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1620 - The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock. This date is often considered the beginning of British settlement of North America.

History is much more complicated, of course. Europeans had been traveling to North America for at least six centuries before that.

1945 - General George Patton died in Germany. He had been injured in a car crash December 9.

His controversial career did not conform to the saying, Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.

1948 - Ireland declared itself a sovereign republic, abolishing the last token symbol of British authority.

1988 - Pan Am Flight 103 exploded in the air over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people on the plane and on the ground. Responsibility for the bombing lies by all accounts with Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi.

- Jim

Also:

1968 - Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Thanks for adding that.

Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders were the first human beings to achieve escape velocity from earth. Later missions get all the publicity now.

- Jim

It bummes me out to see the lack of interest when NASA does anything now. I remember watching in front of the Black and White in GREAT interest when something involving NASA was going on.

There is still interest in NASA and space exploration. I find it somewhat comforting that it's so common place that missions aren't worth more than a brief mention on the 24 hr news cycle, if at all.

I remember watching the moon missions on B&W TV, too.

Space activities have become routine. It's difficult to understand what they accomplish, even if you are interested. Most people seem to be more concerned with sports and the latest celebrity distraction.

BTW, this date has been the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere most days since the Gregorian calendar was established. Today is the first day of winter.

Which reminds me, December 21, 1620, as recorded by the passengers on the Mayflower, was not December 21 on the Gregorian calendar. The British dominions did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752. Thinking about that always gives me a headache.

- Jim

And all this stuff happened

Also on this day in history, a group of outnumbered guerrilla warriors triumphed over an evil invading heathen empire.

Happy Chanukkah! http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah ... nukkah.htm

Hope you all enjoy this celebration of religious freedom.