History & Quotes - Other Notable Events, December 30

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Other Notable Events, December 30

In 1853, the United States bought 45,000 square miles of land along the Gila River from Mexico for $10 million. The area is now southern Arizona and New Mexico.

In 1862, the Union ironclad ship USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C., during a storm. Sixteen members of the crew were lost.

In 1903, flames swept the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, killing 602 people. The fire led to safety regulations for theaters around the world.

In 1916, Grigory Rasputin, a self-fashioned Russian holy man, was killed by Russian nobles eager to end his influence over the royal family.

In 1922, at the first Soviet Congress, Russia, Ukraine and two other Soviet republics signed a treaty, creating the Soviet Union.

In 1965, former Philippines Senate president Ferdinand Marcos was inaugurated president of the Southeast Asian archipelago nation. Marcos' regime would span 20 years and become increasingly authoritarian and corrupt.

In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered a halt in the bombing of North Vietnam and announced that peace talks with the Hanoi government would resume in Paris in January.

In 1979, Broadway composer Richard Rodgers died in New York City at age 77. He first collaborated with lyricist Lorenz Hart and later with Oscar Hammerstein II in a string of memorable musicals.

In 1986, Exxon Corp. became the first major international oil company to withdraw from South Africa because of that nation's racial policies.

In 1990, European nations called for an emergency European Community summit to find a solution to the Persian Gulf crisis.

In 1991, a "seriously ill" Mother Teresa was hospitalized in La Jolla, Calif., with bacterial pneumonia and heart problems.

In 1992, Ling-Ling, the giant female panda who delighted visitors to Washington's National Zoo for more than two decades, died of heart failure.

In 1993, Israel and the Vatican signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations.

In 1995, North Korea released a U.S. Army pilot whose helicopter had been shot down 13 days earlier over North Korean territory.

In 1999, a mentally ill man broke into George Harrison's mansion and attacked the former Beatle and his wife. Harrison suffered serious stab wounds but recovered.

In 2002, a university student, thought to be linked to a terrorist group, allegedly shot and killed three U.S. missionaries working at a Baptist hospital in Yemen. A fourth person was wounded.

In 2003, the Bush administration said it would ban the use of Ephedra, a popular herbal supplement taken by millions to lose weight or enhance athletic performance. The drug had been linked to heart attacks, strokes and sudden deaths.

In 2004, the official death toll from the 11-country Asian earthquake and tsunami soared to 123,000. Indonesia was the hardest hit by the magnitude 9 quake and counted 80,000 dead.

Also in 2004, Artie Shaw, the clarinet virtuoso and leader of one of the biggest of the Swing Era big bands, died at age 94.

In 2005, despite opposition to the anti-torture provision, U.S. President Bush signed into law the new $453 billion military spending bill.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 12/30/2006

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