Today in History

Published 6:34 pm Monday, December 27, 2010

Today is Monday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2009. There are three days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

On Dec. 28, 1832, John Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down because of differences with President Andrew Jackson.

ON THIS DATE

In 1694, Queen Mary II of England died after more than five years of joint rule with her husband, King William III.

In 1908, a major earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated the Italian city of Messina, killing at least 70,000 people.

In 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1973, Alexander Solzhenitsyn published “Gulag Archipelago,” an expose of the Soviet prison system.

In 2004, the U.S. Agency for International Development said it was adding $20 million to an initial $15 million contribution for Asian tsunami relief as Secretary of State Colin Powell bristled at a U.N. official’s suggestion the United States was being “stingy.”

In 2008, the Detroit Lions completed an 0-16 season — the NFL’s worst ever — with a 31-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Associated Press