Each day Examiner.com offers a glimpse of the history behind today, whether it's last year, last decade or a century ago. Remind yourself of the events you lived through but may have forgotten, stories you read in the past or pick up a couple of facts you missed along the way.
Today is tomorrow's history. Before making your mark on history, take a look back at what's already happened this day.
Today is Friday, Dec. 14, the 348th day of 2007. There are 17 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 14, 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, died at his Mount Vernon, Va., home at age 67.
On this date:
In 1819, Alabama joined the Union as the 22nd state.
In 1861, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, died in London.
In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his group became the first men to reach the South Pole, beating out an expedition led by Robert F. Scott.
In 1939, the Soviet Union was dropped from the League of Nations.
In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish U.N. headquarters in New York.
In 1962, the U.S. space probe Mariner 2 approached Venus, transmitting information about the planet.
In 1975, six South Moluccan extremists surrendered after holding 23 hostages for 12 days on a train near the Dutch town of Beilen.
In 1981, Israel annexed the Golan Heights, which it had seized from Syria in 1967.
In 1986, the experimental aircraft Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on the first nonstop, non-refueled flight around the world.
In 1995, presidents Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia signed the Bosnian peace treaty in Paris.
Ten years ago: Iran's new president, Mohammad Khatami, called for a dialogue with the people of the United States — a nation reviled by his predecessors as "The Great Satan." Cuban President Fidel Castro declared Christmas 1997 an official holiday to ensure the success of Pope John Paul II's upcoming visit to the communist country.
Five years ago: Jordanian police announced the arrest of two alleged al-Qaida members in the October killing of American diplomat Laurence Foley.
One year ago: South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations. A British police inquiry concluded that the deaths of Princess Diana and her boyfriend in a 1997 Paris car crash were a "tragic accident" and that allegations of murder were unfounded. Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun died in New York at age 83. Actor Mike Evans, who'd played Lionel Jefferson on "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," died in Twentynine Palms, Calif., at age 57.
Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician Clark Terry is 87. Former "60 Minutes" executive producer Don Hewitt is 85. Actor-playwright George Furth is 75. Actor Hal Williams is 69. Actress Patty Duke is 61. Pop singer Joyce Vincent-Wilson (Tony Orlando and Dawn) is 61. Entertainment executive Michael Ovitz is 61. Actress Dee Wallace is 59. Rhythm-and-blues singer Ronnie McNeir (The Four Tops) is 58. Rock musician Cliff Williams (AC/DC) is 58. Rock singer-musician Mike Scott (The Waterboys) is 49. Singer-musician Peter "Spider" Stacy (The Pogues) is 49. Actress Cynthia Gibb is 44. Actress Natascha McElhone is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brian Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 32. Actress KaDee Strickland is 32. Actress Tammy Blanchard is 31. Actress Sophie Monk is 28.
Thought for Today: "To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." — Henry Lee, American governor (1756-1818) on the death of George Washington.
Today is Thursday, Dec. 13, the 347th day of 2007. There are 18 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 13, 1862, Union forces suffered a major defeat to the Confederates at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
On this date:
In 1642, Dutch navigator Abel Tasman sighted present-day New Zealand.
In 1769, Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, received its charter.
In 1835, Phillips Brooks, the American Episcopal bishop who wrote the words to "O Little Town of Bethlehem," was born in Boston.
In 1918, President Wilson arrived in France, becoming the first chief executive to visit Europe while in office.
In 1928, George Gershwin's musical work "An American in Paris" had its premiere, at Carnegie Hall in New York.
In 1944, during World War II, the U.S. cruiser Nashville was badly damaged in a Japanese kamikaze attack that claimed more than 130 lives.
In 1978, the Philadelphia Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which went into circulation in July 1979.
In 1981, authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. (Martial law formally ended in 1983.)
In 1994, an American Eagle commuter plane crashed short of Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina, killing 15 of the 20 people on board.
In 1996, the U.N. Security Council chose Kofi Annan of Ghana to become the world body's seventh secretary-general.
Ten years ago: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Los Angeles for the $1 billion Getty Center, one of the largest arts centers in the United States. Michigan Wolverine Charles Woodson was named winner of the Heisman Trophy, the first primarily defensive player so honored.
