This Week in History

December 26

Brian Boyle was born.

Nicole Frontera was born.

1865 – James H. Nason received a patent for a coffee percolator.

December 27

Sean Kelleher was born.

Maureen Meier was born.

1979 – The Soviet Union took control of Afghanistan, installing Afghan politician Babrak Karmal as president.

2001 – The U.S. announced plans to hold Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

December 28

Marty Keating was born.

Morgan Henley was born.

Maryann Markle was born.

1832 – John C. Calhoun became the first vice president in U.S. history to resign from office.

1945 – Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

1981 – Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, Va.

December 29

Chris Boyle was born.

James Hassett was born.

Max Power was born.

Janet Urciuoli was born.

Emily McCallion was born.

1851 – The first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) opened in Boston.

December 30 

Pat McVeigh was born. Boom!

Katie French was born.

Monica Reilly was born.

1940  – California’s first freeway opened.

1993 – Israel and the Vatican signed an agreement of mutual recognition to put an end to Jewish-Christian hostilities.

December 31

Kathy Louis was born.

1938 – The first breath test for drivers, “drunkometer,” was introduced in Indianapolis.

1946 – President Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.

January 1

Peter Duffy was born.

Vivian Carter was born.

Lily Corcoran was born.

George Johnson was born.

Shannon Reilly was born.

Lynn Duffy was born.

1863 – Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

1959 – Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries took over Cuba and toppled Fulgencio Batista’s regime.