2025: Hamas frees the last 20 living hostages taken in the October 7 attack on Israel. In exchange, Israel released roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The swap was the first major step of a U.S.-brokered plan to end the fighting in Gaza, with a ceasefire that had taken effect days earlier.
2010: Rescuers begin lifting 33 trapped Chilean miners to safety. The men had been stuck underground for 69 days after a collapse at the San José mine in the Atacama Desert. They were brought up one at a time in a narrow capsule, and the rescue, watched live around the world, was completed within about a day.
1988: Carbon dating places the Shroud of Turin in the Middle Ages. The archbishop of Turin announced that three laboratories had dated the linen cloth to roughly the 13th or 14th century, far later than the time of Jesus. Debate over how and when the shroud was made has continued ever since.
1981: Egyptian voters approve Hosni Mubarak as president. The vote came one week after President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during a military parade in Cairo. Mubarak, who had been vice president, went on to rule Egypt for nearly 30 years until he was forced out in 2011.
1972: A plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashes in the Andes. Of the 45 people aboard Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, 33 survived the crash, but 17 more died during roughly two months in the snow, and survivors were forced to eat the dead to stay alive. Sixteen were rescued on December 22 and 23 after two of them hiked out to find help.
1950:All About Eve premieres in Paris and New York City. Starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the backstage drama about an aging Broadway star and her ambitious young admirer won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
1946: French voters approve the constitution of the Fourth Republic. The referendum set up France's postwar government after the end of German occupation. The Fourth Republic lasted until 1958, when Charles de Gaulle oversaw its replacement by the Fifth Republic.
1943: Italy declares war on Nazi Germany. Benito Mussolini had been ousted that summer, and Italy's new government under Marshal Pietro Badoglio had signed an armistice with the Allies in September. German forces then occupied much of the country, and Italy switched sides in the war.
1903: The Boston Americans win the first modern World Series. Boston, the team later known as the Red Sox, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in a best-of-nine series, clinching the title at home in Boston.
1843: B'nai B'rith is founded in New York City. A small group of German Jewish immigrants started the organization on Manhattan's Lower East Side. It grew into the oldest and largest Jewish service organization in the world.
1792: The cornerstone of the White House is laid. The building was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban. John and Abigail Adams became the first residents in 1800, near the end of his term, and every U.S. president since has lived there.
Born on This Day
2001: Caleb McLaughlin, American actor Turns 25. Plays Lucas Sinclair on the Netflix series Stranger Things.
1995: Jimin, South Korean singer Turns 31. Member of the global pop group BTS.
1989: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American politician Turns 37. U.S. representative from New York, first elected in 2018.
1980: Ashanti, American R&B singer Turns 46. Grammy winner known for the hit “Foolish.”
1977: Paul Pierce, American basketball player Boston Celtics star and MVP of the 2008 NBA Finals.
1971: Sacha Baron Cohen, English comedian and actor Turns 55. Creator and star of Borat and Ali G.
1969: Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater Two-time Olympic medalist, including silver at the 1994 Winter Games.
1968: Tisha Campbell, American actress and singer Turns 58. Starred on the sitcoms Martin and My Wife and Kids.
1967: Kate Walsh, American actress Turns 59. Played Dr. Addison Montgomery on Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.
1962: Jerry Rice, American football player Turns 64. Hall of Fame receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, widely called the greatest of all time.
1962: Kelly Preston, American actress Appeared in Twins and Jerry Maguire; she was married to John Travolta.
1961: Doc Rivers, American basketball player and coach Longtime NBA head coach who led the Boston Celtics to the 2008 championship.
1959: Marie Osmond, American singer and TV host Turns 67. Co-starred with her brother on the Donny & Marie variety show.
1947: Sammy Hagar, American rock singer Known for “I Can't Drive 55” and as Van Halen's lead singer from 1985 to 1996.
1942: Jerry Jones, American businessman Turns 84. Owner of the Dallas Cowboys since 1989.
1941: Paul Simon, American singer-songwriter Turns 85. Half of Simon & Garfunkel and solo star of the album Graceland.
1939: Melinda Dillon, American actress Played the mother in A Christmas Story and earned an Oscar nomination for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
1931: Eddie Mathews, American baseball player Hall of Fame third baseman for the Braves who hit 512 career home runs.
1925: Margaret Thatcher, British prime minister Britain's first woman prime minister, nicknamed the Iron Lady, who led the country from 1979 to 1990.
