#Middlebury
On Dec. 25, 1776, Gen. George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 Patriot troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington’s men quickly overwhelmed the German defenders, who were groggy from the previous evening’s festivities, and by morning the town was surrounded.- On Dec. 21, 1891, James Naismith introduces the game of basketball as an activity for bored and unruly students during difficult New England winters. Based on rules he created, the game was tested by 18 students at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School in Massachusetts.
- On Dec. 22, 1956, a baby gorilla enters the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, becoming the first gorilla born in captivity. Colo went on to become a mother, grandmother and a great-grandmother to Timu, the first surviving infant gorilla conceived by artificial insemination. Colo died in 2017 at the age of 60.
- On Dec. 26, 1966, Jimi Hendrix writes the lyrics to “Purple Haze,” the song that would give him his breakthrough hit. Rolling Stone magazine would later name “Purple Haze” one of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
- On Dec. 23, 1982, the Missouri Department of Health informs residents of Times Beach that their town was contaminated when the chemical dioxin was sprayed on its unpaved roads. The entire town was evacuated and demolished.
- On Dec. 20, 1995, the United Nations peacekeeping force formally transfers military authority in Bosnia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, clearing the way for deployment of some 60,000 NATO troops.
- On Dec. 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978. Despite fierce resistance from the Afghan army, it took the Soviets only a few days to secure the capital of Kabul.
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