TODAY’S HISTORY

1639: Jeremiah Horrocks observed the first recorded transit of Venus, which occurs when Venus passes directly between the sun and the Earth.

1881: The first edition of the Los Angeles Times was published.

1945: The Senate formally approved United States participation in the United Nations by a vote of 65-7. 1991: Pan American

World Airways (commonly known as Pan Am) went bankrupt and ceased operations.

1992: President George H.W. Bush ordered 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Thomas Carlyle (17951881), essayist/historian; Samuel Butler (18351902), author; Lillian Russell (1861-1922), actress; Rainer Maria Rilke (18751926), poet; Francisco Franco (1892-1975), Spanish dictator; Wink Martindale (1933-), game show host; Jeff Bridges (1949-), actor; Marisa Tomei (1964-), actress; Fred Armisen (1966-), actor/comedian; Jay-z (1969-), rapper/ entrepreneur; Tyra Banks (1973-) model/tv personality; Joe Thomas (1984-), football player.

TODAY’S FACT: The United States embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia, evacuated in January 1991 due to increasing violence in the Somali civil war. It was reestablished in October 2019.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1997, Golden State Warriors star Latrell Sprewell was suspended by the NBA for one year after choking the team’s coach, P.J. Carlesimo, during a practice on Dec. 1, 1997.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur of life, might miss. Just sharing that truth can be a very powerful thing.” — Jay-z

TODAY’S NUMBER: 2,454 — days American journalist Terry Anderson was held hostage in Lebanon. Anderson was abducted on March 16, 1985, and was the last American hostage to be released, on this day in 1991.