2010—H. Kissinger apologizes for having told R. Nixon in 1973, “[if the Soviets] put Jews into gas chambers…it is not an American concern. Maybe a humanitarian concern.”
2002—Americans learn a new euphemism from the Washington Post: “extraordinary rendition” means kidnapping and torture. A trial? Hah!
1996—U.S. Media pick JonBenet Ramsey to be the most celebrated of the 2,500 children murdered this year.
1991—The Supreme Soviet meets one last time and dissolves the USSR.
1971—Disgruntled Vietnam veterans occupy the Statue of Liberty.
1969—Having fought a shifting cargo of bombs, missiles, and mines for nine days in heavy seas, the crew of the freighter SS Badger State abandons ship in mid-Pacific after a bomb explodes and blows a hole in the hull. Out of 40 crewmen, 11 survive.
1966—Time Magazine names “The Younger Generation” the “Man of the Year,” further exacerbating a pandemic of unwarranted self-esteem.
1913—Writer and perennially-disgruntled Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce allegedly pens one final letter before vanishing in Mexico.
1908—Jack Johnson becomes the first Black heavyweight boxing champ.
1862—Under orders from President Lincoln, the U.S. Army hangs 38 Sioux on one huge gallows.
1828—Cocheco “mill girls” in Dover go on the first all-woman strike.