Five years ago: Cardinal Bernard Law resigned as Boston archbishop because of the priest sex abuse scandal. President Bush announced he would take the smallpox vaccine along with U.S. military forces, but was not recommending the potentially risky inoculation for most Americans. The U.N. Security Council condemned "acts of terror" against Israel in Kenya and deplored the claims of responsibility by the al-Qaida terror network.
One year ago: President Bush held high-level talks at the Pentagon, after which he said he would "not be rushed" into a decision on a strategy change for Iraq. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., underwent emergency surgery after suffering bleeding in his brain. Lamar Hunt, the owner of football's Kansas City Chiefs who coined the term "Super Bowl," died in Dallas at age 74.
Today's Birthdays: Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz is 87. Actor-comedian Dick Van Dyke is 82. Actor Christopher Plummer is 80. Actor Robert Prosky is 77. Country singer Buck White is 77. Music/film producer Lou Adler is 74. Movie producer Richard Zanuck is 73. Singer John Davidson is 66. Singer Ted Nugent is 59. Rock musician Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is 59. Country musician Ron Getman is 59. Actor Robert Lindsay is 58. Country singer-musician Randy Owen is 58. Actress Wendie Malick is 57. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is 54. Country singer John Anderson is 53. Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert is 53. Singer-actor Morris Day is 51. Actor Steve Buscemi is 50. Actor Johnny Whitaker is 48. Actor-comedian Jamie Foxx is 40. Rock singer-musician Thomas Delonge is 32. Actress Chelsea Hertford is 26. Rock singer Amy Lee (Evanescence) is 26. Country singer Taylor Swift is 18.
Thought for Today: "Good judgment comes from experience; and experience, well, that comes from bad judgment." — Anonymous.
Today is Wednesday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2007. There are 19 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 12, 1917, Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Neb.
On this date:
In 1787, Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the first black lawmaker sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1897, "The Katzenjammer Kids," the pioneering comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks, made its debut in the New York Journal.
In 1906, President Roosevelt nominated Oscar Straus to be secretary of commerce and labor; Straus became the first Jewish Cabinet member.
In 1913, authorities in Florence, Italy, announced that the "Mona Lisa," stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911, had been recovered.
In 1925, the first motel — the Motel Inn — opened in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
In 1937, Japanese aircraft sank the U.S. gunboat Panay on China's Yangtze River. (Japan apologized, and paid $2.2 million in reparations.)
In 1963, Kenya gained its independence from Britain.
In 1985, 248 American soldiers and eight crew members were killed when an Arrow Air charter crashed after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland.
In 2000, a divided U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state court decision for recounts in Florida's contested election, transforming George W. Bush into the president-elect.
Ten years ago: Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the international terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal," went on trial in Paris on charges of killing two French investigators and a Lebanese national. (Ramirez was convicted, and is serving a life sentence.)
Five years ago: President Bush publicly rebuked Senate Republican leader Trent Lott for his statement that appeared to embrace half-century-old segregationist politics, calling it "offensive" and "wrong." A defiant North Korea said it would immediately reactivate a nuclear power plant that U.S. officials suspected was being used to develop weapons. Actor Nick Nolte pleaded no contest in Malibu, Calif., to one count of driving under the influence of drugs; he was sentenced to three years' probation.
One year ago: A suicide bomber struck a crowd of mostly poor Shiites in Baghdad, killing some five dozen people and wounding more than 200. A two-day conference questioning the existence of the Nazi Holocaust ended in Tehran. Actor Peter Boyle died in New York at age 71.
Today's Birthdays: TV host Bob Barker is 84. Former New York City Mayor Edward Koch is 83. Singer Connie Francis is 69. Singer Dionne Warwick is 67. Rock singer-musician Dickey Betts is 64. Actor Wings Hauser is 60. Actor Bill Nighy is 58. Country singer LaCosta is 57. Gymnast-turned-actress Cathy Rigby is 55. Actress Sheree J. Wilson is 49. Singer-musician Sheila E. is 48. Pop singer Daniel O'Donnell is 46. Rock musician Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors) is 44. Rock musician Nicholas Dimichino (Nine Days) is 40. Actress Jennifer Connelly is 37. Actress Madchen Amick is 37. Country singer Hank Williams III is 35. Actress Mayim Bialik is 32. Model Bridget Hall is 30.
