1584 - Birthday of John Cotton (d. 1652), Derby, England.  Cotton was the first truly eminent minister to come to New England. On his arrival in September, 1633, Cotton was openly welcomed as one of the two ministers of the church in Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, having been personally invited to the colony by Governor Winthrop. He was a Puritan clergyman of The Way of the Church of Christ in New England. Cotton, a much loved figure in New England, wrote several pamphlets including, “Democracy as Detrimental to Church and State” (1636), “The Way of the Churches of Christ in New England” (1645), “Spiritual Milk for Babes” (1646) and “The Way of Congregational Churches Cleared” (1648).
http://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/cotton.htm
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/dfg/amrl/cotton1.htm
    1619 – At Berkeley Hundred in Virginia Colony, a “Thanksgiving” was first held by thirty-eight Englishman who left their ship to eventually start Jamestown in Virginia. The group's charter proclaimed that the day "be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God." Plantations were built on this site, many of which remain today.
(Lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec04.html )
    1674 - French Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette erected a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan, in present-day Illinois. His log cabin became the first building of a settlement that afterward grew to become the city of Chicago.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilcoles/french.htm
    1779 - This is considered the first law school in the United States. George Wythe was appointed professor of law and police at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. The teachers, who were attorneys, were paid by students paying for the course. The first college law school to be permanently organized was the Harvard College School of Law, Cambridge, MA, which was opened 1817.
    1783 - General George Washington issued his “Farewell Address to the Army'' at Fraunces Tavern, NYC. The country was changing as by
this time some 100,000 “loyalists” had fled the U.S. Also known as “Tories,” they had suffered various penalties for their loyalty to the Crown, including confiscation of property, removal from public office, and punitive taxation. Probably no more than 10% of the colonials were Tories, who were generally well-to-do, engage in commerce or the professions, or public officials. Many fled to Canada, some to England. Some returned after the war. Many, however, had remained behind. After the conflict many were able to recover at least some of their confiscated property.
http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/
The_Great_Republic_By_the_Mas
ter_Historians_Vol_II/georgewas_hj.html
http://www.collectiblemeals.com/library/Washington_George2.php
    1786 - Mission Santa Barbara was founded. This was a Franciscan Mission for the Indians, located in Santa Barbara, CA. The present structure is the fourth to stand on the same site. The last one was destroyed by the 1813 earthquake. Today is also St. Barbara’s Day, the saint after whom the mission was named. In 1970, the Roman Catholic Church officially stopped recognizing her as a Saint, stating the history could not be verified.
http://www.californiamissions.com/cahistory/santabarbara.html
http://www.sbmission.org/home.html
    1786 - The first National Grange was founded. This was the first organized agricultural movement in the US.
    1786 - The first of two great early December storms began. The storm produced 18 inches of snow at Morristown, NJ, and twenty inches of snow at New Haven, CT. It also resulted in high tides at Nantucket which did great damage.
    1816 - James Monroe was elected President. Daniel D. Tompkins was elected Vice President. Monroe, Secretary of State under President James Madison, gained the presidency in a landslide victory of his Federalist opponent, Rufus King of New York. The presidential electoral vote was Madison, 183; King, 34, and four abstentions. The presidential election of 1816 resulted in continuation of the so-called Virginia dynasty of presidents that had begun with Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800. The Democratic-Republican candidate was James Monroe of Virginia, who had been wounded in the American Revolution, and has served as diplomat, senator and secretary of state. The Federalists by now scarcely existed as a national political party. They nominated Rufus King, who had been a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and one of New York’s first senators. He carried only Massachusetts, Connecticut and Delaware. By 1820, the Federalist Party ceased to exist.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm5.html
    1844 - James K. Polk was elected President by a popular vote of 1,337,243 to 1,299,068 for Henry Clay, the Whig candidate, and 62,300 for James B. Birney, the Liberty candidate. Birney’s strong was showing in New York cost Clay the state’s electoral votes and the election. The electoral vote was Polk, 170; Clay, 105. The presidential election campaign of 1844 saw some unusual happenings in American politics. President John Tyler wanted a term in his own right, and a Democratic faction nominated him in 1844. It was clear, however, that he stood no chance, and he withdrew on August 20, becoming the first President who did not stand for a second term. At the Democratic National Convention, former President Martin Van Buren tried to secure the nomination, but could not muster enough support, largely because of his opposition to the annexation of Texas. The Democrats nominated the first so-called dark horse in U.S. History, James K. Polk of Tennessee. The Whigs unanimously nominated Henry Clay of Kentucky for the presidency. There was a third party this year, the Liberty Party, which in 1843 had nominated James. G. Birney of Kentucky on an antislavery platform. The Democratic platform was nationalistic, calling for the annexation of Texas and control of the entire Oregon Territory, then shared with England. The Whig platform was more general, making no reference to Texas or a national bank. The main opposition came from antislavery forces who were opposed because Texas was certain to become a salve state. Others wanted to act lest Great Britain or France develop a relationship with the Republic of Texas, whose independence Mexico refused to recognize. The Texas Annexation Treaty failed to win the necessary two-thirds vote for passage in the Senate on June 8. Henry Clay, in the so-called Alabama letters, stated the he had no objection to the annexation of Texas if it could be done “without dishonor, without war”. Clay’s ambivalence on Texas probably lost him the presidency. It was Tyler, who when elected, pushed the joint resolution, even though the Senate had originally rejected it.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jp11.html
http://www.jameskpolk.com/
    1843 - Manila paper was invented by John Mark and Lyman Hollingsworth of South Braintree, MA, partners under the firm name of J.M. and L. Hollingsworth, who received a patent this day. They manufactured it from hemp sales, canvas, and rope.
