December 23

This Day in American History

1620 - One week after the Mayflower arrived at Plymouth Harbor in present-day Massachusetts, construction of the first permanent European settlement in New England begins. By the mid-1640s, Plymouth's population numbered 3,000 people, but by then the settlement had been overshadowed by the larger Massachusetts Bay Colony to the north, settled by Puritans in 1629. The term "Pilgrim" was not used to describe the Plymouth colonists until the early 19th century and was derived from a manuscript in which Governor Bradford spoke of the "saints" who traveled to the New World as "pilgrimes." In 1820, the orator Daniel Webster spoke of "Pilgrim Fathers" at a bicentennial celebra tion of Plymouth's founding, and thereafter the term entered common usage.
   1657--Hannah Duston, captured by Indians less than a week after the birth of her eighth child, was able to secure a hatchet with the help of an English boy captive while they were on the way back to the Indian village and she attacked their captors. She killed nine of the ten Indians and scalped them to prove the deed before escaping. She received 25 pounds from the British general in Boston who gave rewards for scalps.
    1776 – [First?] Continental Congress negotiated a war loan of $181,500 from France.
    1776 – Thomas Paine wrote “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
    1779 -Benedict Arnold, in absentia, court-martialed for “improper conduct.”
http://www.earlyamerica.com/benedict.html
    1783- George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the senate chamber of the Maryland State House in Annapolis, where the Continental Congress was then meeting. (lower part of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec23.html
    1788- Maryland votes to cede a 10 square mile area for District of Columbia
http://www.dcroots.org/
http://prorev.com/dctrends.htm
    1811 - A cold storm hit Long Island Sound with a foot of snow, gale force winds, and temperatures near zero. During the storm many ships were wrecked, and in some cases entire crews perished
    1823 - An anonymous poem appeared in the Troy (NY) Sentinel, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," later known better as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." The poem was written by a professor of Greek and Oriental literature, Clement Clark Moore, and appeared without his permission in the newspaper.
    1834- John R. Morrison of Springfield, OH was granted a patent for bellows for smiths and furnace fires.
    1839 - The second of triple December storms hit the northeastern U.S. The storm produced 25 inches of snow at Gettysburg, PA, and gales in New England, but only produced light snow along the coast.
     1848-The first railroad to run west of the Mississippi River was the Pacific Railway of Missouri (later known as the Missouri Pacific), which began passenger service from St. Louis.
     1852 - In San Francisco, California, the Theatre of Celestial John opened on Telegraph Hill, fronting on Dupont Street. It was the first Chinese theatre in the United States. The theater consisted of one vast [???] and had a seating capacity of 1,400. There were no tiers of boxes. No scenery was used.
     1853-In San Francisco, the Metropolitan Theater opened on Washington St.; first theater to be lit by gas.
     1860 -- Harriet Monroe birthday, founder/longtime editor of "Poetry" magazine, born Chicago, Illinois.
http:// www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/orient/mod2.htm
     1867-Birthday of Madame C J Walker, probably the first Black millionaire. Considered a marketing genius, she made her fortune in hair straightener and care products for Blacks. The hair straightener and some other products she invented herself and, in the early days, she mixed them herself in large tubs. Orphaned, she married at 14 "to get a home," before moving from Louisiana with her daughter to St. Louis to work as a $1.50 a day washerwoman. She developed her products (which she said came to her in a dream after prayers) that were marketed much in the way Avon and Mary Kay products are sold today, door-to-door and then through neighborhood salespeople. She was a noted philanthropist in black causes, leaving a trusteeship to make sure the gifts continued after her death. For example, in one of her obituaries, it was noted "She spent $10,000 every year for the education of young Negro men and women in Southern colleges and sent six youths to Tuskegee Institute" An unusual stipulation in her will decrees that the company which is still in existence is always headed by a woman. Much of the assets of the Walker Company have been willed to the NAACP by Madame Walker's grand daughter
http://www.madamcjwalker.com/
http://www.princeton.edu/~mcbrown/display/walker.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/155546615X/avsearch-df1-2-20/104-3547695-1517507
    1870 – American artist John Marin born
http://www.butlerart.com/pc_book/pages/john_marin_1870.htm
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/psearch?Request=S&Hname=Marin&
Person=203100
http://www.artincontext.org/LISTINGS/IMAGES/FULL/0/QUSKC5Q0.htm
    1902-Birthday of Vivian Harris - Afro-American singer, comedian, chorus girl and longtime "Voice of the Apollo." It is reported she made 10,000 appearances at the famed Apollo in Harlem, New York. She was one of the first to dance the Charleston in a 1923 Broadway production of “Runnin' Wild”. She danced, sang, and did whatever to keep the Apollo going during the Great Depression. When she wasn't onstage or helping behind the curtain, she worked in wardrobe and even taking tickets. Highly talented, Vivian Harris appeared in a number of shows on Broadway and even in France. She died in 2000 at the age of 97.