Thought for Today: "There are two cardinal sins from which all the others spring: impatience and laziness." — Franz Kafka, Czech author (1883-1924).
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 11, the 345th day of 2007. There are 20 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 11, 1936, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson.
On this date:
In 1792, France's King Louis XVI went before the Convention to face charges of treason. (Louis was convicted, and executed the following month.)
In 1816, Indiana became the 19th state.
In 1882, Boston's Bijou Theatre, the first American playhouse to be lighted exclusively by electricity, gave its first performance (Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe").
In 1928, police in Buenos Aires announced they had thwarted an attempt on the life of President-elect Herbert Hoover.
In 1937, Italy withdrew from the League of Nations.
In 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind.
In 1946, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established.
In 1957, the movie "Peyton Place," based on the novel by Grace Metalious, had its world premiere in Camden, Maine, where most of it had been filmed.
In 1981, the U.N. Security Council chose Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru to be the fifth secretary-general of the world body.
In 1991, a jury in West Palm Beach, Fla., acquitted William Kennedy Smith of sexual battery, rejecting the allegations of Patricia Bowman.
Ten years ago: More than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth's greenhouse gases. Henry Cisneros, President Clinton's first housing secretary, was indicted on charges of conspiracy, obstructing justice and making false statements about payments to his former mistress. (Cisneros, who later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, was eventually pardoned by Clinton.) Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams became the first political ally of the IRA to meet a British leader in 76 years as he conferred with Prime Minister Tony Blair in London.
Five years ago: The United States let an intercepted shipment of North Korean missiles proceed to the Persian Gulf country of Yemen a day after the vessel was detained. A congressional report found that intelligence agencies that were supposed to protect Americans from the Sept. 11 hijackers failed to do so because they were poorly organized, poorly equipped and slow to pursue clues that might have prevented the attacks.
One year ago: In his farewell address, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan criticized the Bush administration's leadership on the global stage, warning that America must not sacrifice its democratic ideals while waging war against terrorism. Iran hosted Holocaust deniers from around the world at a conference examining whether the Nazi genocide had taken place. After a two-day journey, space shuttle Discovery reached the international space station for a weeklong stay.
Today's Birthdays: Nobel Prize-winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn is 89. Actor Jean-Louis Trintignant is 77. Actress Rita Moreno is 76. Former California state lawmaker Tom Hayden is 68. Pop singer David Gates (Bread) is 67. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is 66. Actress Donna Mills is 65. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is 64. Singer Brenda Lee is 63. Actress Lynda Day George is 63. Music producer Tony Brown is 61. Actress Teri Garr is 59. Movie director Susan Seidelman is 55. Actress Bess Armstrong is 54. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 53. Rock musician Mike Mesaros (The Smithereens) is 50. Rock musician Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 49. Rock musician Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones) is 46. Singer-musician Justin Currie (Del Amitri) is 43. Rock musician David Schools (Gov't Mule, Widespread Panic) is 43. Actor Gary Dourdan is 41. Actress-comedian Mo'Nique ("The Parkers") is 39. Rapper-actor Mos Def is 34. Actor Rider Strong is 28.
Thought for Today: "There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it." — Denis Diderot, French philosopher (1713-1784).
Today is Sunday, Dec. 9, the 343rd day of 2007. There are 22 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 9, 1854, Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," was published in England.
On this date:
In 1892, "Widowers' Houses," Bernard Shaw's first play, opened at the Royalty Theater in London.
In 1940, British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa during World War II.
In 1941, China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy.
In 1942, the Aram Khachaturian ballet "Gayane," featuring the surging "Saber Dance," was first performed by the Kirov Ballet.
In 1958, the anti-communist John Birch Society was formed in Indianapolis.
In 1965, Nikolai V. Podgorny replaced Anastas I. Mikoyan as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
In 1982, special Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski died at his Wimberly, Texas, ranch at age 77.
