On this day: December 20
POSTED: 10:21 PM PST Dec 19, 2012
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Dec 19, 2012
The Louisiana Purchase is completed, South Carolina secedes from the U.S., Edison demonstrates his incandescent light, Elvis gets drafted, and the U.S. invades Panama, all on this day.
Publicity photo
1973: Singer and actor Bobby Darin, best known for the songs "Splish Splash," "Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea," dies at the age of 37 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after undergoing surgery to repair two artificial heart valves he had received in January 1971.
