On this day, Dec. 2
1823 President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
1859 Militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on Harpers Ferry the previous October.
1942 Artificially created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago.
1954 The U.S. Senate passed, 67-22, a resolution condemning Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., saying he had “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”
1957 The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Beaver County, the first full-scale commercial nuclear facility in the U.S., began operations.
1982 Doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.
Today’s birthdays: Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, 87. Former Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., 79. Actress Cathy Lee Crosby, 74. Movie director Penelope Spheeris, 73. Actor Ron Raines, 69. Country singer John Wesley Ryles, 68. Actor Keith Szarabajka, 66. Actor Dan Butler, 64. Broadcast journalist Stone Phillips, 64. Actor Dennis Christopher, 63. Actor Steven Bauer, 62. Country singer Joe Henry, 58. Rock musician Rick Savage (Def Leppard), 58. Actor Brendan Coyle, 55. Rock musician Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters), 50. Actress Suzy Nakamura, 50. Actress Rena Sofer, 50. Rock singer Jimi HaHa (Jimmie’s Chicken Shack), 50. Actress Lucy Liu, 50. Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature), 48. Actor Joe Lo Truglio, 48. International Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles, 45. Singer Nelly Furtado, 40. Pop singer Britney Spears, 37. Actress-singer Jana Kramer, 35. Actress Yvonne Orji, 35. Actress Daniela Ruah, 35. NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 35. Actor Alfred Enoch, 30. Pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, 27. Actresses Deanna and Daniella Canterman, 26.
Thought for today: “When we cannot find contentment in ourselves it is useless to seek it elsewhere.”
— Francois, Duc de la Rochefoucauld, French author (1613-1680)