Highlights in history
■ In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their hot-air balloon (it carried no passengers) over Annonay, France.
■ In 1917, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded, recognizing Herbert Bayard Swope of the New York World for a series of articles, "Inside the German Empire"; the New York Tribune for an editorial on the one-year anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania; Jean Jules Jusserand for his book "With Americans of Past and Present Days"; and Laura E. Richards, Maude Howe Elliott and Florence Howe Hall for a biography of poet/author Julia Ward Howe.
■ In 1937, one of the first — if not the first — shopping carts was introduced by supermarket-chain owner Sylvan Goldman in Oklahoma City.
■ In 1947, the Christmas film “Miracle on 34th Street” opened in New York.
■ In 1977, the VHS recorder was introduced to North America by JVC in Chicago. ■ In the U.S. Postal Service announced the results of a nationwide vote on the Elvis Presley stamp (above), saying more people preferred the "younger Elvis" design.
Birthdays
■ 89: Dr. Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist and media personality
■ 81: Bruce Dern, actor
■ 46: Noah Wyle, actor
■ 42: Russell Brand, comedian ■ 42: Angelina Jolie, actress
■ 27: Zac Farro, rock musician
Thought for today
"Reputation is a bubble which a man bursts when he tries to blow it for himself." — Emma Carleton, American journalist (1850-1925)