1641 - Massachusetts became the 1st colony to give statutory recognition to slavery. It was followed by Connecticut in 1650 and Virginia in 1661.   
    1750 – The first school in America to offer manual training courses opens in Maryland
    1814 - The shallow-draft steamboat Enterprise, completed in Pittsburgh under the direction of keelboat captain Henry Miller Shreve, left for New Orleans to deliver guns and ammunition to Gen. Jackson during the final days of the War of 1812.  
    1824 - In the 1824 presidential election, no candidate received an electoral majority. John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts received 84 votes: Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, 99: Secretary of State William H. Crawford, who had suffered a stroke and was effectively out of the running, 41: Henry Clay, 37: John C. Calhoun of South Carolina was elected vice president. On February 9, 1825, John Quincy Adams was chosen as president by the House of Representatives, in compliance with the Constitution.
    1831 - The coldest December of record in the northeastern U.S. commenced. Temperatures in New York City averaged 22 degrees, with just four days above freezing, and at Burlington, VT, the temperature never did get above freezing. The Erie Canal was closed the first day of December, and remained closed the entire month.
    1835 – Hans Christian Anderson published his first book of fairy tales.
    1842 - Midshipman Philip Spencer, son of the Secretary of War, was hanged from the yardarm of the U.S.S. Somers, a brig of war, while at sea in West Indian waters. Boatswain Samuel Cromwell and Seaman Elisha Small were hanged at the same time. They were convicted, at a court-martial held aboard ship, of inspiring to organize a mutiny, murder the officers, and turn the ship into a pirate cruiser. The commander of the Somers was Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, who was exonerated by a court of inquiry. It was quite a “scandal” upon their return. There were questions as to whether a mutiny even actually occurred or if this was just paranoia on the part of the captain, who over the course of the 6-month training cruise is purported to have ordered 2,265 lashings. This incident inspired Herman Melville to write “Billy Budd,” and is commonly held to be the major factor that precipitated the establishment of the Naval Academy.  The Somers was in the Gulf of Mexico off Vera Cruz at the opening of the Mexican War in the spring of 1846, and, but for runs to Pensacola for logistics, she remained in that area on blockade duty until winter. On the evening of 26 November, the brig, commanded by Raphael Semmes, later commanding officer of CSS Alabama, was blockading Vera Cruz when Mexican schooner Criolla slipped into that port. Somers launched a boat party which boarded and captured the schooner. However, a calm prevented the Americans from getting their prize out to sea so they set fire to the vessel and returned through gunfire from the shore to Somers, bringing back seven prisoners. Unfortunately, Criolla proved to be an American spy ship operating for Commodore Conner. On December 8, 1846, while chasing a blockade-runner, Somers capsized in a squall and sank with the loss of 32 of her 76 crew. In 1986, her remains were found in 110 feet of water about a mile off Isla Verde.
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-s/somers2.htm
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s/somers.htm
    1843 – The first chartered mutual life insurance company opens
    1847 - Birthday of Julia Moore, known as the "Sweet Singer of Michigan," in a log cabin at Plainfield, MI. A writer of homely verse and ballads, Moore enjoyed remarkable popularity and gave many public readings before realizing that her public appearances were occasions for laughter and ridicule. Her poems were said to be "so bad, her subjects so morbid and her naiveté so genuine" that they were actually gems of humorous genius. At her final public appearance, she told her audience: "You people paid 50 cents to see a fool, but I got $50 to look at a house full of fools." Moore died June 17, 1920, near Manton, MI.
http://www.flint.lib.mi.us/about/programs/jmoore/bio.html
http://www.wmich.edu/english/txt/Moore/
    1865 – Shaw University, historically, the first black university in the South, was founded in Raleigh, NC.
    1878 - Birthday of Arthur Spingarn, an American Jew, one of the original founders of NAACP, chairman in 1914.  The prestigious NACCP Springarn medal is named after him. “The purpose of this medal is twofold — first, to call the attention of the American people to the existence of distinguished merit and achievement among American Negroes, and secondly, to serve as a reward for such achievement, and as a stimulus to the ambition of colored youth.” This prestigious award is in the form of a gold medal that is valued at one hundred dollars. To make certain that this award is continued on an indefinite basis, Joel E. Spingarn bequeathed in his will twenty thousand dollars to the NAACP “to perpetuate the lifelong interest of my brother, Arthur B. Spingarn, of my wife, Amy E. Spingarn, and of myself in the achievements of the American Negro.” If this organization fails to continue, the Spingarn Medal is to be managed by the president of Howard or Fisk University.”
http://www.thurgoodmarshall.com/gallery/tm19.htm
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1349/
MoorlandSpingarn_Collection_a_great_experience
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?faid/faid:@field(TITLE+@band
(spingarn+arthur+b+++))
    1878 – The White House received its first telephone.