In 1987, the first Palestinian intefadeh, or uprising, began as riots broke out in Gaza and spread to the West Bank, triggering a strong Israeli counter-response.
In 1990, Solidarity founder Lech Walesa won Poland's presidential runoff by a landslide.
In 1992, Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation. (The couple's divorce became final Aug. 28, 1996.)
Ten years ago: Confronting her critics, Attorney General Janet Reno traded testy remarks with Republicans on a House investigating committee as she defended her decision not to seek an independent counsel for fundraising calls made by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.
Five years ago: President Bush tapped railroad executive John W. Snow to be his new Treasury Secretary, three days after firing Paul O'Neill. Senate Republican leader Trent Lott apologized for remarks he'd made praising the 1948 presidential run of then-segregationist Strom Thurmond, saying, "A poor choice of words conveyed to some the impression that I embraced the discarded policies of the past."
One year ago: Discovery lighted up the sky in the first nighttime space shuttle launch in four years. A fire broke out at a Moscow drug treatment hospital, killing 45 women trapped by barred windows and a locked gate. Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy. Singer Georgia Gibbs, who had reached the top of the charts in the 1950s, died in New York City at age 87.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Kirk Douglas is 91. Actress Dina Merrill is 82. Actor Dick Van Patten is 79. Actor-writer Buck Henry is 77. Actress Dame Judi Dench is 73. Actor Beau Bridges is 66. Jazz singer-musician Dan Hicks is 66. Football Hall-of-Famer Dick Butkus is 65. Actor Michael Nouri is 62. Former Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., is 60. Singer Joan Armatrading is 57. Actor Michael Dorn is 55. Actor John Malkovich is 54. Country singer Sylvia is 51. Singer/game show host Donny Osmond is 50. Rock musician Nick Seymour (Crowded House) is 49. Comedian Mario Cantone is 48. Actor Joe Lando is 46. Actress Felicity Huffman is 45. Country musician Jerry Hughes (Yankee Grey) is 42. Rock singer-musician Thomas Flowers (Oleander) is 40. Rock musician Brian Bell (Weezer) is 39. Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 38. Country musician Brian Hayes (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 38. Actress Allison Smith is 38. Country singer David Kersh is 37. Rock musician Tre Cool (Green Day) is 35. Rapper Canibus is 33. Rock musician Eric Zamora (Save Ferris) is 31. Rock singer Imogen Heap is 30. Actor Jesse Metcalfe is 29. Actor Simon Helberg is 27.
Thought for Today: "Hatred comes from the heart; contempt from the head; and neither feeling is quite within our control." — Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788-1860).
Today is Friday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2007. There are 24 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked American and British territories and possessions in the Pacific, including the home base of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
On this date:
In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1796, electors chose John Adams to be the second president of the United States.
In 1836, Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the U.S.
In 1907, the first Christmas Seals to help the fight against tuberculosis were sold, in Wilmington, Del. (Some sources say Dec. 9.)
In 1946, fire broke out at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta; the blaze killed 119 people, including hotel founder W. Frank Winecoff.
In 1972, America's last moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
In 1982, convicted murderer Charlie Brooks Jr. became the first U.S. prisoner to be executed by injection, at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.
In 1983, in Madrid, Spain, an Aviaco DC-9 collided on a runway with an Iberia Air Lines Boeing 727 that was accelerating for takeoff, killing all 42 people aboard the DC-9 and 51 aboard the Iberia jet.
In 1987, 43 people were killed after a gunman aboard a Pacific Southwest Airlines jetliner in California apparently opened fire on a fellow passenger, the two pilots and himself, causing the plane to crash.
In 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev set foot on American soil for the first time, arriving for a Washington summit with President Reagan.
Ten years ago: Republicans threatened Attorney General Janet Reno with contempt of Congress over her decision to forgo an independent counsel's investigation of White House campaign fund raising. Singer Bob Dylan, actor Charlton Heston, actress Lauren Bacall, opera singer Jessye Norman and ballet master Edward Villella shared the 20th annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.
