Today is Saturday, Dec. 26th, the 360th day of 2009. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

On Dec. 26, 1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

ON THIS DATE

In 1776, the British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.

In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African-American boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.

In 1917, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation’s railroads.

In 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.

In 1947, heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.

In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo., at age 88.

In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colo. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved, despite a widely publicized “confession” by John Mark Karr.)

In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 93.

In 2004, more than 200,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean. An unmanned cargo ship docked at the international space station, ending a shortage that forced astronauts to ration supplies. Reggie White, one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, died in North Carolina at age 43.

Associated Press