Today is Tuesday, Dec. 26, the 360th day of 2017. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 26, 1947, heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.
On this date:
In 1776, British forces suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
In 1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
In 1865, James H. Nason of Franklin, Massachusetts, received a patent for "an improved coffee percolator."
In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African-American boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.
In 1917, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation's railroads.
In 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division. Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie" was first performed at the Civic Theatre in Chicago.
In 1967, "Magical Mystery Tour," the Beatles' poorly received TV special, was broadcast (in black and white) on BBC1.
In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Missouri, at age 88.
In 1980, Iranian television footage was broadcast in the United States, showing a dozen of the American hostages sending messages to their families.
In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved.)
In 2004, more than 230,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a 100-foot-high tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean.
In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93.