highest defenseman scorer when he got his 916th point.
1991 - The NHL approves expansion franchises for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators.
1998 - Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) became the first NFL player to throw at least 30 touchdown passes for five seasons.