    1884 - Near Frisco, New Mexico, deputy sheriff Elfego Baca holds off a gang of 80 Texas cowboys who want to kill him for arresting Charles McCarthy.
    1885 – Dr. Pepper is served for the first time, at a drug store in Waco.
    1887 – Sherlock Holmes first appears in print.
    1891 - Basketball created: James Naismith was a teacher of physical education at the International YMCA Training School at Springfield, MA. To create an indoor sport that could be played during the winter months, he nailed up peach baskets at opposite ends of the gym and gave students soccer balls to toss into them. Thus was born the game of basketball.
http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/Naismith.htm
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/naismith/
    1892 - Birthday of African-American painter Minnie Evans, at Long Creek, North Carolina, considered one of America's great unique visionary folk artists.
http://www.outsider-folk-art.org/education/Minnie_Evans.asp
http://www.lyonsdenbooks.com/html/dreams.htm
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/evans_minnie.html
    1894 - Yukon Order of the Pioneers were founded at Forty Mile, Yukon. It began as a vigilante police force to deter claim jumping and later inaugurated Discovery Day (Aug 17), a statutory Yukon holiday commemorating the discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek in 1896.
    1896 - Frank Broaker of New York City became the first “Certified Public Accountant, receiving Certificate Number One from the New York State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners. Broaker became the first secretary of the New York Board of CPA Examiners. He organized a school to prepare individuals to sit for the CPA examination. Broaker was criticized for publishing a book in 1897 entitled “The American Accountants Manual”, which contained questions and answers from the first CPA exam. He kept the proceeds from the sale of the book. He also was charged with forming a society of accountants with himself as president. It was alleged that Broaker had led prospective members of the society to believe that the Board of Regents might be willing to waive the CPA exam for those who were members. The Board of Regents responded to these complaints by appointing James T. Anyon to replace Broaker.
http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/1996/1096/newsviews/CPAcen.htm
    1903 – The first western of the film genre, “The Great Train Robbery” is released.
    1909 - The first payment to a Christmas savings club at a bank was made. It was started by the Carlisle Trust Company, Carlisle, PA. The idea originated with Merkel Landis, the bank’s treasurer. When I was younger, all kids had such a “savings account.”  Today, most money is spent to make monthly payments to credit cards and kids are not encouraged to save. Do you have a Christmas savings account, or even a vacation savings account?
    1911 - Birthday of Walter Alston, baseball player and baseball Hall of Fame manager, at Venice, OH. Alston struck out in his only major league at-bat, but he became one of the game’s most successful managers. Working under a series of one-year contracts with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, Alston won seven National League pennants and four World Series. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983. Died at Oxford, OH, October 1, 1984.
    1911 – Calvin Griffith was born in Montreal.  The son of a minor leaguer, he was the nephew of Clark Griffith, the Hall of Fame pitcher and manager who became president of the Washington Senators in 1920. He raised Calvin from the age of 11, and moved him and Calvin’s siblings to Washington.  At least three brothers, Sherry, Jimmy and Billy, and a brother-in-law, Joe Haynes, would eventually become Senators' executives, while brother-in-law Joe Cronin, a Hall of Fame shortstop, would serve as playing manager of the Senators and Boston Red Sox, general manager of the Red Sox, and president of the American League.  In 1955, upon the death of Clark, the Senators would pass to Calvin and his sister.  Through this period, the Senators won their last World Series in 1924, with Hall of Famer Walter Johnson winning game 7 in extra innings, and their last World Series appearance was 1933.  The saying was, “Washington…first in war, first in peace and last in the American League”.  This took a toll on attendance and, in 1961, he moved the team to Minnesota and renamed them the Twins.  He died in 1999.
    1912 - Harry Arthur “Cookie” Lavagetto, baseball player and manager, was born at Oakland, CA. Lavagetto was the first manager of the Minnesota Twins, but he is best remembered for breaking up the Yankees’ Floyd Beven’s bid for a no hitter in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series at Ebbetts Field. Lavagetto doubled with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, spoiling Beven’s effort and driving in the tying and winning runs for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Oddly, it was the last game Lavagetto would ever play in the majors.  Died at Orinda, CA, August 10, 1990.  The enduring recording of this feat involve Dodgers’ Hall of Fame broadcaster, Red Barber, “…here come the tying run…and here comes theee winning run…friends, they’re killin’ Lavagetto!”
    1912 – Minoru Yamasaki, architect of the World Trade Center, was born in Seattle.  Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century.  He died in 1986.
    1913 - The first drive-in gas station was opened by Gulf Refining Company at the intersection of Baum Boulevard and St. Clair Street, Pittsburgh, PA. The station remained open all night and provided free crankcase service. Thirty gallons of gasoline were sold the first day. Frank McLaughlin was the first manager.
