Today is Thursday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2023 with three to follow.
The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the United States, in 1856; jazz pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines in 1903; comic book writer/character creator Stan Lee in 1922; actor Martin Milner in 1931; actor Maggie Smith in 1934 (age 89); entrepreneur Philip Anschutz in 1939 (age 84); rock musician Edgar Winter in 1946 (age 77); actor Denzel Washington in 1954 (age 69); TV personality Gayle King in 1954 (age 69); Chinese activist/Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo in 1955; comedian Seth Meyers in 1973 (age 50); actor Joe Manganiello in 1976 (age 47); singer John Legend, born John Roger Stephens, in 1978 (age 45); actor Noomi Rapace in 1979 (age 44); actor Sienna Miller in 1981 (age 42); singer David Archuleta in 1990 (age 33); Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Adam Peaty in 1994 (age 29); actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in 2001 (age 22); actor Miles Brown in 2004 (age 19).
On this date in history:
In 1065, Westminster Abbey was consecrated. Nearly all British monarchs since then have been crowned in coronation ceremonies at the church, including the most recent, King Charles III on May 6, 2023.
In 1832, John Calhoun, at odds with U.S. President Andrew Jackson, became the first U.S. vice president to resign.
In 1846, Iowa was admitted into the United States as the 29th state.
In 1869, a group of tailors in Philadelphia staged the first Labor Day ceremonies in the United States.
In 1895, French film pioneers Auguste Lumiere and Louis Lumiere showed the first commercial motion pictures at a Paris cafe.
In 1908, an earthquake in the Messina area of southern Italy killed at least 80,000 people. Some estimates put the death toll upwards of 200,000.
In 1950, advancing Chinese troops crossed the 38th Parallel, dividing line between North and South Korea, to help the communist North Koreans fight U.S.-led U.N. forces.
In 1981, the United States’ first test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, was born in a Norfolk, Va., hospital.
In 1985, warring Lebanese Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace agreement backed by Syria.
In 1991, Time magazine named CNN founder Ted Turner man of the year.
In 2007, Nepal’s interim parliament voted to abolish its monarchy and became a federal democratic republic. King Gyanendra was formally deposed May 28, 2008.
In 2012, a 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi died at a hospital in Singapore. The attack by six men on the woman and her boyfriend caused outrage and protests throughout India.
In 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning American parents from adopting Russian children.
In 2014, Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea, killing 155 passengers and seven crew. Searchers found the aircraft and bodies floating in the sea two days after it disappeared.
In 2015, Japan and South Korea reached a deal to settle the issue of “comfort women,” sex slave victims forced to serve in Japanese military brothels during World War II. Tokyo issued a formal apology and agreed to pay $8.3 million.
In 2019, a car bomb rocked Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, killing more than 80 people and injuring 125 others.
A thought for the day: “You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud, too. That’s part of it.” — American actor Denzel Washington