On today’s date December 26, 1776, the Continental Army attacked and defeated Hessian forces at The Battle of Trenton.

“First in war — first in peace — and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life; pious, humane, temperate and sincere; uniform, dignified and commanding; his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting.”

Words delivered by Henry Lee III, the father of Robert E. Lee, during a funeral oration to Congress honoring George Washington on December 26, 1799.

via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions.

Spiking the guns in Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S.C., previous to the evacuation of the fort by Colonel Anderson and the U.S. troops

December 26, 1860

via Library of Congress, no known restrictions

A photo titled “Captain Dewey and officers, Pensacola Navy Yard”

Admiral George Dewey, a hero of the Spanish-American War was born on December 26, 1837 in Montpelier, Vermont. Aboard his flagship, the U.S.S. Olympia he led the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Squadron to victory on May 1, 1898 by destroying Spain’s Pacific Fleet at Manila Bay.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Morgan Bulkeley was a Union soldier during the American Civil War who lost his brother Charles, a Union Captain, at Battery Garesche in Virginia in 1864.

He later became the first President of the MLB’s National League and was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in the late 1930s.

Morgan Bulkeley, the 54th Governor of Connecticut, was born on December 26, 1837 in East Haddam, Connecticut.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The Flamingo Hotel and Casino opened in Las Vegas on December 26, 1946. The first acts to appear there were Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra and Jimmy Durante.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

On December 26, 1944, “The Glass Menagerie” a play by Tennessee Williams was publicly performed for the first time in Chicago, Illinois

Image of Tennessee (Thomas) Williams when he was five years old in 1916 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

11x MLB All-Star, Carlton Fisk, whose MLB career spanned between 1969-1993, was born on December 26, 1947 in Bellows Falls, Vermont.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

A photograph of the Johnson-Burns Heavyweight boxing championship in Sydney, Australia that was taken on December 26, 1908.

It was at this match where Jack Johnson became the first African American Heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

In his 71 years Ambrose Bierce wrote for newspapers and produced satire like “The Devil’s Dictionary” and great stories like “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” His final writing was a December 26, 1913 letter to a friend from revolution-wracked Mexico where he was traveling with Pancho Villa’s forces. Bierce was never heard from again.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

The first U.S. patent for a coffee perculator was granted on December 26, 1865 to James Nason of Franklin, Massachusetts.

Image of a map of Franklin, Massachusetts c. 1888 from BPL via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Christmas party at the Mexican Embassy

12/26/1925

Image via LOC, no known restrictions

Publicity photograph of the Four Marx Brothers as published in the Indianapolis News, December 26, 1914, p.10

via NYPL Digital Collections, public domain

On December 26, 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British Prime Minister to address a joint session of U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C.

“…to me the best tidings of all-the United States, united as never before, has drawn the sword for freedom and cast away the scabbard.“

Image via Alamy

Steve Allen, the first host of The Tonight Show, was born on December 26, 1921 in New York City.

Image of Steve with his wife Jayne Meadows (she was the sister of Audrey Meadows from the Honeymooners) in the early 1960s via Wikimedia Commons, public domain