    1913 - A 6-day Front Range snowstorm began, ultimately producing 45.7 inches of snow at Denver, CO, the biggest single snowstorm on record for that city.
    1913 - The Ford Motor Company introduced the continuous moving assembly line which could produce a complete car every two-and-a-half minutes. This change is one of the most significant changes in automobile production methods and allowed Ford to sell cars cheaper than any other manufacturer which forced the others to also move to automated production lines.
     1914 - Following the outbreak of World War I, the nation's stock markets temporarily shut down to safeguard against a debilitating bear run. But, this day, traders were back at it again, at least on the West Coast, where the San Francisco Stock & Bond Exchange became the first U.S. exchange to re-open its doors for business.
    1915 - The US requests that Germany withdraw its military and naval attaches from the Embassy in Washington
    1917 – Boys Town was founded by Father Edward Flanagan west of Omaha.
    1919 – Lady Nancy Astor, an American by birth, is sworn in as the first female member of the British Parliament. The former Constance Markiewicz did not take her seat because of her Irish nationalist views.
    1921 - The first airship filled with helium gas was the semi-rigid, cigar-shaped Navy dirigible C-7. It contained 181,000 cubic feet of gas and was powered by two motors. It was tested at Hampton Roads Base, Hampton Roads, VA, and on December 4, made a round trip from Hampton Roads to Washington, DC. Lieutenant Commander R.F. Wood was the pilot.
    1924 – George and Ira Gershwin’s musical "Lady Be Good" premieres in NYC
    1924 – A nationwide farm census began, lasting until January 31, 1935. More than 6 million farms were to be covered by an army of 10,000-20,000 enumerators. Farmers filled out surveys to prepare them for the census.
    1928 – Al Mundy’s boss, Noah Bain was born in The Bronx.  Actor Malachi Throne played that role opposite Robert Wagner’s starring character in the TV series, “It Takes a Thief”.  In addition Throne starred in several other TV series and films.  Throne died in 2011.
    1929 – Bingo was invented and manufactured by Edwin S. Lowe. Bingo has grown into a five-billion-dollar-a-year charitable fund-raiser. He got the idea from “Beano” played at carnivals for several centuries. Here is the story:
http://www.starlightonlinebingo.com/history.html
    1933 - Birthday of alto sax player Jimmy Lyons, Jersey City, NJ
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,461272,00.html?artist=Jimmy+Lyons
    1934 - First “Let’s Dance” broadcast on NBC with Benny Goodman Band.
    1934 - Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio was born in Hilo, Hawaii. The trio, also including Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard, who was later replaced by John Stewart,  was credited with starting the folk craze of the late 1950's and early '60s with their hit recording of "Tom Dooley" in 1958. The Kingston Trio had a clean-cut collegiate image which helped them win acceptance among the trendy college crowd. In 1961, the Trio was described as "the most envied, the most imitated, and the most successful singing group, folk or otherwise, in all show business" and "the undisputed kings of the folk-singing rage by every yardstick."  Among their other hits, “Where Have All The Flowers Gone“, “Scotch and Soda”, “The MTA”, “Tijuana Jail”, and “Greenback Dollar”. The trio broke up in 1968 and reunited in 1981.  Since 1976, the various troupes headed and owned by Shane have performed and recorded simply as the Kingston Trio.
    1934 - Singer Billy Paul is born in Philadelphia. His biggest hit is the million-selling No. 1 song "Me and Mrs. Jones."
    1935 - Woody Allen (Allen Stewart Konisberg) born Brooklyn, NY: actor, writer, producer (Oscar for “Annie Hall”, “Sleeper”, “Manhattan”, “Bullets over Broadway”.)
http://torp.priv.no/woody/
    1935 - Birthday of blues singer/actor Lou Rawls, at Chicago.  “You’ll Never Find A Love Like Mine”, "A Natural Man”, "You've Made Me So Very Happy”, “Happy Man”, “Bring It On Home”.  Died Jan, 2006 in LA.
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0712675/
http://www.lourawls.com/
http://www.barberusa.com/adult/rawls_lou.html
    1936 – The second Heisman Trophy was awarded to Larry Kelley of Yale.
    1936 – Bell Labs tests coaxial cable for television.
    1937 - Don Everly of the Everly Brothers was born in Brownie, Kentucky. The brothers were one of the most important acts of early rock 'n' roll. Their music, a mixture of close country harmonies over a rocking beat, resulted in two dozen chart entries, including such number-one records as "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and "Cathy's Clown." The brothers broke up in 1973, reunited in 1983 and again in 1985. They had a big return touring with Simon and Garfunkle, who said
they were trying to imitate the Everly Brothers when they began singing.  Brother Phil passed in Jan, 2014.
