Today in History

Today is Sunday, Dec. 17, the 351st day of 2023. There are 14 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight 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.

On this date:

In 1777, France recognized American independence.

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. War Department announced it was ending its policy of excluding people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.

In 1957, the United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.

In 1969, the U.S. Air Force closed its Project "Blue Book" by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings.

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 executive, 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 later acquitted, sparking riots.)

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 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died after more than a decade of iron rule; he was 69, according to official records, but some reports indicated he was 70.

In 2012, Newtown, Connecticut, began laying its dead to rest, holding funerals for two 6-year-old boys, the first of the 20 children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

In 2014, the United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations, sweeping away one of the last vestiges of the Cold War.

In 2017, "The Last Jedi" took in $220 million in its debut weekend in North America, good for the second-best opening ever and behind only its predecessor, "The Force Awakens."

In 2018, a report from the Senate intelligence committee found that Russia's political disinformation campaign on U.S. social media was more far-reaching than originally thought, with troll farms working to discourage Black voters and "blur the lines between reality and fiction" to help elect Donald Trump.

In 2020, a government advisory panel endorsed a second COVID-19 vaccine, paving the way for the shot from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign.

In 2022, the Minnesota Vikings completed the biggest comeback in NFL history by erasing a 33-point deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is 93. Pope Francis is 87. Singer-actor Tommy Steele is 87. Actor Bernard Hill is 79. Actor Ernie Hudson is 78. Comedian-actor Eugene Levy is 77. Actor Marilyn Hassett is 76. Actor Wes Studi is 76. Pop musician Jim Bonfanti (The Raspberries) is 75. Actor Joel Brooks is 74. Rock singer Paul Rodgers is 74. R&B singer Wanda Hutchinson Vaughn (The Emotions) is 72. Actor Bill Pullman is 70. Actor Barry Livingston is 70. Country singer Sharon White is 70. Producer-director-writer Peter Farrelly is 67. Rock musician Mike Mills (R.E.M.) is 65. Pop singer Sarah Dallin (Bananarama) is 62. Country singer Tracy Byrd is 57. Country musician Duane Propes is 57. Actor Laurie Holden is 54. DJ Homicide (Sugar Ray) is 53. Actor Sean Patrick Thomas is 53. Actor Claire Forlani is 52. Pop-rock musician Eddie Fisher (OneRepublic) is 50. Actor Sarah Paulson is 49. Actor Marissa Ribisi is 49. Actor Giovanni Ribisi is 49. Actor Milla Jovovich is 48. Singer Bree Sharp is 48. Singer-songwriter Ben Goldwasser (MGMT) is 41. Rock singer Mikky Ekko is 40. Actor Shannon Woodward is 39. Actor Emma Bell is 37. Actor Vanessa Zima is 37. Rock musician Taylor York (Paramore) is 34. Actor Graham Rogers is 33. Actor-singer Nat Wolff is 29.