TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS THURSDAY, DEC. 6, the 340th day of 2018. There are 25 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY: On this date on 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, W.Va.
In 1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York.
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified as Georgia became the 27th state to endorse it.
In 1884, Army engineers completed construction of the Washington Monument by setting an aluminum capstone atop the obelisk.
In 1917, some 2,000 people were killed when an explosives-laden French cargo ship, the Mont Blanc, collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo at the harbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off a blast that devastated the Canadian city. Finland declared its independence from Russia.
In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.
In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman.
In 1957, America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding.
In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.
In 1982, 11 soldiers and six civilians were killed when an Irish National Liberation Army bomb exploded at a pub in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland.
In 1989, 14 women were shot to death at the University of Montreal’s school of engineering by a man who then took his own life.
In 1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president.
In 2001, The House of Representatives, by a one-vote margin, gave President George W. Bush more power to negotiate global trade deals. President Bush dedicated the national Christmas tree to those who had died on Sept. 11 and to service members who had died in the line of duty.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Comedy performer David Ossman is 82. Actor Patrick Bauchau is 80. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 77. Actor James Naughton and former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are 73. Rhythmand-blues singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 72. Former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., and actress JoBeth Williams are 70. Actors Tom Hulce, Wil Shriner and actor Kin Shriner are 65. Actor Miles Chapin is 64. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam), comedian Steven Wright, country singer Bill Lloyd and singer Tish Hinojosa are 63. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 62. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 57. Actress Janine Turner and rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) are 56. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 51. Rock musician Ulf “Buddha” Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 48. Writer-director Craig Brewer is 47. Actresses Colleen Haskell and Lindsay Price are 42. Actress Ashley Madekwe is 37. Actress Nora Kirkpatrick is 34. Christian rock musician Jacob Chesnut (Rush of Fools) is 29. Tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe is 27. Football quarterback Johnny Manziel is 26.