1620 - According to Governor William Bradford’s “History of Plymouth Plantation”, the Pilgrims, aboard the Mayflower, reached Plymouth, MA, “sounded ye harbor, and founde fill for shipping; and marched into ye land, & founde diverse cornfields, and ye best they could find, and yea season & their presente necessitie made them glad to accepte of it.... And after wards tooke better view of ye place, and resolved wher to pitch their dwelling; and them and their goods”.  Plymouth Rock, the legendary place of landing since it first was “identified” in 1769, nearly 150 years after the landing, has been a historic shrine since. Contrary to common belief, the Pilgrims tried several locations first, including Provincetown Harbor, Mass, where the first social contract for a New England colony was drafted and signed by 41 adult males. The Pilgrims did not settle there, but went on after a time to Plymouth. Physician Dr. Samuel Fuller was on board, in fact one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. For some time, he was the sole physician in Massachusetts. In a letter dated June 28, 1630, written at Salem, MA, to Governor William Bradford of Plymouth, he described one of the customary treatments, in which he “let some twenty of these people blood”.
    1790 - Samuel Slater's thread-spinning factory goes into production, Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in America. The workers at his machines are 4 to 10 years old.
http://www.woonsocket.org/slaterhist.htm
http://john.ourjourneys.org/slater/early.html
http://inventors.about.com/cs/inventorsalphabet/a/textile_2.htm
    1829 - Birthday of Laura Dewey Bridgman - struck deaf and blind at two, she was the first blind-deaf mute to be taught successfully. LDB eventually helped teach others with disabilities. She learned to read through a Braille-like system and "spoke" through tapping out an "alphabet." as taught her by Samuel Gridley Howe at the Perkins Institute for the Blind, Boston. Howe's methods of teaching her are still being studied today and his journals as well as Bridgman's are carefully read for their insight and aid for teaching all those with disabilities. The records kept by Howe and by Bridgman's teachers are invaluable to modern researchers investigating the education of the disabled, as they are the first detailed records of the education of a deaf-blind person." She lived her entire life at Perkins, dying at age 60.
http://library.pittstate.edu/spcoll/ndxbridgman.html
http://library.pittstate.edu/spcoll/bridgman1.html
http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?DOCID=1P1
:30431105&num=3&ctrlInfo=
Round9c%3AProd1%3ASR%3AResult&ao=
    1830 - Birthday of early American author Mary Virginia Hawest Terhune. Her novels often centered around southern plantation life. Her first novel Alone (1854) sold more than 100,000 copies. She also wrote advice books, and popular biographies. She wrote syndicated columns on women's affairs for the Philadelphia North American (1900-10) and the Chicago Tribune (1911-17).
http://www3.telus.net/womenswork/mary_virginia_terhune.htm
http://mn.essortment.com/maryvirginiate_rapi.htm
http://web.ask.com/searchcp?q=Mary+Virginia+Terhune&t=Mary+Vir
ginia+Terhune&cache=
00*2s45u99erpnnw&url=http://www.math.ttu.edu/~wlewis/family.htm&page=&ws=1   
    1850 - Celia, a black slave is hung for killing her master. Her tragic story and the underlying cruelty and the societal-approved prerogative of the male to sexually satisfy himself with his property - slave or wife - was told in Meltan A. McLaurin's historically accurate book Celia, A Slave, New York: Avon Books, 1991. Robert Newsom, a widower, bought Celia when she was about 14, raping her for the first time on the way back to his Missouri plantation. He set her up in a cabin behind the main house and in time she bore two children. As the trial transcripts relate, in trying to resist her master's advances, she killed him with a stick. White women rallied to her side claiming that women had a right to resist rape whether they were slaves or not, but not surprising in the all-male judicial system upheld the male prerogative and the right of ownership prevailed in court. All appeals failed and she was hanged for murder. Melton A. McLaurin's book Celia, A Slave (New York: Avon Books, 1991) attracted a great deal of interest when it was first published because it was the first time anyone had attempted to reconstruct the life of an "ordinary" slave, a woman at that. All the real facts that are known about Celia are taken from the transcripts of her trial. At about 19, she began developing a mind of her own and even became involved with another slave, George.
