TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, DEC. 15, the 349th day of 2017. There are 16 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1939, the Civil War motion picture epic “Gone with the Wind,” starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, had its world premiere in Atlanta.
In 1791, the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, went into effect following ratification by Virginia.
In 1890, Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, S.D., during a confrontation with Indian police.
In 1938, groundbreaking for the Jefferson Memorial took place in Washington, D.C., with President Franklin D. Roosevelt taking part in the ceremony.
In 1944, a single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller, a major in the U.S. Army Air Forces, disappeared over the English Channel while en route to Paris.
In 1965, two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6A and Gemini 7, maneuvered toward each other while in orbit, at one point coming as close as one foot.
In 1967, the Silver Bridge between Gallipolis, Ohio, and Point Pleasant, W.Va., collapsed into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.
In 1971, the Secret Service appointed its first five female special agents.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New
Year’s Day and sever official relations with Taiwan. In 1989, a popular uprising began in Romania that resulted in the downfall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. In 1995, European Union leaders meeting in Madrid, Spain, chose “euro” as the name of the new single European currency. In 2001, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, was reopened to the public after a $27 million realignment that had dragged on for over a decade.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor-comedian Tim Conway is 84. Singer Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) is 78. Rock musician Dave Clark (The Dave Clark Five) is 75. Rock musician Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge) is 71. Actor Don Johnson is 68. Actress Melanie Chartoff is 67. Movie director Julie Taymor is 65. Movie director Alex Cox and actor Justin Ross are 63. Rock musician Paul Simonon (The Clash) is 62. Movie director John Lee Hancock is 61. Democratic Party activist Donna Brazile is 58. Country singer Doug Phelps (Brother Phelps, Kentucky Headhunters) is 57. Movie producer-director Reginald Hudlin is 56. Actress Helen Slater is 54. Actor Paul Kaye (TV: “Game of Thrones”) is 53. Actress Molly Price is 52. Actor Garrett Wang is 49. Actor Michael Shanks is 47. Actor Stuart Townsend is 45. Figure skater Surya Bonaly is 44. Actor Geoff Stults is 41. “Crowd-hyper” Kito Trawick (Ghostown DJs) is 40. Actor Adam Brody is 38. Actress Michelle Dockery is 36. Actor George O. Gore II is 35.