This day in history

[December 22, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Dec. 22, the 357th day of 2008. There are nine days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Dec. 22, 1858, opera composer Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy.

On this date:

In 1775, Esek Hopkins was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy.

In 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, and Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the "Pastoral Symphony," had their world premieres in Vienna, Austria.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman wrote a message to President Abraham Lincoln which said in part: "I beg to present you as a Christmas-gift the city of Savannah."

In 1894, French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism. (Dreyfus was eventually vindicated.)

In 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, U.S. Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe rejected a German demand for surrender, writing "Nuts!" in his official reply.

In 1968, Julie Nixon married David Eisenhower in a private ceremony in New York.

In 1977, three dozen people were killed when a 250-foot-high grain elevator at the Continental Grain Company plant in Westwego, La., exploded.

In 1984, New York City resident Bernhard Goetz shot and wounded four youths on a Manhattan subway, claiming they were about to rob him.

In 1988, Brazilian environmentalist Chico Mendes was shot and killed. (A rancher, Darly Alves da Silva, was sentenced in 1990 to 19 years in jail for ordering Mendes slain.)

In 2001, Richard C. Reid, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives in his shoes, but was subdued by flight attendants and other passengers. (Reid is serving a life sentence.)

Ten years ago: A Chinese dissident (Qin Yongmin) was sentenced to prison for trying to organize an opposition party. (Qin remains in prison.)

Five years ago: A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit California's central coast, killing two people. A federal judge ruled the Pentagon couldn't enforce mandatory anthrax vaccinations for military personnel. Colombian rebels freed four Israelis and a Briton held hostage for 101 days.

One year ago: A jury in Riverhead, N.Y., convicted John White, a black man, of second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Daniel Cicciaro, a white teenager, during a confrontation outside White's house. (The 17-year-old was shot in the face after he showed up with two carloads of friends to confront White's son after a dispute at a party.)

Today's birthdays: Actress Barbara Billingsley is 93. Former House Speaker Jim Wright is 86. Actor Hector Elizondo is 72. Country singer Red Steagall is 70. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton is 64. ABC News correspondent Diane Sawyer is 63. Rock singer-musician Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) is 62. Baseball All-Star Steve Garvey is 60. Singer Robin Gibb is 59. Golfer Jan Stephenson is 57. Actress BernNadette Stanis is 55. Rapper Luther Campbell is 48. Country singer-musician Chuck Mead (BR549) is 48. Actor Ralph Fiennes is 46. Actress Lauralee Bell is 40. Country singer Lori McKenna is 40. Actress Dina Meyer is 40. Actress Heather Donahue is 34. Actor Chris Carmack is 28. Singer Jordin Sparks ("American Idol") is 19.

Thought for today: "Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor." -- Attributed to Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603)

[Associated Press]

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