En este día......

	Sunday, December 19th The 353rd day of 2010. There are 12 days left in the year. Go to a previous date.

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Today's Highlights in History
See a larger version of this front page.		On Dec. 19, 1984, Britain and China signed an accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. (Go to article.)On Dec. 19, 1906, Leonid Brezhnev,the Soviet statesman who was the leader of the Soviet Union for 18 years, was born. Following his death on Nov. 10, 1982, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. |Other Birthdays)
		On December 19, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a Union drummer boy during the Civil War.  (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)

On this date in:
1732	Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."
1776	Thomas Paine published his first "American Crisis" essay, writing: "These are the times that try men's souls."
1777	Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.
1843	Charles Dickens' Yuletide tale, "A Christmas Carol," was first published in Britain.
1907	A coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pa., killed 239 workers.
1946	War broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.
1972	Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, ending the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.
1974	Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president, replacing Gerald R. Ford, who became president when Richard M. Nixon resigned.
1986	The Soviet Union announced it had freed dissident Andrei Sakharov from internal exile and pardoned his wife, Yelena Bonner.
1997	"Titanic," the second highest-grossing movie of all time, opened in American theaters.
1998	President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice. (He was later acquitted by the Senate.)
2000	The U.N. Security Council voted to impose broad sanctions on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless they closed terrorist training camps and surrendered U.S. embassy bombing suspect Osama bin Laden.
2003	Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi agreed to halt his nation's drive to develop nuclear and chemical weapons.
2005	Afghanistan's first democratically elected parliament in more than three decades convened.

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Current Birthdays

Jake Gyllenhaal turns 30years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini Actor Jake Gyllenhaal turns 30 years old today.

77 Cicely Tyson Actress 76 Al Kaline Baseball Hall of Famer 69 Maurice White R&B musician (Earth, Wind and Fire) 67 James Jones Former national security adviser 67 Elaine Joyce Actress 66 Richard E. Leakey Palaeontologist 66 Alvin Lee Rock singer (Ten Years After) 66 Tim Reid Actor ("WKRP in Cincinnati") 55 Rob Portman Former White House budget director 53 Kevin McHale Basketball Hall of Famer 50 Mike Lookinland Actor ("The Brady Bunch") 47 Jennifer Beals Actress 46 Randall McDaniel Football Hall of Famer 43 Criss Angel Magician 41 Kristy Swanson Actress 39 Amy Locane Actress 38 Alyssa Milano Actress ("Charmed," "Who's the Boss?") 38 Warren Sapp Football player 25 Lady Sovereign Rapper

Historic Birthdays
Leonid Brezhnev
12/19/1906 - 11/10/1982 Russian statesman  (Go to obit.)
80	Charles-Julien Brianchon 12/19/1783 - 4/29/1864 French mathematician
55	Edwin Stanton 12/19/1814 - 12/24/1869 American Secretary of War under President Lincoln
78	A.A. Michelson 12/19/1852 - 5/9/1931 German-born American physicist
83	Barry Byrne 12/19/1883 - 12/17/1967 American architect
74	Fritz Reiner 12/19/1888 - 11/15/1963 Hungarian-born American conductor
80	Sir Ralph Richardson 12/19/1902 - 10/10/1983 English actor
92	George Davis Snell 12/19/1903 - 6/6/1996 American geneticist and Nobel Prize winner
75	Jean Genet 12/19/1910 - 4/15/1986 French novelist
47	Edith Piaf 12/19/1915 - 10/11/1963 French singer and actress

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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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