Today in History

A suicide bomber attacks the forward operating base next to the US military airfield at Mosul, Iraq, killing 22 people; it is the deadliest suicide attack on US soldiers during the Iraq War.

The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

Popocatepetl, a volcano in Mexico spews forth gases and ash after nearly a half-century of dormancy.

Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, an hour after departure. All 259 passengers were killed in the explosion caused by a bomb– hidden inside an audio cassette player — that detonated inside the cargo area when the plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet. A shower of airplane parts falling from the sky also killed 11 Lockerbie residents.

500,000 Chinese students gather in Shanghai’s People’s Square calling for democratic reforms, including freedom of the press.

American draft evaders gather for a holiday dinner in Montreal, Canada.

Kiefer Sutherland, British-born Canadian actor, producer, director; best known as Jack Bauer on the 24 TV series, a role that garnered him several awards including an Emmy and Golden Globe.

Four pacifists are indicted in New York for burning draft cards — Thomas C. Cornell, 31, co-secretary of the Catholic Peace Fellowship; Roy Lisker, 27, a volunteer of the Catholic Worker Movement; James E. Wilson, 21, a volunteer at the Catholic Worker Movement and a member of the Fellowship for Reconciliation; and M P, Edelman, a full-time worker for the War Resisters League.

Great Britain’s House of Commons votes to ban the death penalty.

The Turk minority riots in Cyprus to protest anti-Turkish revisions in the constitution.

Florence Griffith Joyner, track star, Olympic medalist. Died unexpectedly of heart failure at age thirty-eight on September 21, 1998.

Chris Evert (Chris Evert-Lloyd), No. 1 women’s pro tennis player in the world for 260 weeks in the 1970s; she reached 34 Grand Slam singles finals, a record unmatched by any other pro, female or male.

An earthquake and tidal wave kill hundreds in Japan.

General George S. Patton dies at the age of 60 after being injured in a car accident.

German troops surround the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne in Belgium.

Frank Zappa, bandleader, composer, guitarist, satirist, filmmaker and advocate of creative freedom.

Jane Fonda, actress, political activist, exercise guru; films include Klute and Coming Home.

President Calvin Coolidge signs the Boulder Dam bill.

Kurt Waldheim, controversial fourth Secretary General of the United Nations.

Josh Gibson, baseball player for the Negro Leagues, Home-Run King.

Over 2.5 million plague victims are reported in the An-Hul province of China.

Joseph Stalin, Communist leader of the Soviet Union.

Indians, led by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, kill Captain William J. Fetterman and 79 other men who had ventured out from Fort Phil Kearny to cut wood.

The U.S. Congress authorizes the Medal of Honor to be awarded to Navy personnel who have distinguished themselves by their gallantry in action.

Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Samuel Slater opens the first cotton mill in the United States (in Rhode Island).

French forces seize control of the eastern shore of Newfoundland after winning a victory at St. John’s.

The Pilgrims land at or near Plymouth Rock.

Vespian, a gruff-spoken general of humble origins, enters Rome and is named emperor by the Senate.