http://www.jazzhouse.org/gone/lastpost2.php3?edit=954322400
    1902---Birthday of author Norman Maclean born Clarinda, Iowa. Firefighter, fly-fisher, scholar, storyteller. Author of “A River Runs Through It”. Died 1990. “Eventually, all things merge into one, & a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood & runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, & some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”
http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/litmap/maclean_norman_mt.htm
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/graphics/maclean.jpg
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/14725.ctl
    1913- President Woodrow Wilson signed the "Federal Reserve Act" into law. The act established twelve Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal Reserve System. The system serves as the nation's central bank, has responsibility for execution of monetary policy. It is called on to contribute to the strength and vitality of the US economy, in part by influencing the lending and investing activities of commercial banks and the cost and availability of money.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec23.html
    1919- African-American Alice H Parker patents gas heating furnace
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blaliceparker.htm
    1928-- The National Broadcasting Company set up a permanent coast-to-coast radio network in the US. NBC had been formed two years earlier by General Electric, Westinghouse and RCA, with David Sarnoff as its chief organizer.
    1929-Trumpet Player Chet Baker Birthday (My friend Warren Luening said he often played “flat.” He certainly was bombed out. When I was much younger, I dated one of Chet Baker's ex-girlfriends. She told me he used to beat her up, and since then, I have never been able to listen to any of his albums—although he is considered of the giants of modern jazz.
http://chetbakertribute.com/chet.htm
http://www.chetbaker.net/
http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/linernotes/cbakerinterview.html
http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/shop/shopmain.cfm?
CatalogName=bakerchet
    1931-Birthday of clarinet player Henry Cuesta, McAllen, TX
http://www.riverwalk.org/profiles/cuesta.htm
http://www.welkshow.com/cuesta.html
    1933-Birthday of altoist Frank Morgan, born Minneapolis, MS.
http://www.marsjazz.com/frankm.html http://www.marsjazz.com/frankmbio.html
     1935-Birthday of broadcaster and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Paul Vernon Hornung, born Louisville, KY.
     1935-Birthday of singer Esther Phillips, Galveston, TX. At age 13, she was a member of Johnny Otis's rhythm-and-blues revue. She had a number of r-and-b hits in the early '50s but was forced to retire temporarily because of illness later in the decade. Phillips came back stronger than ever at the start of the '60s with an r-and-b version of a country ballad, "Release Me." It reached number eight on the US charts in 1962. The Beatles paid tribute to Little Esther in November 1965 by featuring her on a BBC television show. Phillips died August, 1984.
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Esther%20Phillips.html
    1938-Music impresario John Hammond presented his famous Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. The event introduced many black jazz musicians to a white audience for the first time, and helped launch a craze for the rhythmic boogie-woogie piano style. Among those appearing were pianists Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson with vocalist Joe Turner, blues singer Big Bill Broonzy, gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, clarinetist Sidney Bechet and the Count Basie Orchestra.
