FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2007

Today is Friday, December 14, the 348th day of 2007. There are 17 days left in the year.

644 _ Osman ibn Affan appointed the third kalief of islam

1911 _ The South Pole first reached by Norwegian Roald Amundsen

1913 _ Greece formally takes possession of Crete

1924 _ Chiang Kai-shek occupies Hankou

1937 _ Japanese troops conquer/plunder Nanjing

1939 _ The Soviet Union attacks Finland ― the League of Nations drops the Soviet Union

1950 _ The U.N. General Assembly establishes High Commissioner for Refugees (Nobel 1954)

1952 _ Uprising of captives in Pongam, South Korea, 82 die

1960 _ The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) forms

1967 _ DNA created in a test tube

1977 _ Egypt and Israel representatives gather in Cairo for 1st formal peace conference

1977 _ ``Saturday Night Fever", starring John Travolta, premieres in New York City