DAY IN HISTORY

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Today is the 336th day of 2021 and the 72nd day of autumn.

TODAY’S HISTORY:

In 1823, President James Monroe announced a policy aimed at preventing further European colonization of the Americas, later known as the Monroe Doctrine.

In 1927, Ford Motor Co. introduced the new Model A.

In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan, becoming the first female leader of an Islamic nation.

In 2001, the energy trading company Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In 2015, terrorists shot and killed 14 people and wounded 22 in San Bernardino, California.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Georges Seurat (1859-1891), painter; Maria Callas (19231977), opera singer; Gianni Versace (19461997), fashion designer; Stone Phillips (1954- ), journalist; Ann Patchett (1963- ), author; Lucy Liu (1968- ), actress; Britney Spears (1981- ), singer; Aaron Rodgers (1983- ), football player; Charlie Puth (1991), singer-songwriter.

TODAY’S FACT: In 1942, a team led by Enrico Fermi engineered the first controlled nuclear fission chain reaction under the stands of the University of Chicago’s Stagg Field.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1967, Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers missed 22 free throws in a single game, setting an NBA record that stood until Jan. 20, 2016, when the Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond missed 23. TODAY’S QUOTE: “Sometimes love does not have the most honorable beginnings, and the endings, the endings will break you in half. It’s everything in between we live for.” — Ann Patchett, “This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage”

TODAY’S NUMBER: 112 — days Barney Clark, the recipient of the first artificial heart, lived after it was implanted on this day in 1982.

TODAY’S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Nov. 27) and new moon (Dec. 4).