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A bit of December 23rd history…
962 - Byzantine - Arab War: Under the future Emperor Phocas, Byzantine troops storm city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist
1788 - Maryland votes to cede 10 square mile area for the District of Columbia
1888 - Vincent Van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor after an argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, and sent it to a prostitute for safe keeping
1913 - US President Wilson signs Federal Reserve Act into law
1938 - Discovery of 1st modern coelacanth off South Africa (pictured)
1972 - 16 plane crash survivors rescued after 72 days on the Andean Mountains, surviving through cannibalism
2002 - An MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the 1st time in history an aircraft and an unmanned drone engage in combat
Today In History: