George Washington crosses the Delaware, "To Kill a Mockingbird" premieres, Gorbachev resigns, and passengers on a Christmas flight into Detroit foil the "Underwear Bomber," all on this day.
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Universal Pictures
1946: Comedian and actor W. C. Fields, known for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist, dies from an alcohol-related stomach hemorrhage at the age of 66 in Pasadena, Calif.