    1938 - Birthday of drummer Sandy Nelson, Santa Monica, CA. He was the drummer in my dance band along with Frank Cook, played rock ’n’ roll, and had a hit record later called “Teen Beat” in 1959.  In 1963, a motorcycle accident cost him a leg. I introduced him to Jan and Dean as well as Bruce Johnston who were at University High School. I think I met Nelson there in my first year, and at the time, he wanted to be a disc jockey as my other high school friend, Chuck Southcott, is today, who later drove me back and forth to school in his 1956 Chevy. Nelson learned the sound from going to many burlesque shows, where he told us he watched the drummer and listened to the rhythm as it was very unique. We also took him to see Ben Pollock, as I remember, who was the first “boom-chick-a-boom drummer.”
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Sandy_Nelson.html
http://www.tsimon.com/snelson.htm
http://www.spaceagepop.com/nelson.htm
http://gemm.com/q.cgi?rb=SPACEAGEPOP&wild=Sandy+Nelson
http://www.cdlagoon.com/8911207.html
    1939 - Birthday of Lee Buck Trevino, golfer, at Dallas, TX.  He is one of only four players to twice win the US Open, The Open Championship, and the PGA.  The only major that eluded him was the Masters. Trevino was the first player to shoot all four regulation rounds under par at the U.S. Open. At Oak Hill in 1968, Trevino played rounds of 69-68-69-69.
http://www.asiangolfmonthly.com/highlights/greatest/14.htm
http://www.golfdigest.com/features/index.ssf?/features/gd200205myshot.html
    1939 - Birthday of jazz pianist Joe Sample, co-founder of the Crusaders.
    1940 - ASCAP informs bandleader Glenn Miller that, due to publishing concerns, he can't use "Moonlight Serenade" as his theme. Instead, Miller picks "Slumber Song."
    1940 - Birthday of Richard Pryor (Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor), actor, comedian (“Blue Collar”, “Stir Crazy”, "The Richard Pryor Show", “Silver Streak”), at Peoria, IL.   Known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time.  Pryor co-wrote “Blazing Saddles”, directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder.  He died in Dec, 2005, after living with MS for the latter part of his life.
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/marktwain/pryor_bio.html
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/P/htmlP/pryorrichar/pryorrichar.htm
    1941 - Formation of the Civil Air Patrol: The Director of Civilian Defense, former New York Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, signed a formal order creating the Civil Air Patrol, a US Air Force Auxiliary. The CAP has a three-part mission: to provide an aerospace education program, a CAP cadet program and an emergency services program.
http://cap.gov/about/history.html
    1941 – With the Imperial Navy heading east toward Pearl Harbor, Emperor Hirohito of Japan gives the final approval to attack the United States.   
    1942 - The British Coalition Government accepts The Beveridge report which proposed a series of changes designed to provide plans for a welfare state offering care to all from the cradle to the grave.
    1942 - Nationwide gasoline rationing goes into effect with most drivers receiving coupons for 3 gallons per week generally supported by the population, although there was some black market activity.
    1943 - The Allied leaders of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union having met together for the first time in Tehran, the capital of Iran, have agreed to work together to win the war in Europe and in Asia and establish an "enduring peace". The leaders Winston Churchill, President Franklin D Roosevelt and Marshal Joseph Stalin had never met together in one place.  It was during this conference that the Allies agreed to Operation Overlord, the D-Day invasion of Normandy that would ultimately end World War II.
    1944 - Duke Ellington records “I’m Beginning to See the light,” (Victor 20-1618)
    1945 - Bette Midler is born in Paterson, N.J. She is named after actress Bette Davis. She won a best new artist Grammy in 1974. Her biggest hits are the million-sellers: "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From a Distance." She was nominated for an Oscar in 1979 for "The Rose" and appeared in such films as "Outrageous Fortune," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Beaches."  Midler also owns the distinction of being Johnny Carson’s final guest on his farewell “Tonight” show performance, May 25, 1992.
http://delveintothedivine.cjb.net/
http://www.betteontheboards.com/boards/index.html
    1945 - Burl Ives makes his concert debut at New York's Town Hall.
