On this day :

1946 Bugsy Siegel opens Flamingo Hotel, 1776 Washington wins first major US victory at Trenton, 1956 Carmaker Preston Tucker dies, 1861 Mason and Slidell freed, 1955 Porgy and Bess opens in Leningrad, 1610 Bathorys torturous escapades are exposed, 2004 Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean coast, 1908 Jack Johnson wins heavyweight title, 1941 Churchill addresses Congress, 1966 The first Kwanzaa, 2004 Tsunami wreaks havoc on Southeast Asia, 1973 The Exorcist opens, 1606 King Lear performed at Court, 1966 Jimi Hendrix writes Purple Haze, 1820 Moses Austin asks Spanish for Texas colony, 1972 Truman dies, 1908 Jack Johnson wins heavyweight boxing title, 1967 Laos says communists launched an offensive, 1971 US jets strike North Vietnam, 1917 US government takes over control of nations railroads, 1943 Britain surprises German attacker in the Arctic, 1944 Patton relieves Bastogne,