http://www.click2famoustrials.com/celia/celia.htm
http://www.jacksonvillestory.com/Celia%27s%20Sad%20Fate.htm
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=4641
14&sourceid=1500000000000001827190&dest=9999999997
    1864 - Sherman takes Savannah. Despite efforts by Confederate General William Hardee to defend the city of Savannah, GA, Southern troops were forced to pull out of the city, and on this date Union forces under William Tecumseh Sherman captured the town. By marching from Atlanta to the coast at Savannah, Sherman had cut the lower South off from the center. Contrary to Southern belief on history, it was the Confederate troops who upon leaving the city began the fires so Union troops would not food or supplies or goods held in stores or warehouses in the city. They also burned farms on their journey to also cut supplies from Union troops.
    1892 - Walter Charles Hagen, golfer born at Rochester, NY. Hagen won two US Opens, four British Opens and five PGA Championships. He was extraordinary in match play, including the Ryder Cup, because he was a master scrambler and absolutely unflappable. He was also a colorful showman who brought the game to the masses and helped to increase prize money. died at Traverse City, MI, October 5, 1969.
    1892 - Portland, OR, was buried under a record 27.5 inches of snow.
    1903 – American detective writer Lawrence Treat born, wrote under the name Lawrence Arthur Goldstone, often called the "father" of modern police procedural novel.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/treat.htm
    1909 - Barney Ross, boxer born Barnet David Rosofsky at New York, NY. Ross was the first boxed to hold two titles simultaneously. He won the lightweight crown in 1932 and the welterweight crown in 1934. He also won a Silver Star during World War II as a Marine. died at Chicago, IL, January 18, 1967.
1909 - Although called introductory high schools, the McKinley and Washington schools of Berkeley, California, were the first authorized, junior-high schools in the United States. They taught grades 7, 8 and 9.
    1912 - Joshua (Josh) Gibson, Baseball Hall of Fame catcher born at Buena Vista, GA. Gibson is regarded as the greatest slugger to play in the Negro Leagues and perhaps the greatest ballplayer ever. Gibson starred with the Pittsburgh Crawford's. his long home runs are the stuff of legend. In 60 recorded at bats against big league pitching, Gibson batted .426. He died at 35 years old just three months before the integration of baseball in the major leagues. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972. Died at Pittsburgh, PA, January 20, 1947.
http://www.blackbaseball.com/gibsonjo.html
    1913 - The first crossword puzzle was compiled by Arthur Wynne and published in a supplement of New York World. He basically redesigned a Victorian-era game called The Magic Square as a feature for the Pulitzer newspaper.
    1914 - Marie Dressler, Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand and Mack Swain appeared in the first feature-length comedy that was six reels long. Mack Sennett directed the film called, "Tillie's Punctured Romance".
    1929 - The first hospital insurance group plan was effected by Baylor University Hospital, Dallas, Texas. The plan was inaugurated by Dr. Justin Ford Kimball, executive vice president of Baylor University. The first group insured were the Dallas public school teachers, who paid 50 cents per month for 21 days of hospital treatment.
    1929 - An exceptional snowstorm swept across the southern Plains through Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. 26 inches fell at Hillsboro, TX and 18 inches fell at El Dorado, AR
    1937 – “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was exhibited in Los Angeles, CA. It was an instant hit. Disney took a tremendous gamble with this 3-year artistic venture, as fantasies usually did not fare well at the box office. He had much of his own money tied up in the film, and Snow White had the potential of financially ruining him. The film was originally budgeted for $250,000, but ended up costing $1,480,000. The film utilized the talents of 570 artists and contained 250,000 drawings. Would adults sit through a cartoon that ran nearly an hour and a half? But the pre-release fears were unfounded. The public and most critics were enchanted and impressed with Disney's painstakingly crafted fairy tale. Never before had anyone so successfully produced a full-length animation film, and it was quickly dubbed into 10 languages. In England, children under 16 were not allowed to see the film unless accompanied by an adult, and it was under partial ban in South Africa and the Netherlands. The film ran for an unfrequented 5 weeks at New York's Radio City Music Hall and for 31 weeks in Paris. Snow White set new attendance records around the world, marking the dawn of a new age in animation. It became the first movie to earn $1 billion. In its nine theatrical releases it earned approximately $1 billion in 1994 US Dollars. The home video version of Snow White was officially released on October 28, 1994, after receiving about 27 million retail orders, making it the top-selling video up to that time.
