On this day, Dec. 1
1758 Gen. John Forbes formally named the British settlement here Pittsburgh. On Jan. 21 the following year, writing from Philadelphia, the general told William Pitt, the English prime minister, that he had “used the freedom of giving your name to Fort Duquesne, as ... it was in some measure the being activated by your spirits that now makes us masters of the place.”
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.”
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 that was desperately needed for the war effort by reducing the use of tires.
1958 John “Red” Manning was hired as coach of Duquesne University’s men’s basketball team.
1989 Presbyterian University Hospital was to buy Montefiore Hospital for $75 million.
Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).
— Compiled by Rick Nowlin
Today’s birthdays: Actor-director Woody Allen, 86. World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino, 82. Singer Dianne Lennon (The Lennon Sisters), 82. Television producer David Salzman, 78. Rock singer-musician Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult), 77. Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors), 77. Actor-singer Bette Midler, 76. Singer Gilbert O’Sullivan, 75. Former child actor Keith Thibodeaux (TV: “I Love Lucy”), 71. Actor Treat Williams, 70. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., 69. Country singer Kim Richey, 65. Actor Charlene Tilton, 63. Actor-model Carol Alt, 61. Actor Jeremy Northam, 60. Actor Katherine LaNasa, 55. Producer-director Andrew Adamson, 55. Actor Nestor Carbonell, 54. Actor Golden Brooks, 51. Actor-comedian Sarah Silverman, 51. Actor Ron Melendez, 49. Contemporary Christian singer Bart Millard, 49. Actor-writer-producer David Hornsby, 46. Singer Sarah Masen, 46. Rock musician Brad Delson (Linkin Park), 44. Actor Nate Torrence, 44. Rock/Christian music singer-songwriter Mat Kearney, 43. Actor Riz Ahmed (Film: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”), 39. Actor Charles Michael Davis, 37. Actor Ilfenesh Hadera, 36. R&B singer-actor Janelle Monae, 36. Actor Ashley Monique Clark, 33. Pop-rock-rap singer Tyler Joseph (Twenty One Pilots), 33. Actor Zoe Kravitz, 33. Pop singer Nico Sereba (Nico & Vinz), 31. Actor Jackson Nicoll, 18.
Thought for today: “An educated man should know everything about something, and something about everything.”
— Dame C.V. Wedgwood, English historian (1910-1997)