December 23, 2013

230 years ago
1783

Defense
George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Continental Army and retired to his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

225 years ago
1788

Americana
Maryland passed an act to cede a parcel of land for the seat of the national government, part of which later became the District of Columbia.

190 years ago
1823

Literature
The poem A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clark Moore was first published in the Troy Sentinel in Troy, New York.

100 years ago
1913

Abominations
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Owen-Glass Act, creating a consortium of privately-owned banks known as the Federal Reserve System wielding disproportionate control over the economy of the United States.

80 years ago
1933

World events
Marinus Van der Lubbe was convicted in Leipzig of setting the fire that had burned down the German Reichstag in Berlin on February 27, 1933, and of attempting to overthrow the government. Co-defendants Ernst Torgler, Georgi Dimitrov, Blagoi Popov, and Vasil Tanev were acquitted. Mr. Van der Lubbe was sentenced to death.

60 years ago
1953

Died on this date
Lavrentiy Beria, 54. U.S.S.R. politician. Mr. Beria was chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus (NKVD) under dictator Josef Stalin during World War II, serving as Minister of Internal Affairs (1938-1945), and Deputy Premier from 1941. He was responsible for organizing the Katyn Forest massacre of Polish military officers in 1940, and was known as a sexual predator, getting away with numerous rapes and perhaps murders of women. Upon the death of Mr. Stalin in March 1953, Mr. Beria resumed the office of Minister of Internal Affairs, and was also First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He soon lost a power struggle with Nikita Khrushchev, and was arrested for treason in June. He and six co-defendants were convicted in a secret trial, and Mr. Beria was executed by General Pavel Batitsky, who shot him through the forehead after stuffing a rag in Mr. Beria's mouth to stifle the pleas for his life.

50 years ago
1963

On television tonight
The Outer Limits, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Tourist Attraction, starring Ralph Meeker, Janet Blair, Jerry Douglas, Jay Novello, and Henry Silva

Canadiana
The National Centre for the Performing Arts was founded in Ottawa.

40 years ago
1973

Died on this date
Irna Phillips, 72. U.S. radio and television producer and writer. Miss Phillips created, produced, and wrote some of radio and television's soap operas, including The Guiding Light; As the World Turns; and Another World.

Oil
Arab oil producers announced a doubling of the price of crude oil from the Persian Gulf.

Disasters
A chartered Caravelle twin-engine plane crashed in the Rif Mountains in Morocco, killing all 106 people aboard, most of them Moroccans returning home for the holidays.

Football
NFL
NFC divisional playoff
Los Angeles 16 @ Dallas 27

AFC divisional playoff
Cincinnati 16 @ Miami 34

Roger Staubach completed touchdown passes to Drew Pearson of 4 yards in the 1st quarter and 83 yards in the 4th quarter as the Cowboys defeated the Rams before 64,291 fans at Texas Stadium in Irving. Mr. Pearson's touchdowns were his only receptions of the game; his second TD came after Tony Baker's 5-yard touchdown rush, converted by David Ray, had cut the Dallas lead to 17-16. Calvin Hill, who rushed 25 times for 97 yards, opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter. Toni Fritsch converted all 3 Dallas touchdowns and added 2 field goals. His first FG, from 39 yards, gave the Cowboys a 17-0 lead in the 2nd quarter. Mr. Ray kicked 3 field goals for the Rams. Mr. Staubach completed 8 of 16 passes for 180 yards and 2 interceptions, while Los Angeles quarterback John Hadl, the NFC's Most Valuable Player in 1973, had a poor game, completing just 7 of 23 passes for 133 yards and an interception.

Mercury Morris rushed 20 times for 106 yards and a touchdown and Larry Csonka added 71 yards on 20 carries for a touchdown as the Dolphins beat the Bengals before 80,047 fans at the Orange Bowl. Jim Kiick contributed 51 yards on 10 carries as the Dolphins amassed 241 yards rushing. Miami quarterback Bob Griese completed 11 of 18 passes for 159 yards and touchdown passes to Paul Warfield in the 1st quarter and Jim Mandich in the 3rd quarter. Garo Yepremian converted all 4 Miami touchdowns and added 2 field goals. Defensive back Neal Craig scored the only Cincinnati touchdown on a 45-yard interception return in the 2nd quarter. Horst Muhlmann converted and added 3 field goals. Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson completed 14 of 27 passes for just 113 yards and an interception.

30 years ago
1983

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand (RIANZ): Uptown Girl--Billy Joel (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Come Back and Stay--Paul Young (7th week at #1)

Politics and government
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau named Jeanne Sauve, a former Liberal federal cabinet minister, to be Canada's first female Governor General. She was sworn in on May 14, 1984, succeeding Ed Schreyer.

Scandal
J. Lynn Helms resigned as head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration during investigations by two federal grand juries of his private business dealings. The Wall Street Journal had said that Mr. Helms had engaged in questionable business practices, reporting on October 7 that Mr. Helms and an associate had taken over several small businesses and manipulated their assets, resulting in several bankruptcies and defaults on millions of dolars of debt, much of it backed by government agencies.

25 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Don't Worry Be Happy--Bobby McFerrin (8th week at #1)

20 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in Finland (Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland): The Sign--Ace of Base (3rd week at #1)

10 years ago
2003

Health
The U.S. government announced the first suspected case of mad cow disease in the United States.

Crime
A jury in Chesapeake, Virginia sentenced Lee Boyd Malvo, 17, to life in prison without parole, five days after convicting him of two counts of murder in the sniper shootings of 10 people in the Washington, D.C. area in October 2002. John Allen Muhammad had been sentenced to death a month earlier for his role in the killings.