    1937 - Birthday of Jane Fonda, considered a controversial figure because she visited Hanoi during the Viet Nam war. She won Academy Awards for her work in Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978) and she was nominated three more times. She won the Emmy for The Dollmaker (1984). One of the nation's most distinguished actors, she may never be fully honored because of her anti-war activities during the Viet Nam war. She went to Hanoi and through radio broadcast begged America to stop the bombing. She has been called Hanoi Jane ever since by the right wing extremists who distorted her message and purpose. Her workout books and videos became very popular in the 1980s. She dropped out of films when she married Ted Turner, the TV mogul, in 1991 (divorced in 200). In 1994 she narrated A Century of Women, a TV series that celebrated women's achievements in the 20th century.
    1938 - Cootie Williams's Rug Cutters record “Delta Mood”.
    1940 - Rock singer and composer Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore. The oldest of four children, Zappa and his family moved to California while he was still in his teens. After graduation in 1958, he played with various lounge bands and began composing songs, one of which, "Memories of El Monte," was recorded by the Penguins of "Earth Angel" fame. In 1964, Zappa took over a rhythm-and-blues band called the Soul Giants and turned them into the Mothers of Invention. Their irreverent blend of satire and rock 'n' roll was featured on half a dozen albums in the '60s. Zappa began a solo career in the '70s, and made a surrealistic film of rock 'n' roll life called "200 Motels." All told, he released more than 50 albums, including "Jazz from Hell," which won a Grammy Award for best rock instrumental in 1988. Zappa died of prostate cancer on December 4th, 1993.
    1942 - Soul singer Carla Thomas was born in Memphis, the daughter of veteran performer Rufus Thomas. She was the first Memphis soul artist to have a national pop hit, "Gee Whiz" in 1961. The success of that disc led to the formation of the Stax Records Company. Thomas had another pop hit in 1966 with "BABY," and the following year recorded two duets with Otis Redding, "Tramp" and "Knock on Wood," both of which made the Billboard Top 30.
    1943 - Birthday of guitar player Wolfman Washington, New Orleans, LA
http://www.xtrememusician.com/info/artists/profiles/2659.html
http://www.offbeat.com/text/wolfman.html
http://walterwashington.com/index1.html
    1944 - CURREY, FRANCIS S., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division. Place and date: Malmedy, Belgium, 21 December 1944. Entered service at: Hurleyville, N.Y. Birth: Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. G.O. No.: 69, 17 August 1945. Citation: He was an automatic rifleman with the 3d Platoon defending a strong point near Malmedy, Belgium, on 21 December 1944, when the enemy launched a powerful attack. Overrunning tank destroyers and antitank guns located near the strong point, German tanks advanced to the 3d Platoon's position, and, after prolonged fighting, forced the withdrawal of this group to a nearby factory. Sgt. Currey found a bazooka in the building and crossed the street to secure rockets meanwhile enduring intense fire from enemy tanks and hostile infantrymen who had taken up a position at a house a short distance away. In the face of small-arms, machinegun, and artillery fire, he, with a companion, knocked out a tank with 1 shot. Moving to another position, he observed 3 Germans in the doorway of an enemy-held house. He killed or wounded all 3 with his automatic rifle. He emerged from cover and advanced alone to within 50 yards of the house, intent on wrecking it with rockets. Covered by friendly fire, he stood erect, and fired a shot which knocked down half of 1 wall. While in this forward position, he observed 5 Americans who had been pinned down for hours by fire from the house and 3 tanks. Realizing that they could not escape until the enemy tank and infantry guns had been silenced, Sgt. Currey crossed the street to a vehicle, where he procured an armful of antitank grenades. These he launched while under heavy enemy fire, driving the tank men from the vehicles into the house. He then climbed onto a half-track in full view of the Germans and fired a machinegun at the house. Once again changing his position, he manned another machinegun whose crew had been killed; under his covering fire the 5 soldiers were able to retire to safety. Deprived of tanks and with heavy infantry casualties, the enemy was forced to withdraw. Through his extensive knowledge of weapons and by his heroic and repeated braving of murderous enemy fire, Sgt. Currey was greatly responsible for inflicting heavy losses in men and material on the enemy, for rescuing 5 comrades, 2 of whom were wounded, and for stemming an attack which threatened to flank his battalion's position.
