Today in History: December 11, Lufthansa Heist' later immortalized in Goodfellas'

"On Dec. 11, 1978, nearly $6 million in cash and jewelry were stolen from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport; the Lufthansa Heist,' the largest cash robbery in history at the time, was immortalized in the film Goodfellas. Also on this date: In 1816, Indiana was admitted to the Union as the 19th U.S. state. In 1936, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson;"

"In 1946, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established. In 1972, Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan guided lander Challenger to a touchdown on the moon, where he and Harrison Jack Schmitt would become the last two Apollo astronauts to walk on the lunar surface. They returned to Earth three days later with astronaut Ronald Evans, who remained aloft in the command module."

"In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating a $1.6 billion environmental Superfund to pay for cleaning up hazardous chemical spills and toxic waste dumps. In 1997, more than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth's greenhouse gases. In 1998, majority Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee pushed through three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, over Democratic objections."

Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 is the 345th day of the year, with 20 days remaining. Significant events on this date include the 1978 Lufthansa Heist at JFK that stole nearly $6 million in cash and jewelry, and Indiana's 1816 admission as the 19th U.S. state. King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson. UNICEF was established in 1946. Apollo 17 landed in 1972, producing the last Apollo moonwalks. In 1980, the environmental Superfund was created. Later notable occurrences include the 1997 Kyoto agreement, 1998 impeachment actions, Bernie Madoff's 2008 arrest, and a 2020 Supreme Court ruling rejecting a challenge to the 2020 election.

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