    1945 - The New York premier of Paramount's “The Lost Weekend”, starring Ray Milland in a brilliant performance. The film earned Oscars and Golden Globe awards for Best Picture, Best Actor for Milland, and Best Director for Billy Wilder.  Milland and the film were also honored at the Cannes Film Festival.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000549B1/lksmsubsite-sub-dv-asin-20
/104-3191958-8595946
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/oscars/bestpix/lostweekend.shtml
http://www.dvdmg.com/lostweekend.shtml
    1945 - Lionel Hampton cuts, “Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop,” (Decca 18754)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000IB1N/steinede-20/
104-3191958-8595946
    1949 - RCA Victor introduced the 45 rpm record. It was designed as a rival to Columbia's 33 1/3 rpm long-playing disc, introduced the previous year. The two systems directly competed with each other to replace 78 rpm records, bewildering consumers and causing a drop in record sales. By the end of 1949, all the major companies, except RCA, had committed themselves to the LP record, seemingly putting an end to the 45. Even RCA itself announced it would issue its classical library on 33 1/3 rpm discs. But RCA was not ready to admit the demise of the 45 rpm record. The company spent $5-million publicizing 45 rpm as the preferred speed for popular music. The campaign worked. Buyers of non-classical records turned increasingly to the 45 rpm record, so that by 1954, more than 200-million of them had been sold. And all the major companies now were producing both 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records.  Long before albums became the preferred method of song library-building for recording artists, it was the 45 on which rock ‘n’ roll flourished as they usually cost 69 cents.  How many of you Boomers still have your 45s from the 50s and 60s?
    1950 - Eighth Army and X Corps began withdrawing in the face of the massive Chinese offensive during the Korean War. The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, the British 27th Brigade and the Turkish Brigade, began to fight their way south from the Kunu-ri area through the bloody Gauntlet, under continuous fire from Chinese forces occupying the terrain commanding the route to safety. The 2nd Infantry Division was virtually destroyed during the Battle of Kunu-ri where over 4,000 men were lost. The division's overall combat capability was rated equivalent to a single regimental combat team by the end of the action. The ROK Capitol Division withdrew under heavy pressure to Pukchong.
    1950 - Task Force MacLean/Faith, composed of elements of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division's 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments, was annihilated east of the Chosin/Changjin Reservoir. Only 385 soldiers of its 3,200-man force were able-bodied following their withdrawal.
    1950 - WINDRICH, WILLIAM G., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company I, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Vicinity of Yudam-ni, Korea, 1 December 1950. Entered service at: Hammond, Ind. Born: 14 May 1921, Chicago, Ill. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a platoon sergeant of Company I, in action against enemy aggressor forces the night of 1 December 1950. Promptly organizing a squad of men when the enemy launched a sudden, vicious counterattack against the forward elements of his company's position, rendering it untenable, S/Sgt. Windrich, armed with a carbine, spearheaded the assault to the top of the knoll immediately confronting the overwhelming forces and, under shattering hostile automatic-weapons, mortar, and grenade fire, directed effective fire to hold back the attackers and cover the withdrawal of our troops to commanding ground. With 7 of his men struck down during the furious action and himself wounded in the head by a bursting grenade, he made his way to his company's position and, organizing a small group of volunteers, returned with them to evacuate the wounded and dying from the frozen hillside, staunchly refusing medical attention himself. Immediately redeploying the remainder of his troops, S/Sgt. Windrich placed them on the left flank of the defensive sector before the enemy again attacked in force. Wounded in the leg during the bitter fight that followed, he bravely fought on with his men, shouting words of encouragement and directing their fire until the attack was repelled. Refusing evacuation although unable to stand, he still continued to direct his platoon in setting up defensive positions until weakened by the bitter cold, excessive loss of blood, and severe pain, he lapsed into unconsciousness and died. His valiant leadership, fortitude, and courageous fighting spirit against tremendous odds served to inspire others to heroic endeavor in holding the objective and reflect the highest credit upon S/Sgt. Windrich and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1952 – The New York Daily News reported the first sexual reassignment operation.  Christine Jorgensen of The Bronx, after serving in World War II, attended several schools, worked, and around this time, learned of transitioning surgery. She travelled to Europe, and in Copenhagen, obtained special permission to undergo a series of operations starting in 1951.  She returned to the United States in the early 1950s and her transformation was the subject of The Daily News front page story. She became an instant celebrity, using the platform to advocate for transgender people, and became known for her directness and polished wit. She also worked as an actress and nightclub entertainer, and recorded several songs.  Jorgensen died in 1989.
    1954 - Senator Joe McCarthy was silenced by the US Senate.  Joseph McCarthy, a relatively obscure senator from Wisconsin, announced during a speech in 1950, in Wheeling, WV, that he had a list of Communists in the State Department. Through all of the hearings and accusations, McCarthy never produced the list.  Over the next two years, he made increasingly sensational charges and, in 1953, McCarthyism reached its height as he held Senate hearings as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, during which he bullied defendants. McCarthy's committee began inquiries into the US Army, starting by investigating supposed Communist infiltration of the Signal Corps laboratory at Ft. Monmouth, NJ.   McCarthy's investigations were largely fruitless, but after the Army accused McCarthy and his staff of seeking special treatment for Private G. Davis Schine, a chief consultant to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and who had been drafted into the Army as a private the previous year, McCarthy claimed that the accusation was made in bad faith.  In 1954, McCarthy’s tyranny was exposed in televised hearings, known as the Army-McCarthy hearings, during which he took on the Army (at twelve years old, I remember watching them and not understanding how they could take him seriously as he looked like he was drunk).   Army Counsel Joseph Welch reprimanded McCarthy for his needless attack on a witness, saying that "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness." McCarthy, accusing Welch of filibustering the hearing and baiting, dismissed Welch's dissertation and casually resumed his attack on the witness, at which point Welch angrily cut him short:  "Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged to the Lawyer's Guild... Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator; you've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"  On this day, the Senate voted to censure him. McCarthy died May 2, 1957 of hepatitis but was long suffering from the effects of alcohol.