    1945 - BENJAMIN, GEORGE, JR., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 306th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. Place and date: Leyte, Philippine Islands, 21 December 1944. Entered service at: Carney's Point, N.J. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. G.O. No.: 49, 28 June 1945. Citation: He was a radio operator, advancing in the rear of his company as it engaged a well-defended Japanese strong point holding up the progress of the entire battalion. When a rifle platoon supporting a light tank hesitated in its advance, he voluntarily and with utter disregard for personal safety left his comparatively secure position and ran across bullet-whipped terrain to the tank, waving and shouting to the men of the platoon to follow. Carrying his bulky radio and armed only with a pistol, he fearlessly penetrated intense machinegun and rifle fire to the enemy position, where he killed 1 of the enemy in a foxhole and moved on to annihilate the crew of a light machinegun. Heedless of the terrific fire now concentrated on him, he continued to spearhead the assault, killing 2 more of the enemy and exhorting the other men to advance, until he fell mortally wounded. After being evacuated to an aid station, his first thought was still of the American advance. Overcoming great pain he called for the battalion operations officer to report the location of enemy weapons and valuable tactical information he had secured in his heroic charge. The unwavering courage, the unswerving devotion to the task at hand, the aggressive leadership of Pfc. Benjamin were a source of great and lasting inspiration to his comrades and were to a great extent responsible for the success of the battalion's mission.
    1945 - The FCC assigned television channels to several licensees, including CBS and NBC in New York City and Radio Corp. of America in Camden, New Jersey.
    1946 - Louis Jordan's single, "Let the Good Times Roll," debuted on the Rhythm and Blues charts.
(Lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec21.html )
    1946 - Guitarist Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys was born in Hawthorne, California. The three Wilson brothers - the others were Dennis and Brian - formed a group called Carl and the Passions with Mike Love and Al Jardine in 1961. The band's name was changed to the Beach Boys to take advantage of the surfing craze in southern California. Among their surfing hits for the Capitol label - "Surfin USA," "Surfer Girl" and "I Get Around." The Beach Boys turned in a more experimental direction in 1966, recording "Good Vibrations," a number-one song that took six months to produce and was at the time the most expensive single ever made. The Beach Boys continue to perform, primarily as a nostalgia act.
    1947 - Metronome All-Stars record “Metronome Riff.”
    1950 - Top Hits
“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” - Gene Autry
“White Christmas” - Bing Crosby
“Nevertheless” - Jack Denny
“If You've Got the Money Honey I've Got the Time” - Lefty Frizzell
    1954 - Chris Evert, tennis champion, had 125 consecutive clay-court victories and has been called the world's best clay-court woman player of all time. She was ranked the world's best player 1974 to 1978 and in 1980 and 81. She was the U.S. singles champion 1975-78, 80, 82; Wimbledon champion 1974, 76, and 81, and won at least one Grand Slam singles title for 13 consecutive years. Between 1973 and 1979 Evert won a record 125 consecutive clay-court matches, and won the French Open on clay a record seven times.
    1958 - Top Hits
“The Chipmunk Song” - The Chipmunks
“Problems” - The Everly Brothers
“One Night” - Elvis Presley
“City Lights” - Ray Price
    1960 - Elvis Presley was inducted into the Los Angeles Indian Tribal Council on the day his movie “Flaming Star” opened.