    1939-US Trotting Association Incorporated. Following an agreement at a January meeting to merge several regional organizations into a national body, the US Trotting Association was incorporated in the State of Ohio.
    1939-Frank Sinatra, at $75 a week, wins release from the Harry James Band to join Tommy Dorsey.
    1940-Birthday of folk singer and songwriter Tim Hardin, born in Eugene, Oregon. Despite his ability as a performer, his greatest impact was as a writer of songs that proved great successes for other artists. Hardin's best-known composition is "If I Were a Carpenter," which provided Bobby Darin with a hit in the early 60s, and a gold-record single for Johnny Cash and June Carter later in the decade. In 1980, Tim Hardin was found dead of a heroin overdose in his Hollywood apartment.
    1941--ELROD, HENRY TALMAGE Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 27 September 1905, Rebecca, Ga. Entered service at: Ashburn, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while attached to Marine Fighting Squadron 211, during action against enemy Japanese land, surface and aerial units at Wake Island, 8 to 23 December 1941. Engaging vastly superior forces of enemy bombers and warships on 9 and 12 December, Capt. Elrod shot down 2 of a flight of 22 hostile planes. By executing repeated bombing and strafing runs at extremely low altitude and close range, he succeeded in inflicting deadly damage upon a large Japanese vessel, thereby sinking the first major warship to be destroyed by small caliber bombs delivered from a fighter-type aircraft. When his plane was disabled by hostile fire and no other ships were operative, Capt. Elrod assumed command of 1 flank of the line set up in defiance of the enemy landing and, conducting a brilliant defense, enabled his men to hold their positions and repulse intense hostile fusillades to provide covering fire for unarmed ammunition carriers. Capturing an automatic weapon during 1 enemy rush in force, he gave his own firearm to 1 of his men and fought on vigorously against the Japanese. Responsible in a large measure for the strength of his sector's gallant resistance, on 23 December, Capt. Elrod led his men with bold aggressiveness until he fell, mortally wounded. His superb skill as a pilot, daring leadership and unswerving devotion to duty distinguished him among the defenders of Wake Island, and his valiant conduct reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1941-Shep Field's All woodwind band cuts “Firedance.”
    1942 - Bob Hope agreed to entertain United States airmen stationed in Alaska for what would be the first of his famous Christmas shows for American armed forces across the world. The Christmas show tradition continued for over three decades.
    1944---Top Hits
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
Don't Fence Me In - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
I'm Wastin' My Tears on You - Tex Ritter
    1944--BOLDEN, PAUL L. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company 1, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division. Place and date: Petit-Coo, Belgium, 23 December 1944. Entered service at: Madison, Ala. Birth: Hobbes Island, lowa. G.O. No.: 73, 30 August 1945-. Citation: He voluntarily attacked a formidable enemy strong point in Petit-Coo, Belgium, on 23 December, 1944, when his company was pinned down by extremely heavy automatic and small-arms fire coming from a house 200 yards to the front. Mortar and tank artillery shells pounded the unit, when S/Sgt. Bolden and a comrade, on their own initiative, moved forward into a hail of bullets to eliminate the ever-increasing fire from the German position. Crawling ahead to close with what they knew was a powerfully armed, vastly superior force, the pair reached the house and took up assault positions, S/Sgt. Bolden under a window, his comrade across the street where he could deliver covering fire. In rapid succession, S/Sgt. Bolden hurled a fragmentation grenade and a white phosphorous grenade into the building; and then, fully realizing that he faced tremendous odds, rushed to the door, threw it open and fired into 35 SS troopers who were trying to reorganize themselves after the havoc wrought by the grenades. Twenty Germans died under fire of his submachine gun before he was struck in the shoulder, chest, and stomach by part of a burst which killed his comrade across the street. He withdrew from the house, waiting for the surviving Germans to come out and surrender. When none appeared in the doorway, he summoned his ebbing strength, overcame the extreme pain he suffered and boldly walked back into the house, firing as he went. He had killed the remaining 15 enemy soldiers when his ammunition ran out. S/Sgt. Bolden's heroic advance against great odds, his fearless assault, and his magnificent display of courage in reentering the building where he had been severely wounded cleared the path for his company and insured the success of its mission.