http://mccarthy.cjb.net/
http://www.webcorp.com/mccarthy/wcmmlv2b.gif
    1954 - Top Hits
“Mr. Sandman” - The Chordettes
“Teach Me Tonight” - The De Castro Sisters
“The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane” - The Ames Brothers
“More and More”- Webb Pierce
    1955 - African-American seamstress Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person as required by law.  Her refusal triggers a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, led by Martin Luther King Jr., and changes history in the United States. Her arrest triggered a yearlong boycott of the city bus system and led to legal actions which ended racial segregation on municipal buses throughout the southern US. The event has been called the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Historians consider this the first, longest, and largest mass boycott by civil rights protestors. It lasted from 1955 to 1956, 381 days. Eventually the city agreed to treat all riders equally and to hire African-Americans as bus drivers. Interstate buses and other transportation still had restrictions on where African-Americans sat. Rosa McCauley Parks was born at Tuskegee, AL, Feb 4, 1913 and she died on Oct. 25, 2005.  Parks received national recognition, including the NAACP's 1979 Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall. Upon her death, she was the first woman and second non-U.S. government official to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec01.html
http://www.grandtimes.com/rosa.html
http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/parks01.html
http://www.tsum.edu/museum/
    1956 – Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds left fielder and Chicago White Sox SS Luis Aparicio were named Rookies of the Year.  Both are Hall of Famers.
    1957 - Ed Sullivan presents three rock and roll acts, each making its national television debut, on his Sunday evening show: Buddy Holly & the Crickets, playing "That'll Be the Day," Sam Cooke, singing "You Send Me" and the Rays performing their hit "Silhouettes."
    1958 - The Phil Spector-written "To Know Him Is To Love Him" was the number one song in the US for The Teddy Bears. The trio consisted of Spector, along with two friends, Marshall Leib and Annette Kleinbard.
    1958 - A fire at Our Lady of Angels School grade school in Chicago leaves 90 children dead due to poor fire prevention including no sprinklers and no fire drills .
    1959 - Representatives of 12 countries, including the United States, sign a treaty setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity
    1960 - Bobby Darin took time out from his busy recording schedule to marry actress Sandra Dee. Bobby had put four songs on the singles chart that year, including "Beyond the Sea", "Clementine", "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" and "Artificial Flowers". The couple would divorce in early 1967.
    1960 - A San Diego, California quintet called Rosie And The Originals reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a crudely recorded ballad called "Angel Baby". Written by the group's 14 year old singer, Rosie Hamlin, the song held the position for six weeks and stayed on the chart for three months.
    1960 – Paul McCartney and Pete Best are arrested then deported from Hamburg, Germany for accusation of attempted arson.
    1962 - Top Hits
“Big Girls Don’t Cry” - The 4 Seasons
“Return to Sender” - Elvis Presley
“Bobby’s Girl” - Marcie Blane
“Mama Sang a Song” - Bill Anderson
    1964 - In two crucial meetings (on this day and two days later) at the White House, President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers agree, after some debate, to a two-phase bombing plan for North Vietnam. 
    1964 – The expansion National League team founded as the Houston Colt .45s was renamed the Astros to coincide with their planned move to the eighth wonder of the world for the home field, the Astrodome. The change in name for the three-year old expansion franchise is necessitated due to a dispute with the Colt firearm company and the team's proximity to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
    1965 - An airlift of refugees begins from Cuba to the United States.
    1966 - California folk-pop vocal group, the Mamas and the Papas earn their fourth gold record for their album, "Cass, John, Michelle & Denny."