    1961 - One of Rock and Roll's strangest oddities happened when "I Heard It through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye hit number one on the Cash Box music chart. The same song was also a number one hit for Gladys Knight and The Pips exactly one year earlier. The tune would also turn up on the chart by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1976.
    1964 - A great warm surge from the Pacific Ocean across Oregon and northern California brought torrential rains on a deep snow cover resulting in record floods.
    1965 - An overflow crowd of 76,251 jams the Cotton Bowl, giving Dallas its first home sellout. The Browns beat the Cowboys 24-17.
http://images.nfl.com/history/images/1121.jpg
    1966 - The Beach Boys receive three gold-record citations for the single "Good Vibrations," which hit Number One eleven days ago and the albums "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Shut Down, Vol. 2."
    1966 - Top Hits
“Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron” - The Royal Guardsmen
“Winchester Cathedral” - The New Vaudeville Band
“That's Life” - Frank Sinatra
“Somebody Like Me” - Eddy Arnold
    1967 - SMEDLEY, LARRY E., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 21 December 1967. Entered service at: Orlando, Fla. Born: 4 March 1949, Front Royal, Va. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a squad leader with company D, in connection with operations against the enemy. On the evenings of 20-21 December 1967, Cpl. Smedley led his 6-man squad to an ambush site at the mouth of Happy Valley, near Phouc Ninh (2) in Quang Nam Province. Later that night an estimated 100 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army regulars, carrying 122mm rocket launchers and mortars, were observed moving toward Hill 41. Realizing this was a significant enemy move to launch an attack on the vital Danang complex, Cpl. Smedley immediately took sound and courageous action to stop the enemy threat. After he radioed for a reaction force, he skillfully maneuvered his men to a more advantageous position and led an attack on the numerically superior enemy force. A heavy volume of fire from an enemy machinegun positioned on the left flank of the squad inflicted several casualties on Cpl. Smedley's unit. Simultaneously, an enemy rifle grenade exploded nearby, wounding him in the right foot and knocking him to the ground. Cpl. Smedley disregarded this serious injury and valiantly struggled to his feet, shouting words of encouragement to his men. He fearlessly led a charge against the enemy machinegun emplacement, firing his rifle and throwing grenades, until he was again struck by enemy fire and knocked to the ground. Gravely wounded and weak from loss of blood, he rose and commenced a l-man assault against the enemy position. Although his aggressive and singlehanded attack resulted in the destruction of the machinegun, he was struck in the chest by enemy fire and fell mortally wounded. Cpl. Smedley's inspiring and courageous actions, bold initiative, and selfless devotion to duty in the face of certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1968 - The first Astronauts to orbit the moon were Colonel Frank Borman, Captain James Arthur Lovell, Jr., and Major William Alison Anders, who made 10 lunar orbits in Apollo 8, launched by a three-stage Saturn 5 rocked from Cape Canaveral, FL, at 7:51am. The spacecraft reentered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 147 hours 11 seconds later.
    1968 -  David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash performed together for the first time at a concert in California. Nash had announced his departure from the Hollies earlier in the month, while Crosby had played with the Byrds and Stills with Buffalo Springfield. Another former member of Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young, joined Crosby, Stills and Nash in 1969.
    1968 - Janis Joplin made her first appearance after leaving Big Brother and the Holding Company. Joplin performed in Memphis at the "Yuletide Thing" event sponsored by the Stax-Volt record labels. Also on the bill were such leading Stax acts as the Bar-Kays, Booker T. and the M-G's and Rufus and Carla Thomas.
    1969 - Diana Ross and the Supremes make their final television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, singing "Someday We'll Be Together", which would be the last of their 12 number one singles.
    1970 - Elvis Presley met US President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office at the White House. They posed for a photo that Nixon aides hoped would boost the president's image with America's youth. All the singer wanted was a Drug Enforcement Agency badge for his collection. Presley, according to most accounts high on pills at the time, lectured Nixon on the evils of drugs, the Beatles, hippies and communists. Nixon had Presley shown the door as soon as he'd presented him with the badge and made him an honorary federal agent.
