Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein executed – Chicago Tribune
Today is Tuesday, December 30, the 364th day of the year 2025. There is one day left in the year.
Today in history:
On December 30, 2006, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging after being found guilty of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi High Court. Hussein was captured in 2003 by US forces while hiding near his hometown of Tikrit.
Also on this date:
In 1860, ten days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, state militia seized the U.S. Army’s armory in Charleston.
In 1896, Jose Rizal, whose writings inspired the Philippine Revolution, was executed by Spanish army troops after being convicted of rebellion, sedition and conspiracy.
In 1903, more than 600 people died in a fire that broke out at the newly opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago.
In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was officially born.
In 2009, seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer were killed by a suicide bomber at a US base in Khost (hohst), Afghanistan.
In 2015, actor and comedian Bill Cosby was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. (Cosby’s first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked; he was convicted of three counts at his retrial in April 2018 and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction in June 2021, releasing Cosby.)
In 2020, a large explosion rocked the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed government landed. At least 25 people were killed and 110 injured, and a subsequent report to the UN Security Council attributed the explosion to Houthi rebels.
Today’s Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax turns 90. Television director James Burrows is 85 years old. Singer-songwriter Patti Smith is 79 years old. Musician Jeff Lynne is 78 years old. Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph is 69 years old. Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 69 years old. Actor-comedian Tracey Ullman is 66 years old. Television commentator Sean Hannity is 64 years old. Golfer Tiger Woods is 50 years old. Television personality and retired professional boxer Laila Ali is 48 years old. Singer-actor Tyrese Gibson is 47 years old. Actress Eliza Dushku is 45 years old. Actress Kristin Kreuk is 43 years old. NBA star LeBron James is 41 years old. Singer-actress Andra Day is 41 years old. Pop-rock singer Ellie Goulding is 39 years old.
