On this day: December 26

POSTED: 05:00 PM PST Dec 24, 2012    UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Dec 25, 2012 

Congress memorializes George Washington, Babe Ruth's contract is sold to the Yankees, Kwanzaa is celebrated for the first time, and a killer tsunami rolls across the Indian Ocean, all on this day.

OTD December 26 - Bam earthquake
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Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

2003: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates the southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing 26,271 people and leaving another 30,000 injured. The quake destroyed 85 to 90 percent of the infrastructure and buildings in the Bam area, including the 2,500-year-old citadel of Arg-é Bam.

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