TODAY IN HISTORY
the 351st day of 2019. There are 14 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1992, President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in separate ceremonies. (After President Donald Trump demanded a new deal, the three countries signed a replacement agreement in 2018; it awaits approval by lawmakers.)
In 1777, France recognized American independence.
In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, conducted the first successful manned powered-airplane flights near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.
In 1938, German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discovered nuclear fission by splitting the nuclei of uranium into lighter elements.
In 1944, the U.S. War Department announced it was ending its policy of excluding people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.
In 1969, the U.S. Air Force closed its Project “Blue Book” by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings. An estimated 50 million TV viewers watched singer Tiny Tim marry his fiancee, Miss Vicky, on NBC’s “Tonight Show.”
In 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was sentenced in Sacramento, California, to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. (She was paroled in August 2009.)
In 2000, President-elect George W. Bush named Stanford professor Condoleezza Rice his national security adviser and Alberto Gonzales to the White House counsel’s job, the same day Bush was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
In 2007, Iran received its first nuclear fuel from Russia, paving the way for the startup of its reactor.
In 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died after more than a decade of iron rule; he was 69, according to official records, but some reports indicated he was 70.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is 89. Pope Francis and singer-actor Tommy Steele are 83. Actor Bernard Hill is 75. Actor Ernie Hudson and political commentator Chris Matthews are 74. Comedian-actor Eugene Levy is 73. Actress Marilyn Hassett and actor Wes Studi are 72. Pop musician Jim Bonfanti (The Raspberries) is 71. Actor Joel Brooks and rock singer Paul Rodgers are 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Wanda Hutchinson Vaughn (The Emotions) is 68. Actors Bill Pullman and Barry Livingston, and country singer Sharon White are 66. Producer-directorwriter Peter Farrelly is 63. Rock musician Mike Mills (R.E.M.) is 61. Pop singer Sarah Dallin (Bananarama) is 58. Country musician Tim Chewning is 57. Country singer Tracy Byrd and country musician Duane Propes are 53. Actress Laurie Holden is 50. DJ Homicide (Sugar Ray) and actor Sean Patrick Thomas are 49. Actress Claire Forlani is 48. Pop-rock musician Eddie Fisher (OneRepublic) is 46. Actresses Sarah Paulson and Marissa Ribisi, and actor Giovanni Ribisi are 45. Actress Milla Jovovich and singer Bree Sharp are 44. Singer-songwriter Ben Goldwasser (MGMT) is 37. Rock singer Mikky Ekko is 36. Actress Shannon Woodward is 35. Actresses Emma Bell and Vanessa Zima are 33. Rock musician Taylor York (Paramore) is 30. Actor Graham Rogers is 29. Actor-singer Nat Wolff is 25.