| On this date in: |
| 1521 |
Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. |
| 1777 |
Gen. George Washington’s army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J. |
| 1868 |
The Meiji Restoration re-established the authority of Japan’s emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as shoguns. |
| 1892 |
J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. |
| 1938 |
The March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was organized. |
| 1961 |
The United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba. |
| 1967 |
Jack Ruby, the man who fatally shot accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, died in a Dallas hospital. |
| 1990 |
Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission in Panama City.
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| AP Photo |
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| 2000 |
The last new daily “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles Schulz ran in 2,600 newspapers. |
| 2004 |
NASA’s Mars rover, Spirit, touched down on the red planet. |
| 2006 |
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion and agreed to cooperate in investigations of corruption in Congress. |
| 2009 |
After seven days of pummeling the Gaza Strip from the air, Israel launched a ground offensive. |
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| Today’s Birthdays: |
| New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning turns 36 years old today. |
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| AP Photo/Seth Wenig |
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| Name |
Profession |
Age |
| George Martin |
Record producer |
91 |
| Robert Loggia |
Actor |
87 |
| Dabney Coleman |
Actor |
85 |
| Bobby Hull |
Hockey Hall of Famer |
78 |
| John Paul Jones |
Rock musician (Led Zeppelin) |
71 |
| Victoria Principal |
Actress (“Dallas”) |
67 |
| Mel Gibson |
Actor, director |
61 |
| Shannon Sturges |
Actress |
49 |
| Danica McKellar |
Actress (“The Wonder Years”) |
42 |
| Rock musician Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills and Nash) turns 72 years old today. |
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| AP Photo/Tony Avelar |
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