Five years ago: Iraq handed over its long-awaited arms declaration to the United Nations, denying it had doomsday weapons. President Saddam Hussein grudgingly apologized to Kuwait for his 1990 invasion. Shuttle Endeavour returned to Earth, bringing an astronaut and pair of cosmonauts home from a six-month space station voyage. Bombs tore through four movie theaters in Bangladesh, killing 19. Azra Akin, Miss Turkey, won the Miss World contest in London, bringing to a close an international pageant that had incited deadly rioting in Nigeria, the original site of the event.
One year ago: President Bush gave a chilly response to the Iraq Study Group's proposals for reshaping his policy, objecting to talks with Iran and Syria, refusing to endorse a major troop withdrawal and vowing no retreat from embattled U.S. goals in the Mideast. The U.S. military transferred the first group of Guantanamo Bay detainees to a new maximum-security prison on the naval base. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, the first woman U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, died in Bethesda, Md., at age 80.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Eli Wallach is 92. Bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne is 76. Actress Ellen Burstyn is 75. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is 70. Broadcast journalist Carole Simpson is 67. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bench is 60. Country singer Gary Morris is 59. Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 58. Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, is 55. Actress Priscilla Barnes is 52. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Larry Bird is 51. Former "Tonight Show" announcer Edd Hall is 49. Rock musician Tim Butler (The Psychedelic Furs) is 49. Actor Jeffrey Wright is 42. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 41. Pop singer Nicole Appleton (All Saints) is 32. Country singer Sunny Sweeney is 31. Actress Shiri Appleby is 29. Singer Aaron Carter is 20.
Thought for Today: "There are no warlike peoples — just warlike leaders." — Ralph Bunche, Nobel Peace laureate (1904-1971).
Today is Thursday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2007. There are 25 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
Fifty years ago, on Dec. 6, 1957, America's first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose only about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing back down and exploding.
On this date:
In 1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York.
In 1889, Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans.
In 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, W.Va.
In 1917, some 2,000 people died when an explosives-laden French cargo ship collided with a Norwegian vessel at the harbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off a blast that devastated the city.
In 1921, British and Irish representatives signed a treaty in London providing for creation of an Irish Free State a year later on the same date.
In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Truman.
In 1957, AFL-CIO members voted to expel the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (The Teamsters were readmitted in 1987, but disaffiliated themselves from the AFL-CIO in 2005.)
In 1973, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.
In 1982, 11 soldiers and six civilians were killed when an Irish National Liberation Army bomb exploded at a pub in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland.
In 1989, 14 women were shot to death at the University of Montreal's school of engineering by a man who then took his own life.
Ten years ago: At least 69 people were killed when a Russian military cargo plane crashed in the Siberian city of Irkutsk seconds after takeoff.
Five years ago: President Bush pushed Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and economic adviser Larry Lindsey from their jobs in a Cabinet shake-up. Actress Winona Ryder was sentenced to community service as part of a probationary term for stealing more than $5,500 worth of merchandise from a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills, Calif. Ten Palestinians, including two U.N. employees, were killed when Israeli forces poured into a Gaza Strip refugee camp, searching for a fugitive militant. Anti-war activist Philip Berrigan died in Baltimore at age 79.
One year ago: The bipartisan Iraq Study Group concluded that President Bush's war policies had failed in almost every regard, and said the situation in Iraq was "grave and deteriorating." The Senate voted to confirm Robert Gates as defense secretary. Searchers found the body of San Francisco resident James Kim in the Oregon mountains, two days after his wife and two daughters were rescued from their car (Kim had set out on foot to find help for his family).
Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician Dave Brubeck is 87. Comedy performer David Ossman is 71. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 66. Actor James Naughton is 62. Rhythm-and-blues singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 61. Former Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) is 59. Actress JoBeth Williams is 59. Actor Tom Hulce is 54. Actor Kin Shriner is 54. Talk show host Wil Shriner is 54. Actor Miles Chapin is 53. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam) is 52. Comedian Steven Wright is 52. Country singer Bill Lloyd is 52. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 52. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 51. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 46. Actress Janine Turner is 45. Rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) is 45. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 40. Rock musician Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 37. Actress Colleen Haskell is 31. Actress Lindsay Price is 31.