    1947 - John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley created the transistor, for which they would share the 1956 Nobel Prize in physics. In its original form, the transistor took up a large amount of space in the New Jersey lab where it was invented. Today, thousands of transistors can be put into a space tinier than a pinhead; and used in electronics such as computers, radios, televisions and video games.
    1948 – In Tokyo, Japan, Hideki Tojo, former Japanese premier and chief of the Kwantung Army, is executed along with six other top Japanese leaders for their war crimes during World War II. Seven of the defendants were also found guilty of committing crimes against humanity, especially in regard to their systematic genocide of the Chinese people. On November 12, death sentences were imposed on Tojo and the six other principals, including Iwane Matsui, who organized the Rape of Nanking, and Heitaro Kimura, who brutalized Allied prisoners of war. Sixteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, and the remaining two of the original 25 defendants were sentenced to lesser terms in prison. In addition to the central Tokyo trial, various tribunals sitting outside Japan judged some 5,000 Japanese guilty of war crimes, of whom more than 900 were executed.
    1954 - Walt Disney's “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Peter Lorre and Paul Lukas, was released to theaters. It became one of the Disney studio's biggest-grossing films.
    1952---Top Hits
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jimmy Boyd
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Skeets McDonald
    1955-Pioneer rock 'n' roll disc jockey Alan Freed sponsored a week-long series of shows at the Academy of Music in Manhattan. The bill included both jazz and rhythm-and-blues acts, such as the Count Basie Orchestra and The Cadillacs. The shows took in more than $100,000.
    1955 - The barometric pressure dipped to 28.97 inches (981 millibars) at Boise ID, an all-time record for that location.
    1957 - Actor Dan Blocker debuted on television in the "Restless Gun" production of "The Child". My father Lawrence Menkin wrote the original television play, and later was story editor and wrote several “Bonanza” episodes. My father wrote many TV westerns in the 1950's. Two years after this “pilot,” Blocker would star in NBC's "Bonanza" as Hoss Cartwright.
    1957-The title song to his movie “April Love” becomes Pat Boone's fifth US number one hit.
    1960---Top Hits
Are You Lonesome To-night? - Elvis Presley
Wonderland by Night - Bert Kaempfert
North to Alaska - Johnny Horton
Wings of a Dove - Ferlin
    1961 - Holiday travel was paralyzed over extreme northeastern Kansas, and adjacent parts of Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. The storm produced 5 to 15 inches of snow, with drifts up to ten feet high.
    1964-After making their first appearance on ABC-TV's Shindig! (where they perform "Little Saint Nick," "Dance, Dance, Dance," "Papa Oom Mow Mow," and "Monster Mash"), and in flight from Los Angeles to a concert in Houston, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson suffers a nervous breakdown, leading to his immediate retirement from touring. Glen Campbell, still a studio musician, is hired to take his place on stage, and is eventually replaced by permanent member Bruce Johnston.
     1966 - Grateful Dead, The Steve Miller Blues Band, Moby Grape @ Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco
Artist: Victor Moscoso
Handbill
    1967- The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Foxy Lady" is released.
    1968-Crew of USS Pueblo released by North Korea. The crew and captain of the U.S. intelligence gathering ship Pueblo are released after 11 months imprisonment by the government of North Korea. The ship, and its 83-man crew, was seized by North Korean warships on January 23 and charged with intruding into North Korean waters. The seizure infuriated U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. Later, he claimed that he strongly suspected (although it could not be proven) that the incident with the Pueblo, coming just a few days before the communist Tet Offensive in South Vietnam, was a coordinated diversion. It was 11 long months before the Pueblo 's men were freed. Both captain and crew were horribly treated and later recounted their torture at the hands of the North Koreans. With no help in sight, Captain Lloyd Bucher reluctantly signed a document confessing that the ship was spying on North Korea. With this propaganda victory in hand, the North Koreans released the prisoners and also returned the body of one crewman who died in captivity. Some Americans criticized Johnson for not taking decisive retaliatory action against North Korea; others argued that he should have used every diplomatic means at his disposal to secure a quick release for the crew. In any case, the event was another blow to Johnson and America's Cold War foreign policy. It dug Johnson in deeper into the war effort to overcome his “loss of face.”