    1974 - Top Hits
“Cat's in the Cradle” - Harry Chapin
“Angie Baby” - Helen Reddy
“You're the First, the Last, My Everything” - Barry White
“I Can Help” - Billy Swan
    1974 - Harry Chapin enjoys his only number one single with "Cat's In The Cradle". The song's theme about a distant father and son relationship was suggested to Harry by his wife, after he expressed disappointment about being on tour instead of attending his son's birth.
    1979 - The Eagles, Chicago and Linda Ronstadt perform at a benefit show for the presidential campaign for California governor Jerry Brown, who also happens to be Ronstadt's boyfriend. The show at the San Diego Sports Arena is followed-up by a similar show at the Addin Theater in Las Vegas. The two shows bring in over $450,000.
    1979 - Willie Nelson's movie debut, "The Electric Horseman," which also starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, opened in North American theatres.
    1979 - Frank Zappa's "Baby Snakes" premiered on Zappa's 39th birthday. The film combined concert footage, backstage antics and animated clay figures.
    1982 - Top Hits
“Maneater” - Daryl Hall & John Oates
“The Girl is Mine” - Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney
“Steppin' Out” - Joe Jackson
“Somewhere Between Right and Wrong” - Earl Thomas Conley
    1985 - Bruce Springsteen's album, "Born in the USA", surpassed Michael Jackson's "Thriller", making it the second longest-lasting LP in the top 10. Springsteen’s album lasted at its peak for 79 weeks, and was second to "The Sound of Music" with Julie Andrews that lasted: 109 weeks.
    1985 - Bruce Springsteen's album, "Born in the USA", passed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to become the second longest-lasting LP in the top 10. It stayed there for 79 weeks. Only "The Sound of Music" with Julie Andrews lasted longer: 109 weeks.
    1986 - Atlanta center Jeff Van Note, who at 40 was the oldest pro football player, played his 246th and last NFL game as Atlanta beat Detroit, 20-6.
    1988 - Pan Am World Airways Flight 103 was the victim of a terrorist attack when the jet exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. The 258 passengers, crew, and several people on the ground at the site of the crash were all killed.
    1988 - Seven cities in the eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Charleston SC with a reading of 78 degrees. A storm in the northwestern U.S. produced 22 inches of snow at Idaho City ID in two days, and up to two feet of snow at Happy Camp CA. Ski resorts in Idaho reported three to six feet of snow on the ground.
    1989 - Forty cities in the north central U.S., including thirteen in Iowa, reported record low temperatures for the date. Havre and Jordan, MT, tied for honors as the cold spot in the nation with morning lows of 43 degrees below zero, and the temperature remained close to 40 degrees below zero through the daylight hours. Dickinson ND reported a morning low of 33 degrees below zero and a wind chill reading of 86 degrees below zero. The high for the date of 16 degrees below zero at Sioux Falls SD was December record for that location.
    1990 - Top Hits
“Because I Love You” (“The Postman Song”) - Stevie B
“Justify My Love” - Madonna
“Impulsive” - Wilson Phillips
“I've Come to Expect It from You” - George Strait
    1997 - Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions became the third player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season when he gained 184 yards against the New York Jets. the Lions won, 13-10. He reached the 2,000 yard mark with a 2-yard run with just over two minutes left in the game. On the next play, he broke free for 53 yards, a gain that allowed the Lions to run out the clock and clinch a playoff berth. The other members of the 2,0000 yard club are O.J. Simpson, who rushed for 2,003 yards in 1973, and Eric Dickerson, who ran for 2,105 yards in 1984 ( this book is not up to date and there are surely some more members of this elite group today ).
    2006 - The Beatles' "Love" sat at #1 on the European Top 100 Albums chart. The album was produced by George Martin and his son Giles Martin and features music compiled and remixed for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name. The disc would quickly be certified Platinum and won Grammys in two categories - Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Surround Sound Album at the 50th annual Grammy awards on February 10th, 2008.
    2009 - A snow storm embattled the East Coast, closing airports, raising havoc in many states, affecting Christmas shopping and closing many businesses.