Thought for Today: "People who never get carried away should be." — Malcolm S. Forbes, American publisher (1919-1990).
Today is Wednesday, Dec. 5, the 339th day of 2007. There are 26 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 5, 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.
On this date:
In 1776, the first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
In 1782, the first native U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook, N.Y.
In 1792, George Washington was re-elected president; John Adams was re-elected vice president.
In 1831, former President John Quincy Adams took his seat as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1848, President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of '49 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.
In 1932, German physicist Albert Einstein was granted a visa, making it possible for him to travel to the United States.
In 1933, Prohibition ended as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment.
In 1955, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO under its first president, George Meany.
In 1991, Richard Speck, who had murdered eight student nurses in Chicago in 1966, died in prison a day short of his 50th birthday.
In 1994, Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades.
Ten years ago: The space shuttle Columbia returned from a 16-day mission that had been marred by the bungled release of a satellite. The World Trade Organization rejected American claims that the Fuji film company had conspired with the Japanese government to keep Eastman Kodak products out of Japan.
Five years ago: Strom Thurmond, the oldest and longest-serving senator in history, celebrated his 100th birthday on Capitol Hill. (It was at this gathering that Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, in toasting Thurmond, seemed to express nostalgia for Thurmond's segregationist past; the resulting firestorm prompted Lott to resign his leadership position.) In Kansas City, Mo., a pharmacist who had diluted chemotherapy drugs given to thousands of cancer patients was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Gen. Ne Win, former dictator of Myanmar, also called Burma, died in Yangon at age 91. ABC executive Roone Arledge died in New York at age 71.
One year ago: Robert Gates won speedy and unanimous approval from the Senate Armed Services Committee to be secretary of defense. New York became the first city in the nation to ban artery-clogging trans fats at restaurants.
Today's Birthdays: Singer Little Richard is 75. Author Joan Didion is 73. Author Calvin Trillin is 72. Musician J.J. Cale is 69. Actor Jeroen Krabbe is 63. Opera singer Jose Carreras is 61. Pop singer Jim Messina is 60. Actress Morgan Brittany is 56. Actor Brian Backer is 51. Country singer Ty England is 44. Rock singer-musician John Rzeznik (The Goo Goo Dolls) is 42. Country singer Gary Allan is 40. Comedian-actress Margaret Cho is 39. Writer-director Morgan J. Freeman is 38. Actress Amy Acker is 31. Actor Nick Stahl is 28. Actor Frankie Muniz is 22. Actor Ross Bagley is 19.
Thought for Today: "Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius." — attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2007. There are 27 days left in the year. The Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, begins at sunset.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 4, 1783, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.
On this date:
In 1816, James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States.
In 1875, William Marcy Tweed, the "Boss" of New York City's Tammany Hall political organization, escaped from jail and fled the country.
In 1918, President Wilson set sail for France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference.
In 1942, U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time in World War II.
In 1942, President Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration, which had been created to provide jobs during the Depression.
In 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Commander James A. Lovell aboard.
In 1977, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Empire, crowned himself emperor in a lavish ceremony. (Bokassa was deposed in 1979; he died in 1996 at age 75.)
In 1978, San Francisco got its first female mayor as City Supervisor Dianne Feinstein was named to replace the assassinated George Moscone.
In 1991, the original Pan American World Airways ceased operations.
In 1996, the Mars Pathfinder lifted off from Cape Canaveral and began speeding toward Mars on an odyssey of 310 million miles. (It arrived on Mars in July 1997.)
Ten years ago: The National Basketball Association suspended All-Star Latrell Sprewell of the Golden State Warriors for one year for choking and threatening to kill his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, three days earlier. (An arbitrator later reduced the suspension and reinstated Sprewell to the Warriors, which had terminated his contract.)
Five years ago: United Airlines lost its bid for $1.8 billion in federal loan guarantees, a major setback to the nation's second-largest air carrier in its efforts to avoid bankruptcy. Supreme Court justices heard arguments on whether federal laws intended to combat organized crime and corruption could be used against anti-abortion demonstrators. (The court later ruled that such laws were improperly used to punish abortion opponents.)