    1968 -- At Apple's Christmas party, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hand out presents to the children of the staff, dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus.
    1969 - B.J. Thomas was awarded a gold record for the single, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from the film, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". On January 3, 1970, the song would hit number one on the pop charts, staying there for 4 weeks.
    1968---Top Hits
I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder
Stormy - Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost
Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
    1969 - B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head" is certified gold
    1969-The Supremes began Diana Ross's farewell engagement at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. Ross would go on to a hugely successful solo career. The Supremes also continued to hit record charts with Ross's replacement, Jean Terrell. She was the sister of heavyweight boxer Ernie Terrell.
    1969 - Elton John had his first meeting with arranger Paul Buckmaster, writer Bernie Taupin and producer Gus Dudgeon. Their collaboration started one of music's most lucrative milestones of the 1970s. Together the four created "Your Song", "Friends", "Levon", "Tiny Dancer", "Rocket Man" and many more.
    1970-Canadian folksinger Joni Mitchell was awarded her first gold record for the album "Ladies of the Canyon." The LP contained the hit single "Big Yellow Taxi”
    1972- The “ Immaculate Reception:” In an AFC first-round play-off game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, the Raiders were ahead, 7-6, with 22 seconds to play. Pittsburgh had the ball on its own 40-yeard line. Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a desperation pass intended for Johnny Fuqua. The ball deflected off an Oakland defender into the waiting arms of Franco Harris, who ran into the end zone for the winning touchdown. The Steelers defeated the Raiders, 13-7, and the play has since been known as the “Immaculate Reception.”
http://images.nfl.com/history/images/1223.jpg
    1973 - Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle" hits #1
    1974- The first free agents in major league baseball were Andy Messersmith of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dave McNally of the Montreal Expos. A Federal arbitrator ruled that the two players, and by extension other major league baseball players not bound to a current contract, were free to sell their services to the team that offered them the most money.
    1975-Metric Conversion Act: The Congress of the US passed Public Law 94-168, known as the Metric Conversion Act of 1975. The act declares that the SI (International System of Units) will be the country's basic system of measurement and established the United States Metric Board which is responsible for the planning, coordination and implementation of the nation's voluntary conversion to SI (Congress had authorized the metric system as a legal system of measurement in the US by an act passed July 28, 1866. In 1875, the US became one of the original signers of the Treaty of the Metre, which established an international metric system.
    1976---Top Hits
Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart
The Rubberband Man - Spinners
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
Thinkin' of a Rendezvous - Johnny Duncan
    1978-Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" is released.
    1979 - Rod Stewart's "I Don't Want to Talk About It," Anne Murray's "Daydream Believer," Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," and Neil Diamond's "September Morn" all enter the pop charts
    1982 - A major winter storm struck Colorado producing heavy snow and blizzard conditions. A record two feet of snow was reported at Stapleton Airport in Denver, which was shut down for 33 hours. Up to 44 inches of snow fell in the foothills surrounding Denver. The storm hurt the ski industry as skiers were unable to make it out of Denver to the slopes, and the closed airport became a campground for vacationers.
