groups

"Despite determined German attacks, however, the perimeter held. The German commander, Generalleutnant Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, requested Bastogne's surrender. When General Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st, was told, a frustrated McAuliffe responded, "Nuts!" After turning to other pressing issues, his staff reminded him that they should reply to the German demand. One officer (Harry W. O. Kinnard, then a Lieutenant Colonel) recommended that McAuliffe's initial reply would be "tough to beat". Thus McAuliffe wrote on the paper delivered to the Germans the line he made famous and a morale booster to his troops: “NUTS!” That reply had to be explained, both to the Germans and to non-American Allies."



Those born on this date include:
- Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of England's King Henry VIII, in 1485
- German composer Ludwig von Beethoven in 1770
- Novelist Jane Austen in 1775
- Philosopher George Santayana in 1863
- Playwright and composer Noel Coward in 1899
- Anthropologist Margaret Mead in 1901
- Science fiction novelist Arthur C. Clarke in 1917
- Actress Liv Ullmann in 1938 (age 71)
- TV journalist Leslie Stahl in 1941 (age 68)
- TV producer Steven Bochco in 1943 (age 66)
- Actor Benjamin Bratt in 1963 (age 46)

In 1773, some 50 American patriots, protesting the British tax on tea, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor in the historic "Boston Tea Party."

In 1835, a fire swept New York City, razing 600 buildings and causing $20 million damage.

In 1893, Anton Dvorak's "New World Symphony" premiered at New York's Carnegie Hall.

In 1913, British actor Charles Chaplin reported to work at Keystone Studios in Hollywood to launch a legendary film career.

In 1944, Germany launched a great counteroffensive in World War II that became known as "The Battle of the Bulge."

In 1953, Chuck Yeager set an airborne speed record when he flew a Bell X-1A rocket-fueled plane at more than 1,600 miles an hour.

In 1991, the U.N. General Assembly repealed a resolution equating Zionism with racism. It had been a major stumbling block in achieving peace in the Middle East.

In 1997, more than 700 children in Japan were hospitalized after a televised cartoon triggered a condition called "light epilepsy" or "Nintendo epilepsy," which is caused by intense flashes of light viewed up close.

Also in 1997, the highest wind speed ever measured -- 236 mph -- was recorded at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam as Typhoon Paka slammed into the Pacific island.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush signed legislation authorizing the creation of a museum honoring African-Americans.