    1966 - ALBANESE, LEWIS, Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 5th Battalion (Airmobile), 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 1 December 1966. Entered service at: Seattle, Wash. Born: 27 April 1946, Venice, Italy. G.O. No.: 12, 3 April 1968. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Albanese's platoon, while advancing through densely covered terrain to establish a blocking position, received intense automatic weapons fire from close range. As other members maneuvered to assault the enemy position, Pfc. Albanese was ordered to provide security for the left flank of the platoon. Suddenly, the left flank received fire from enemy located in a well-concealed ditch. Realizing the imminent danger to his comrades from this fire, Pfc. Albanese fixed his bayonet and moved aggressively into the ditch. His action silenced the sniper fire, enabling the platoon to resume movement toward the main enemy position. As the platoon continued to advance, the sound of heavy firing emanated from the left flank from a pitched battle that ensued in the ditch which Pfc. Albanese had entered. The ditch was actually a well-organized complex of enemy defenses designed to bring devastating flanking fire on the forces attacking the main position. Pfc. Albanese, disregarding the danger to himself, advanced 100 meters along the trench and killed 6 of the snipers, who were armed with automatic weapons. Having exhausted his ammunition, Pfc. Albanese was mortally wounded when he engaged and killed 2 more enemy soldiers in fierce hand-to-hand combat. His unparalleled actions saved the lives of many members of his platoon who otherwise would have fallen to the sniper fire from the ditch, and enabled his platoon to successfully advance against an enemy force of overwhelming numerical superiority. Pfc. Albanese's extraordinary heroism and supreme dedication to his comrades were commensurate with the finest traditions of the military service and remain a tribute to himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army
        1967 – Wilt Chamberlain missed a record 22 free throws.
        1968 - Janis Joplin makes a final appearance with Big Brother & the Holding Company.    
    1969 - The first African-American US Air Force chief master sergeant was Thomas N. Barnes of Chester, PA, who entered the Air Force in April, 1949. He became chief master sergeant of the Air Force on October 1, 1973, for a two year terms. He retired July 31, 1977. He died 17, 2003.
http://www.chiefsgroup.org/barnes.htm
http://www.af.mil/bios/bio_4609.shtml    
    1969 - The U.S. government holds its first draft lottery since World War II when the Selective Service System of the United States held a lottery to determine the order of draft induction into the U.S. Army for the Vietnam War.
    1970 - Top Hits
“I Think I Love You” - The Partridge Family
“The Tears of a Clown” - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
“Montego Bay” - Bobby Bloom
“Endlessly” - Sonny James
    1971 - Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. of the US Navy became the first astronaut to become an admiral. He also was the first American astronaut to be launched into space. During his Apollo 14 walk on the Moon in 1971, Shepard took two golf balls that he had smuggled in his spacesuit and used an implement from the tool cart to execute what he called a "sand-trap shot," the only golf shot ever made on the Moon. He died at the age of 74, July 22, 1998, after a long battle with leukemia.
http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/01/shepard.memorial/
    1972 - Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" is released in the US where it will reach #1. The tune causes much speculation about who Carly was singing about, with popular guesses that included Mick Jagger (who sang uncredited backing vocals on the song), Cat Stevens, Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson (with whom she had had brief relationships), her unfaithful fiancé William Donaldson, and her ex-husband, James Taylor.  Like the meaning of “American Pie” the truth has never been revealed.
    1973 - The Carpenters' "Top of the World" hits #1.
    1974 - TWA Flight 514 crashes into Mount Weather, Virginia while making its landing approach to Washington Dulles International airport, killing all passengers and crew.  Later, Northwest Orient Flight 6231 crashes near JFK International on Long Island.  Both planes were Boeing 727s.
    1977 - Billy Joel's fifth album, "The Stranger," becomes his vehicle to stardom, making it to #2 and containing the hits "Just the Way You Are," "She's Always a Woman," "Movin' Out" and "Only the Good Die Young."
    1978 - Top Hits
“MacArthur Park” - Donna Summer
“How Much I Feel” - Ambrosia
“You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” - Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond
“Sweet Desire” - The Kendalls
    1980 - IBM delivered its 1st prototype PC to Microsoft. IBM selected Microsoft to create MS-DOS, the operating system for its first PC. Steve Ballmer arrived from Proctor & Gamble as an assistant to Gates. Paul Allen bought the QDOS operating system (Quick and Dirty Operating System) from a rival company for $50,000. It was renamed MS-DOS and licensed to IBM. The IBM 5150 PC standardized the marketplace.
    1982 - Epic Records releases "Thriller," Michael Jackson's first solo album in three years. It will yield four smash singles "This Girl is Mine" (a duet with Paul McCartney), "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "Billy Jean" and "Beat It." It is the best-selling album of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 40 million copies.
    1984 – Boston College QB Doug Flutie, a week after he threw his Hail Mary, last second TD pass to come from behind to beat Miami, was selected as this year’s Heisman Trophy winner.  Although he won wherever he went, he could never convince NFL coaches for whom he played that he could win in the NFL.  Undaunted, Flutie went to the CFL where he won three Grey Cup Championships…he was MVP in all three…and was the CFL’s Most outstanding Player a record six times.  He returned to the NFL with the Buffalo Bills in 1998 where he compiled a 22-9 won-loss record after his CFL career.
