Way back when: Today in history
BY GENE CURTIS
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
12/04/12 at 2:33 AM
1984 - Bronze Age shipwreck found
The discovery of a Bronze Age shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea off the southern coast of Turkey by a group that included Tulsa architect Jack Kelley was announced by the National Geographic Society. The find was called the "most exciting ever" by Dr. George Bass, anthropology professor at Texas A&M University and a director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. The cargo ship sank about 1,400 B.C. and settled to the bottom without capsizing. Bass said the ship, the oldest ever found, probably was on a major trade route when driven onto the rocks by shifting wind. "It will be the most significant archaeological find since King Tut's tomb," Kelley said.
1991 - Hostage released
Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, 44, the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon, was released by Shiite Muslim captors in Lebanon and was safely in Syrian hands after nearly seven years in captivity. He was kidnapped from a west Beirut street in Lebanon by pro-Iranian Shiite Muslims. Eight other Westerners, including Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and American educator Thomas Sutherland, had been freed since August.
1994 - U.N. troops released
Twenty British and 33 Dutch U.N. peacekeepers, out of the 402 who had been held for more than a week as insurance against further NATO air strikes, were released by Bosnian Serbs. Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic suggested a peace plan being promoted by the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Russia was a prescription of tranquilizers to a patient suffering a serious illness.
2009 - Exchange student convicted
American exchange student Amanda Knox of Seattle and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaelle Sollecito, were found guilty of killing her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007 in Perugia, Italy. Knox, 22, was sentenced to 26 years in prison and Sollecito, 25, was sentenced to 25 years. Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivory Coast citizen, was convicted earlier and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Knox claimed she found Kercher's body when she returned home after spending the night at Sollecito's home where they watched a movie, smoked marijuana and had sex. After serving four years, Knox and Sollecito's convictions were overturned and they were freed. Guede's conviction was upheld and he is serving his term.
Associated Images:
Amanda Knox speaks at a news conference in Seattle after her conviction was overturned. AP file
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