On this day, Dec. 2

1823 President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.

1942 An artificially created, selfsustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago.

1957 The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first full-scale commercial nuclear facility in the U.S., began operations. (The reactor ceased operating in 1982.)

1982 In the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.

1993 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces in Medellin.

2000 Al Gore sought a recount in South Florida, while George W. Bush flatly asserted, “I’m soon to be the president” and met with GOP congressional leaders.

2001 In one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history, Enron filed for Chapter 11 protection.

2016 A fire that raced through an illegally converted warehouse in Oakland, Calif., during a dance party killed 36 people.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Cathy Lee Crosby, 78. Actor Ron Raines, 73. Country singer John Wesley Ryles, 72. Broadcast journalist Stone Phillips, 68. Actor Dennis Christopher, 67. Actor Steven Bauer, 66. Country singer Joe Henry, 62. Rock musician Rick Savage (Def Leppard), 62. Actor Brendan Coyle, 59. Rock musician Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters), 54. Actor Lucy Liu, 54. Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature), 52. Actor Joe Lo Truglio, 52. International Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles, 49. Singer Nelly Furtado, 44. Pop singer Britney Spears, 41. Actor-singer Jana Kramer, 39. Actor Yvonne Orji, 39. Actor Daniela Ruah, 39. NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, 39. Actor Alfred Enoch, 34. Pop singersongwriter Charlie Puth, 31.