Today in History
Today is Wednesday, Dec. 1, the 335th day of 2021. There are 30 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln sent his Second Annual Message to Congress, in which he called for the abolition of slavery, and went on to say, “Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves.”
On this date:
In 1824, the presidential election was turned over to the U.S. House of Representatives when a deadlock developed among John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. (Adams ended up the winner.)
In 1941, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito approved waging war against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands after his government rejected U.S. demands contained in the Hull Note.
In 1942, during World War II, nationwide gasoline rationing went into effect in the United States; the goal was not so much to save on gas, but to conserve rubber that was desperately needed for the war effort by reducing the use of tires.
In 1955, Rosa Parks, a Black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus; the incident sparked a year-long boycott of the buses by Blacks.
In 1965, an airlift of refugees from Cuba to the United States began in which thousands of Cubans were allowed to leave their homeland.
In 1969, the U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.
In 1973, David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, died in Tel Aviv at age 87.
In 1974, TWA Flight 514, a Washington-bound Boeing 727, crashed in Virginia after being diverted from National Airport to Dulles International Airport; all 92 people on board were killed. Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231, a Boeing 727, crashed near Stony Point, New York, with the loss of its three crew members (the plane had been chartered to pick up the Baltimore Colts football team in Buffalo, New York).
In 1990, British and French workers digging the Channel Tunnel between their countries finally met after knocking out a passage in a service tunnel.
In 1991, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union.
In 2005, a roadside bomb killed 10 U.S. Marines near Fallujah, Iraq.
In 2009, President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops into the war in Afghanistan but promised during a speech to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to begin withdrawals in 18 months.
Ten years ago: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee) during a visit to Myanmar. Bobby Valentine was named the 45th manager of the Boston Red Sox. (He would be fired after one season.)
Five years ago: During the first stop of a “Thank you” tour, President-elect Donald Trump made a surprise announcement from the stage in Cincinnati, saying he had decided to offer the post of defense secretary to retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis. French President Francois Hollande announced in a televised address that he would not seek a second term. Former NFL player Joe McKnight, 28, was shot to death in Louisiana in what authorities said was a road-rage incident. (Ronald Gasser, who said he was defending himself when he shot McKnight, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years in prison but was granted a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed split-jury verdicts.)
One year ago: Disputing President Donald Trump’s persistent, baseless claims, Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press that the U.S. Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election. Trump filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to disqualify more than 221,000 ballots in a longshot attempt to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the battleground state. Republicans attempting to undo Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their lawsuit, three days after it was thrown out by Pennsylvania’s highest court. Florida joined Texas and California in surpassing 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor-director Woody Allen is 86. World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino is 82. Singer Dianne Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 82. Television producer David Salzman is 78. Rock singer-musician Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) is 77. Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors) is 77. Actor-singer Bette Midler is 76. Singer Gilbert O’Sullivan is 75. Former child actor Keith Thibodeaux (TV: “I Love Lucy”) is 71. Actor Treat Williams is 70. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is 69. Country singer Kim Richey is 65. Actor Charlene Tilton is 63. Actor-model Carol Alt is 61. Actor Jeremy Northam is 60. Actor Katherine LaNasa is 55. Producer-director Andrew Adamson is 55. Actor Nestor Carbonell is 54. Actor Golden Brooks is 51. Actor-comedian Sarah Silverman is 51. Actor Ron Melendez is 49. Contemporary Christian singer Bart Millard (MIL’-urd) is 49. Actor-writer-producer David Hornsby is 46. Singer Sarah Masen is 46. Rock musician Brad Delson (Linkin Park) is 44. Actor Nate Torrence is 44. Rock/Christian music singer-songwriter Mat Kearney is 43. Actor Riz Ahmed (Film: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) is 39. Actor Charles Michael Davis is 37. Actor Ilfenesh Hadera is 36. R&B singer-actor Janelle Monae is 36. Actor Ashley Monique Clark is 33. Pop-rock-rap singer Tyler Joseph (Twenty One Pilots) is 33. Actor Zoe Kravitz is 33. Pop singer Nico Sereba (Nico & Vinz) is 31. Actor Jackson Nicoll is 18.
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