    1986 - Top Hits
“You Give Love a Bad Name” - Bon Jovi
“The Next Time I Fall” - Peter Cetera with Amy Grant
“Hip to Be Square” - Huey Lewis & The News
“Touch Me When We’re Dancing” – Alabama
    1988 - Squalls in the Great Lakes Region produced up to a foot of snow in Ashtabula County, OH, up to ten inches in Erie County, PA, and up to a foot of snow in western New York State.
    1989 - Zamboni Medical Alert!!! The Center for Disease Control revealed in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” that the fumes from a Zamboni ice machine could make fans at a hockey game sick if the rink is not properly ventilated.
    1989 - A Spokane, Washington, funeral director revealed that jazz saxophonist and pianist Billy Tipton, who had lived his life as a man, was a woman. Tipton played for years in the US northwest after a career with several big bands. He appeared to have a wife and adopted three sons.
    1991 - Miami quarterback Dan Marino sets an NFL record when he goes over 3,000 yards passing for the eighth time in his career in Miami's 33-14 win over Tampa Bay.
    1992 – Teenager Amy Fisher was sentenced to 5-15 years in prison for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco, her lover’s wife.
    1993 - Jack Nicklaus won the Disney World Open to become the first golfer to earn more than $2 million in career winnings.
    1994 - US Congress passed the GATT Treaty.  Following the lead of the House of Representatives, the US Senate voted 76-24 to approve the Uruguay Round provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The worldwide trade pact is intended to reduce tariffs by a third, eliminate trade quotas and protect intellectual property. The GATT agreement is expected to add $300-500 billion to the global economy through the year 2005. In January, 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) became the successor to GATT.
    1997 - Kenny G, whose real name is Kenny Gorelick, set a world record when he held a note on his saxophone for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. That record has since been broken by Geovanny Escalante, who held a sax note for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 45 seconds, using a technique that allows him to blow and breathe at the same time.
    1997 - Sprewell Chokes Coach: Basketball player Latrell Sprewell of the Golden State Warriors, provoked, he said, “by a lot of verbal abuse,” choked his coach, P.J. Carlesimo at practice and threatened to kill him. The Warriors suspended Sprewell for 10 games, and the terminated the remaining three years of Sprewell’s $32 million, 4-year contract.  The NBA suspended him for a year. The NBA Players Association filed a grievance on Sprewell’s behalf, and on March 4, 1998, arbitrator John Feerick reinstated the contract and reduced the suspension to five months. Two weeks before the season, the New York Knicks acquired Latrell Sprewell from Golden State for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings. In 2004, he joined the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Sprewell's career came to an unexpected end in 2005 when he refused a $21-million three-year contract offer from the Timberwolves, which he implied would not be enough to feed his children. Since that time, he has made headlines for grounding his million dollar yacht, losing two of his homes to foreclosure, and being prohibited from seeing his children.
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/latrell_sprewell/index.html?nav=page
    1997 – Westinghouse, a venerable manufacturing giant in America, changed its name to CBS after discontinuing or selling off all manufacturing operations and merging with the radio/television/media icon.
    1998 - Exxon buys Mobil for $73.7 billion creating the world’s largest oil company Exxon-Mobil
    2001 - The last Trans World Airlines flight, Flight 220, flies into St. Louis Lambert International Airport ending 76 years of TWA operations following TWA’s purchase by American Airlines.
    2002 - Heavy lake effect snow fell downwind of the U.S. Great Lakes. Buffalo, New York reported 16 inches of snow, with thundersnow reported late in the afternoon. While the eastern U.S. experienced much colder than normal temperatures on December 1, much of Alaska was basking in above average warmth. Many daily temperature records were set across this region through the beginning of the month.
    2005 - The Boston Red Sox have petitioned a judge to keep the ball used to record the last out of 2004 World Series making the team World Champs for the first time in 86 years. Former first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who caught the ball after being thrown by Keith Foulke, loaned it to Boston but continues to claim ownership of the sensational sphere.  The club's legal team said that Mientkiewicz had gained possession of the ball only because he was a Red Sox employee and that the ball remained the team's property. On April 23, 2006, it was announced that he had reached an agreement with the Red Sox, and the ball would go to the Baseball of Fame.
    2006 - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agrees to pay $60 million to settle lawsuits against claims of sexual abuse by its priests. The settlement is for forty-five cases, although there are still five hundred outstanding. One of the largest settlements since the allegations that started in 2002.
    2008 – President-elect Barack Obama nominated Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State. Also announced were nominations for the current Defense Secretary, Robert Gates to retain his position, retired General James Jones as a National Security Adviser, Eric Holder as Attorney-General and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security.
    2013 – A Metro-North Railroad train derailed in The Bronx, killing 4 and injuring 63.