| On this date in: |
| 1520 |
Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant or face excommunication. |
| 1817 |
Mississippi was admitted to the union as the 20th state. |
| 1948 |
The U.N. General Assembly adopted its Universal Declaration on Human Rights. |
| 1965 |
The Grateful Dead played their first concert, at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. |
| 1967 |
Singer Otis Redding died at age 26 in the crash of his private plane in Wisconsin. |
| 1980 |
Rep. John W. Jenrette, D-S.C., resigned to avoid being expelled from the House following his conviction on charges related to the FBI’s Abscam investigation. |
| 1984 |
South African Bishop Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1994 |
Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1998 |
Six astronauts opened the doors to the new international space station. |
| 1998 |
The Palestinian leadership scrapped constitutional clauses rejecting Israel’s right to exist. |
| 2001 |
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” the first in a three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy, premiered in London. |
| 2002 |
Former President Jimmy Carter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomacy in the Middle East in the 1970s. |
| 2007 |
Former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis. |
| 2007 |
NFL star Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for bankrolling a dogfighting operation and killing dogs that underperformed. |
| 2007 |
Cristina Fernandez was sworn in as Argentina’s first elected female president. |
| 2009 |
President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a humble acknowledgment of his scant accomplishments and a robust defense of the U.S. at war. |
| 2009 |
James Cameron’s 3-D film epic “Avatar” had its world premiere in London. |
