This day in history

[December 16, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Dec. 16, the 350th day of 2010. There are 15 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Dec. 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place as American colonists boarded a British ship and dumped more than 300 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest tea taxes.

On this date:

In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.

In 1770, composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.

In 1809, the French Senate granted a divorce decree to Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Josephine (the dissolution was made final the following month).

In 1907, 16 U.S. Navy battleships, which came to be known as the "Great White Fleet," set sail on a 14-month round-the-world voyage to demonstrate American sea power.

In 1944, the World War II Battle of the Bulge began as German forces launched a surprise attack against Allied forces in Belgium (the Allies were eventually able to beat the Germans back).

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight "world conquest by Communist imperialism."

In 1960, 134 people were killed when a United Air Lines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collided over New York City.

In 1976, the government halted its swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis apparently linked to the vaccine.

In 1980, Harland Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, died in Shelbyville, Ky. at age 90.

In 1985, organized-crime chief Paul Castellano and bodyguard Thomas Billotti were shot to death outside a New York City restaurant on orders from John Gotti.

Ten years ago: President-elect George W. Bush selected Colin Powell to become the first African-American secretary of state.

Five years ago: In a stinging defeat for President George W. Bush, Senate Democrats blocked passage of a new Patriot Act to combat terrorism at home. (The result was a revised Patriot Act signed by Bush in March 2006.) Actor John Spencer, who'd played the powerful chief of staff on TV's "The West Wing," died in Los Angeles at age 58. Singer-actor Enzo Stuarti died in Midland, Texas, at age 86. Jessica Simpson filed for divorce from Nick Lachey.

One year ago: Two hundred Mexican sailors raided an upscale apartment complex and killed reputed drug cartel chief Arturo Beltran Leyva in a two-hour gunbattle. Iran test-fired a missile capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe. Police fired pepper spray and beat protesters with batons outside the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen. Tiger Woods was voted Athlete of the Decade by members of The Associated Press. Yegor Gaidar, 54, who oversaw Russia's painful transition from communism to a free market economy, died in Moscow. Roy E. Disney, 79, the son and nephew of the Walt Disney Co. founders, died in Newport Beach, Calif.

Today's birthdays: Civil rights attorney Morris Dees is 74. Actress Joyce Bulifant is 73. Actress Liv Ullmann is 72. CBS news correspondent Lesley Stahl is 69. TV producer Steven Bochco is 67. Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons is 66. Pop musician Tony Hicks (The Hollies) is 65. Pop singer Benny Andersson (ABBA) is 64. Actor Ben Cross is 63. Rock singer-musician Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) is 61. Rock musician Bill Bateman (The Blasters) is 59. Actor Xander Berkeley is 55. Actress Alison LaPlaca is 51. Actor Sam Robards is 49. Actor Jon Tenney is 49. Actor Benjamin Bratt is 47. Country singer-songwriter Jeff Carson is 47. Actor Daniel Cosgrove is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Michael McCary is 39. Country musician Chris Scruggs is 28. Actress Hallee Hirsh is 23. Actress Anna Popplewell is 22.

Thought for today: "There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his." -- Helen Keller, American author and lecturer (1880-1968)

[Associated Press]

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