In 1777, the Continental Army under George Washington set up winter quarters in Valley Forge. In 1932, the BBC World Service first aired, as the "Empire Service." In 1972, the Apollo 17 mission, carrying the last two astronauts to walk on the Moon, returned to Earth. In 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton. In 2011, North Korea announced that dictator Kim Jong Il had died two days earlier.

Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), historian; Leonid Brezhnev (1906-82), Soviet leader; Jean Genet (1910-86), author; Edith Piaf (1915-63), singer/actress; Cicely Tyson (1924- ), actress; Al Kaline (1934- ), baseball player/sportscaster; Richard Leakey (1944- ), anthropologist; Robert Urich (1946-2002), actor; Jennifer Beals (1963- ), actress; Alyssa Milano (1972- ), actress; Warren Sapp (1972- ), football player; Jake Gyllenhaal (1980- ), actor; Ronan Farrow (1987- ), journalist.

In 1980, Brigham Young University's football team, down 20 points with three minutes to play, staged a comeback to defeat Southern Methodist University in the Holiday Bowl, 46-45.

The first American president to be impeached by the House of Representatives was Andrew Johnson in 1868.

"To achieve harmony in bad taste is the height of elegance." – Jean Genet