This Day in History

On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami with waves up to 100 feet (30 meters) high that killed about 230,000 people across a dozen countries as far as East Africa. The worst-affected countries were Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

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In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first Black boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.

In 1941, during World War II, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, just two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the U.S. into the war.

In 1966, Kwanzaa was first celebrated, a seven-day holiday to help African Americans reconnect with their African heritage.

In 1990, Nancy Cruzan, a young woman in an irreversible vegetative state whose case led to a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the right to die, died at a Missouri hospital.

In 1991, the USSR was formally dissolved through a declaration by the Supreme Soviet.

In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93.

In 2021, South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu died at 90; the retired archbishop had been an uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and LGBTQ rights.

Today's Birthdays: "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh is 80. Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk is 78. Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith is 71. Humorist David Sedaris is 69. Rock musician Lars Ulrich (Metallica) is 62. Actor-musician Jared Leto is 54. Rock singer Chris Daughtry is 46. Actor Beth Behrs is 40. Actor Kit Harington is 39.