THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2007

Today is Thursday, December 20, the 354th day of 2007. There are 11 days left in the year.

69 _ General Vespasianus occupies Rome

1780 _ England declares war on the Netherlands

1830 _ England, France, Prussia, Austria and Russia recognize Belgium

1879 _ Tom Edison privately demonstrated incandescent light at Menlo Park

1919 _ U.S. House of Representatives restricts immigration

1935 _ Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Ad Catholici Sacerdotii

1941 _ Japanese troops lands on Mindanao

1963 _ The Berlin Wall opens for the first time to West Berliners

1966 _ Brussels: Nuclear Planning Group established

1971 _ Pakistan President Yahya Khan resigns

1974 _ Ethiopia becomes socialist one-party state

1980 _ The USSR formally announces death of Alexei Kosygin

1990 _ Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze resigns

1999 _ Portugal returns Macau to China