One year ago: Lacking the Senate votes to keep his job, embattled U.N. Ambassador John Bolton offered his resignation to President Bush, who accepted it. Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was convicted in the Philippines of raping a Filipino woman and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Truck driver Tyrone Williams was convicted in Houston of the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants crammed into a sweltering tractor-trailer. NASA announced plans to build an international base camp on the moon.
Today's Birthdays: Actress-singer Deanna Durbin is 86. Game show host Wink Martindale is 73. Actor-producer Max Baer Jr. is 70. Actress Gemma Jones is 65. Rock musician Bob Mosley (Moby Grape) is 65. Singer-musician Chris Hillman is 63. Musician Terry Woods (The Pogues) is 60. Rock singer Southside Johnny Lyon is 59. Actor Jeff Bridges is 58. Rock musician Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd; the Rossington Collins Band) is 56. Actress Patricia Wettig is 56. Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 52. Country musician Brian Prout (Diamond Rio) is 52. Rock musician Bob Griffin (The BoDeans) is 48. Rock singer Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge) is 45. Actress Marisa Tomei is 43. Actress Chelsea Noble is 43. Actor-comedian Fred Armisen is 41. Rapper Jay-Z is 38. Actor Kevin Sussman ("Ugly Betty") is 37. Actress-model Tyra Banks is 34. Country singer Lila McCann is 26. Actress Lindsay Felton is 23. Actor Orlando Brown is 20.
Thought for Today: "People who have what they want are fond of telling people who haven't what they want that they really don't want it." — Ogden Nash, American humorist and poet (1902-1972).
Today is Monday, Dec. 3, the 337th day of 2007. There are 28 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 3, 1967, surgeons in Cape Town, South Africa, led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky, who lived 18 days with the new heart.
On this date:
In 1818, Illinois was admitted as the 21st state.
In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States by the Electoral College.
In 1857, English novelist Joseph Conrad was born in Berdychiv, Poland.
In 1925, "Concerto in F," by George Gershwin, had its world premiere at New York's Carnegie Hall, with Gershwin himself at the piano.
In 1947, the Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" opened on Broadway.
In 1953, the musical "Kismet" opened on Broadway.
In 1960, the musical "Camelot" opened on Broadway.
In 1967, the 20th Century Limited, the famed luxury train, completed its final run from New York to Chicago.
In 1979, 11 people were killed in a crush of fans at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum, where the British rock group The Who was performing.
In 1984, thousands of people died after a cloud of methyl isocyanate gas escaped from a pesticide plant operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India.
Ten years ago: President Clinton hosted his first town hall meeting on America's race relations in Akron, Ohio. South Korea struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a record $55 billion bailout of its foundering economy.
Five years ago: Thousands of personnel files released under a court order showed that the Archdiocese of Boston went to great lengths to hide priests accused of abuse, including clergy who had allegedly snorted cocaine and had sex with girls aspiring to be nuns. U.N. weapons inspectors made their first unannounced visit to one of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces.
One year ago: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won re-election, defeating Manuel Rosales. Marat Safin had 16 aces in beating Jose Acasuso 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the fifth and deciding match on, giving Russia a 3-2 decision over Argentina for its second Davis Cup crown.
Today's Birthdays: Country singer Ferlin Husky is 82. Singer Andy Williams is 80. Movie director Jean-Luc Godard is 77. Singer Jaye P. Morgan is 76. Actress Mary Alice is 66. Rock singer Ozzy Osbourne is 59. Actress Heather Menzies is 58. Country musician Paul Gregg (Restless Heart) is 53. Actor Steven Culp is 52. Actress Daryl Hannah is 47. Actress Julianne Moore is 47. Actor Brendan Fraser is 39. Singer Montell Jordan is 39. Actor Royale Watkins is 38. Actor Bruno Campos is 34. Actress Holly Marie Combs is 34. Actress Lauren Roman is 32. Actress Anna Chlumsky is 27. Actor Brian Bonsall is 26. Actor Michael Angarano is 20.
Thought for Today: "Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it." — Joseph Conrad, English novelist (1857-1924).
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