Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 1, the 336th day of 2020. There are 30 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 1, 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.

On this date:

In 1824, the presidential election was turned over to the U.S. House of Representatives when a deadlock developed between John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. (Adams ended up the winner.)

In 1860, the Charles Dickens novel “Great Expectations” was first published in weekly serial form.

In 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.”

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 (as in tires) that was desperately needed for the war effort.

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 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 1989, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

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 2006, Felipe Calderon took the oath of office as Mexico’s president amid catcalls and brawling lawmakers, a chaotic start to a term in which he pledged to heal a country divided by his narrow victory.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission unveiled its recommendations including lower income taxes, fewer tax breaks and higher age for retirement benefits (however, the panel failed to advance the package to Congress two days later.) LPGA players meeting in Orlando, Florida, voted to allow transgender players to compete on tour.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama told a U.N. climate conference that parts of the global warming deal being negotiated in Paris should be legally binding on the countries that signed on, setting up a potential fight with Republicans at home. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the United States was expanding its special operations forces in Iraq and Syria to help fight Islamic State militants. The Philadelphia 76ers ended the longest losing streak in the history of major professional sports in the United States, topping the Los Angeles Lakers 103-91 to snap a 28-game skid.

One year ago: “Frozen 2” set a record for the five-day period starting on the day before Thanksgiving, taking in $132.7 million at the box office. A powerful winter storm that had tormented travelers across the U.S. since before Thanksgiving moved to the Northeast. Actor Shelley Morrison, best known for playing maid Rosario Salazar on “Will & Grace,” died at the age of 83.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor-director Woody Allen is 85. World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino is 81. Singer Dianne Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 81. Country musician Casey Van Beek (The Tractors) is 78. Television producer David Salzman is 77. Rock singer-musician Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) is 76. Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors) is 76. Actor-singer Bette Midler is 75. Singer Gilbert O’Sullivan is 74. Former child actor Keith Thibodeaux (TV: “I Love Lucy”) is 70. Actor Treat Williams is 69. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is 68. Country singer Kim Richey is 64. Actor Charlene Tilton is 62. Actor-model Carol Alt is 60. Actor Jeremy Northam is 59. Actor Katherine LaNasa is 54. Producer-director Andrew Adamson is 54. Actor Nestor Carbonell is 53. Actor Golden Brooks is 50. Actor-comedian Sarah Silverman is 50. Actor Ron Melendez is 48. Contemporary Christian singer Bart Millard (MIL’-urd) is 48. Actor-writer-producer David Hornsby is 45. Singer Sarah Masen is 45. Rock musician Brad Delson (Linkin Park) is 43. Actor Nate Torrence is 43. Rock/Christian music singer-songwriter Mat Kearney is 42. Actor Riz Ahmed (Film: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) is 38. Actor Charles Michael Davis is 36. Actor Ilfenesh Hadera is 35. R&B singer-actor Janelle Monae is 35. Actor Ashley Monique Clark is 32. Pop-rock-rap singer Tyler Joseph (Twenty One Pilots) is 32. Actor Zoe Kravitz is 32. Pop singer Nico Sereba (Nico & Vinz) is 30. Actor Jackson Nicoll is 17.