TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – DEC 13
1642 New Zealand was discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman.
1789 The National Guard is created in France.
1814 General Andrew Jackson announces martial law in New Orleans, Louisiana, as British troops disembark at Lake Borne, 40 miles east of the city. The Battle of New Orleans
1843 “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens published, 6,000 copies sold
1902 The Committee of Imperial Defense holds its first meeting in London.
1940 Adolf Hitler issues preparations for Operation Martita, the German invasion of Greece.
1945 France and Britain agree to quit Syria and Lebanon.
1951 After meeting with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, President Harry S Truman vows to purge all disloyal government workers.
1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson and Mexico’s President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz meet on a bridge at El Paso, Texas, to officiate at ceremonies returning the long-disputed El Chamizal area to the Mexican side of the border.
1973 Great Britain cuts the work week to three days to save energy.
1978 The U.S. Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, the first U.S. coin honoring a woman.
1981 Polish labor leader Lech Walesa is arrested and the government decrees martial law, restricting civil rights and suspending operation of the independent trade union Solidarity.
1985 France sues the United States over the discovery of an AIDS serum.
1995 US Federal Court votes that Cable companies must carry local stations
2001 Terrorists attach the Parliament of India Sansad; 15 people are killed, including the terrorists
2003 Deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein captured; he is found hiding in near his home town of Tikrit.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
