Today In History

Today is Saturday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2013. There are 24 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

1941: Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as part of its plan to conquer Southeast Asian territories; the raid, which claimed some 2,400 American lives, prompted the United States to declare war against Japan the next day.

ON THIS DATE

1787: Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1796: Electors chose John Adams to be the second president of the United States.

1808: Electors chose James Madison to be the fourth president of the United States.

1842: The New York Philharmonic performed its first concert.

1911: China abolished the requirement that men wear their hair in a queue, or ponytail.

1946: Fire broke out at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta; the blaze killed 119 people, including hotel founder W. Frank Winecoff.

1972: America’s last moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.

1987: Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev set foot on American soil for the first time, arriving for a Washington summit with President Ronald Reagan.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Eli Wallach is 98. Linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky is 85. Bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne is 82. Actress Ellen Burstyn is 81. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is 76. Broadcast journalist Carole Simpson is 73. Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is 66. Actor-director-producer James Keach is 66. Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 57. Actress Priscilla Barnes is 56. Former “Tonight Show” announcer Edd Hall is 55. Rock musician Tim Butler (The Psychedelic Furs) is 55. Actor Patrick Fabian is 49. Actor Jeffrey Wright is 48. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 47. Producer-director Jason Winer is 41. NFL player Terrell Owens is 40. Rapper-producer Kon Artis is 39. Pop singer Nicole Appleton (All Saints) is 38. Latin singer Frankie J is 37. Country singer Sunny Sweeney is 37. Actress Shiri Appleby is 35. Pop-rock singer/ celebrity judge Sara Bareilles (TV: “The Singoff”) is 34. Singer Aaron Carter is 26.