On this day … 12/26 The first Kwanzaa


1946
Bugsy Siegel opens Flamingo Hotel
On December 26, 1946, in Las Vegas, Nevada, mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel opens The Pink Flamingo Hotel & Casino at a total cost of $6 million. The 40-acre facility wasn’t complete and Siegel was hoping to raise some revenue with the grand opening. Well-known singer and comedian Jimmy… read more »
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1776
Washington wins first major U.S. victory at Trenton »
AUTOMOTIVE
1956
Carmaker Preston Tucker dies »
CIVIL WAR
1861
Mason and Slidell freed »
COLD WAR
1955
Porgy and Bess opens in Leningrad »
CRIME
1610
Bathory’s torturous escapades are exposed »
DISASTER
2004
Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean coast »
GENERAL INTEREST
1908
Jack Johnson wins heavyweight title »
1941
Churchill addresses Congress »
1966
The first Kwanzaa »
2004
Tsunami wreaks havoc on Southeast Asia »

HOLLYWOOD
1973
The Exorcist opens »
LITERARY
1606
King Lear performed at Court »
MUSIC
1966
Jimi Hendrix writes “Purple Haze” »
OLD WEST
1820
Moses Austin asks Spanish for Texas colony »
PRESIDENTIAL
1972
Truman dies »
SPORTS
1908
Jack Johnson wins heavyweight boxing title »
VIETNAM WAR
1967
Laos says communists launched an offensive »
1971
U.S. jets strike North Vietnam »
WORLD WAR I
1917
U.S. government takes over control of nation’s railroads »
WORLD WAR II
1943
Britain surprises German attacker in the Arctic »
1944
Patton relieves Bastogne »
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