December 26 in history: Time magazine chose a personal computer as "Man of the Year" in 1982

Bengaluru, Dec 26: Today is Friday, December 26, 2014. What happened on this day in history? Oneindia takes a look at the past:

1530: Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty, died.

1776: George Washington, the first president of the USA, defeated the Hessian mercenaries at Trenton.

1806: Nepoleon's army was checked by the Russian troops at the Battle of Pultusk.

1831: Educationist Hennry Louis Vivian Derozio died.

1904: India saw its first cross-country motor car race, inaugurated between Dehli and Bombay.

1917: US president Woodrow Wilson placed railroads under government control, as a wartime measure.

1925: Six US destroyers were ordered from Manila to China to protect interests in the civil war there.

1932: Over 70,000 people killed in a massive earthquake in China.

1943: The German battleship Scharnhorst was sunk by British ships.

1944: Soviet troops encircle Budapest in Hungary.

1953: The United States announced the withdrawal of two divisions from Korea.

1962: Eight East Berliners crashed through gates in an armor-plated bus to go to West Berlin.

1966: The first Kwanza, a seven-day African-American celebration of family and heritage, was celebrated.

1972: Former US president Harry S Truman died.

1979: The Soviet Union flew 5,000 troops to intervene in the Afghanistan conflict.

1982: Time magazine chose a personal computer as its "Man of the Year," the first non-human to get the award.

1991: The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union formally dissolved the Soviet Union.

1996: Workers in South Korea's automotive and shipbuilding industries began the largest labour strike in the history of that country.

1999: Windstorm Lothar hits central Europe, killing 137 and caused damage worth $1.3 billion (US dollars). It was followed by another windstorm Martin within 36 hours.

Former president Shankar Dayal Sharma died.

2004: A tsunami caused by a 9.3-magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,30,000 in several countries along the rim of the Indian Ocean.

Oneindia News