The earliest event that Wiki says occurred on this day is “962 – Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo” and the most recent is “2003 – PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234.”
A few other things that also took place on this day are:
1776 – Thomas Paine publishes “The Crisis” pamphlet.
1823 – A Visit from St. Nicholas is published for the first time.
1913 – Pres Wilson signs the Federal Reserve Act into law.
1938 – Margaret Hamilton receives burns on her face and hands while filming a scene for The Wizard of Oz. It would take her over six weeks before she recovered enough to return to the set.
1968 – North Korea releases the crew of the USS Pueblo. The 82 sailors had been prisoners for the past 11 months, after their ship had been captured in North Korean waters. The Naval Intelligence ship is still being held by North Korea.
Happy birthday to Eddie Vedder, Dave Murray, Ron Bushy, Harry Shearer, Jorma Kaukonen, Bob Kahn, and Paul Hornung.