Today in History for Dec. 16: In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. In 1770, German composer Ludvig Van Beethoven, universally recognized as one of the ...

On Nov. 16, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of an 800-mile (1,290-kilometer) oil pipeline from the Alaska North ...

Today in Music History for Dec. 16: In 1786, German chorister Konrad Kocher was born. He was the composer of the tune "For the Beauty of the Earth" and helped popularize four-part singing in churches.