Today in History: December 17, the Wright Brothers’ first flight
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 17, the 352nd day of 2024. There are 14 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Dec. 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, conducted the first successful manned, powered airplane flights near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.
Also on this date:
In 1933, in the inaugural NFL championship football game, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants, 23-21, at Wrigley Field.
In 1944, the U.S. Army’s Western Defense Command rescinded orders to incarcerate people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast during World War II; more than 110,000 men, woman and children of Japanese ancestry, about two-thirds of whom were American citizens, had been forced into camps and held by armed guards following a February 1942 executive order by President Franklin Roosevelt.
In 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was sentenced in Sacramento, California, to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. (She was paroled in August 2009.)
In 1979, Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance broker and former Marine, was beaten by police after leading them on a chase with his motorcycle in Miami. McDuffie died in a hospital four days later. (Four white police officers accused of beating McDuffie were acquitted the following year, sparking riots in the city that led to several deaths and millions of dollars in damages.)
In 1989, the animated television show ‘The Simpsons’ made its debut.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in separate ceremonies.
In 2014, the United States and communist Cuba restored diplomatic relations after decades of mutual animosity, sweeping away one of the last vestiges of the Cold War.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is 94.
- Pope Francis is 88.
- Actor Ernie Hudson is 79.
- Political commentator Chris Matthews is 79.
- Comedian-actor Eugene Levy is 78.
- Actor Wes Studi is 77.
- Rock singer Paul Rodgers is 75.
- Actor Bill Pullman is 71.
- Filmmaker Peter Farrelly is 68.
- Rock musician Mike Mills (R.E.M.) is 66.
- Country singer Tracy Byrd is 58.
- Actor Laurie Holden is 55.
- Actor Claire Forlani is 53.
- Filmmaker Rian Johnson is 51.
- Actor Sarah Paulson is 50.
- Actor Giovanni Ribisi is 50.
- Actor Milla Jovovich (YO’-vuh-vich) is 49.
- Boxer Manny Pacquiao is 46.
- Actor-singer Nat Wolff is 30.