TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Saturday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2023. There are 29 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 2, 1954, the U.S. Senate passed, 67-22, a resolution condemning Republican Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, saying he had “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”
On this date:
In 1823, President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1859, militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on Harpers Ferry the previous October.
In 1942, an artificially created, selfsustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago.
In 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first full-scale commercial nuclear facility in the U.S., began operations.
In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.
In 1993, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces in Medellín.
In 2000, Al Gore sought a recount in South Florida, while George W. Bush flatly asserted, “I’m soon to be the president” and met with GOP congressional leaders.
In 2001, in one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history, Enron filed for Chapter 11 protection.
In 2016, a fire that raced through an illegally converted warehouse in Oakland, California, during a dance party killed 36 people.
In 2018, Israeli police recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bribery charges, adding to a growing collection of legal troubles for the longtime leader.
Today’s Birthdays: Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III is 92. Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 79. Actor Dan Butler and broadcast journalist Stone Phillips are 69. Country singer Joe Henry is 63. Actor Brendan Coyle is 60. Rock musician Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters), actor Suzy Nakamura, actor Rena Sofer and actor Lucy Liu are 55. International Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles is 50. Pop singer Britney Spears is 42. NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 40.