    1983 - The temperature plunged to 50 degrees below zero at Williston ND to equal their all-time record. Minneapolis MN reported an afternoon high of 17 degrees below zero, and that evening strong northerly winds produced wind chill readings of 100 degrees below zero in North Dakota
    1984---Top Hits
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
Cool It Now - New Edition
Why Not Me - The Judds
    1987 - A winter storm brought heavy snow to the Central Rockies, and also spread a blanket of snow across the Middle Missouri Valley in time for Christmas. Snow and high winds created near blizzard conditions in Wyoming. Snowfall totals in Wyoming ranged up to 25 inches at Casper, with four feet of snow reported at the Hogadon Ski Resort on Capser Mountain. The Wolf Creek Ski Resort in Colorado received 26 inches of snow. Totals in the Middle Missouri Valley ranged up to 16 inches at Alpena SD, with 14 inches at Harrison NE. Strong winds ushered unseasonably cold air into the southwestern U.S. Canyon winds gusting to 100 mph created ground blizzards in Utah.
    1989 - An historic arctic outbreak spread to the Gulf Coast Region, and a total of 122 cities across the central and eastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date. Forty-one of those cities reported record lows for the month of December, with some cities breaking December records established the previous morning. Morning lows of 11 degrees at New Orleans LA and Lake Charles LA, 4 degrees below zero at San Angelo TX, and 26 degrees below zero at Topeka KS, established all-time records for those four locations. Yankton SD was the cold spot in the nation with a morning low of 31 degrees below zero. A storm system moving across the Florida peninsula and along the Southern Atlantic Coast produced high winds and record snows along the Carolina coast. Unofficial morning lows included 50 degrees below zero at Recluse WY and 60 degrees below zero at Rochford SD. Broadus MT and Hardin MT tied for honors as the official cold spot in the nation with morning lows of 47 degrees below zero. Snowfall totals of 15 inches at Wilmington NC and 13.3 inches at Cape Hatteras NC were all- time records for those two locations. Gale force winds, gusting to 60 mph, produced waves thirty-four feet high off the coast of North Carolina, and whipped the heavy snow into drifts up to eight feet high. The storm resulted in the first white Christmas of record from northeastern Florida to North Carolina.
    1991 - Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll retired after 23 seasons. He was the only coach to have four Super Bowl wins (1975-1976, 1979-1980) and was the fifth winningest coach in the NFL (209-156-1).
    1991 -recent rains in Austin, TX set a new monthly (13.59 inches) and annual record total (51.64 inches).
    1994 – John Connolly, FBI agent, came to the Winter Hill gang’s headquarters in a Boston liquor store and warned Kevin Weeks of pending FBI arrests for mobsters James Bulger, Stephen Flemmi and Francis Salemme. Connolly was convicted for corruption in 2002 and sentenced to 121 months
    1994-an intense nor'easter, a hybrid winter and tropical storm lashed New England with high winds and heavy rains. The storm had its origin in the western Gulf of Mexico and had characteristics of a tropical storm even as it reached 40 degrees latitude. The storm "dumbelled" around a developing winter type storm off the mid-Atlantic and approached New England from the south-southeast. Winds exceeded hurricane force over coastal areas. Walpole, MA had a wind gust of 88 mph. Sustained winds of 63 mph with a gust to 84 mph were recorded at Nantucket. Falmouth, MA had a wind gust of 78 mph and Ashaway, RI a gust of 74 mph. Plymouth, MA was deluged with 4.85 inches of rain and Gloucester, MA had 4.72 inches.
    1997-Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls won the 500th game of his coaching career as the Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 94-89. Jackson got to 400 in his 682nd game, faster than any other coach in NBA history. He was the twentieth coach to reach the 500 mark.
    1997-Right wing Jarri Kurri of the Colorado Avalanche became the eight player in NHL history to score 600 regular-season goals. Kurri tallied in the first period as Colorado defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1.
    1997 - Terry Nichols was convicted by a Denver, Colorado, jury on charges of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in the 1995 federal building bombing in Oklahoma City.
    2009 - The Yankees are assessed with a luxury tax of $25.69 million for its spending in 2009. The World Series champion club is the only team to be penalized this year for crossing the salary threshold, as it has in all seven years since the tax was initiated by the collective bargaining agreement in 2002.