    1851 - Felt hats for women were introduced in New York City by John Nicholas Genin, who took low-crowned soft black hats, fastened the left side of the brim of each to the crown, and ornamented it with a black feather. Prior to this time, women wore bonnets. Genin created the new style to celebrate the arrival of Lajos Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, who arrived in New York City on December 5, 1851, on board the Mississippi.
    1854 - Birthday of Mary Reed, American Methodist missionary. She died in 1943, having spent the last 52 years of her life ministering to the lepers of India.
    1861 - The U.S. Senate, voting 36 to 0, expels Senator John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky once he joined the Confederate Army. He had been the Southern Democrats candidate for president against Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln.
http://www.east-buc.k12.ia.us/99_00/CW/dms/dms.htm
    1861 - Birthday of Lillian Russell (d. 1922), born Helen Louise Leonard in Clinton, IA.  She was perhaps the first female American “star”, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence. She was a very popular singer and actress, who in 1881, gained fame in the comic opera “The Great Mogul” and for Gilbert and Sullivan.  Russell was married four times, but her longest relationship was nearly 40 years with Diamond Jim Brady, who supported her extravagant lifestyle.   Shortly after completing a fact-finding mission to Europe on behalf of President Warren Harding to investigate increases in immigration, she died from injuries suffered on the return trip.  She recommended a five-year moratorium on immigration, and her findings were instrumental in the content of the Immigration Act of 1924.
    1864 - At Waynesboro, GA, forces under Union General Judson Kilpatrick prevented troops led by Confederate General Joseph Wheeler from interfering with Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s campaign destroying a wide swath of the South on his March to the Sea.
    1865 - Birthday of Luther Halsey Gulick (d. 1918), at Honolulu, HI.  A sports administrator and a pioneer in the YMCA, Gulick designed the triangular logo symbolizing the physical, emotional and intellectual development that is still the Y’s goal. While working in Springfield, MA, in 1891, Gulick persuaded Dr. James Naismith to devise an indoor game for use during the winter at the School for Christian Workers. The result was basketball. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.
    1875 - Boss Tweed escapes prison, fleas to Spain, disguised as a seaman. He was recognized by a likeness to the famous cartoon about him, captured, and died in debtor’s prison in New York.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec04.html
    1881 – The Los Angeles Times was published for the first time.
    1903 - American mystery author Cornell Woolrich, (d. 1968) was born in NYC. Since 1938, the suspense fiction of Woolrich, alias William Irish, has been adapted into more than 20 films, best known for writing “Rear Window.”
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0941280/
http://www.noircity.com/gallery1.html
http://www.bastulli.com/Woolrich/Woolrich.htm
http://members.toast.net/woolrich/black.htm
    1906 - Alpha Phi Alpha was formed by members of a social study club, and it became the first national college fraternity for African-American men. The first president was George B. Kelley. The first chapter was started at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and the second, in 1908, at Howard University, Washington, DC. 
http://www.alphaphialpha.net/alpha/legacy/index.html
    1908 – For the first time, football uniform numerals were sewn on the players’ uniforms to enable the spectators easily to distinguish the players.  They were used by the University of Pittsburgh for the game against Washington and Jefferson College. Washington and Jefferson won, 14-0. The idea was so popular, the sewing of numbers on jerseys swept all sports.
    1909 - The Montreal Canadiens, the oldest surviving professional hockey franchise in the world, was founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association.
    1909 - Amsterdam News founded in New York, a newspaper devoted to the black community.
http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~aas405a/newspaper.html
www.AmersterdamNews,org
    1915 - Birthday of Eddie Heywood, Atlanta, GA; composer of “Canadian Sunset”, “Soft Summer Breeze”.
    1918 – President Woodrow Wilson set sail for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, France, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office.
    1921 - The first Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against silent film star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle ended in a hung jury.  At a raucous, three-day party in 1921, the young starlet became severely ill and died four days later. Newspapers went wild with the story: popular silent-screen comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle had killed Virginia Rappe with his weight while savagely raping her. Though the newspapers of the day reveled in the gory, rumored details, juries found little evidence that Arbuckle was in any way connected with her death.  Sadly, though never proven, Arbuckle’s career was ruined and they never found what really happened to Ms. Rappe.
    1927 - Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club in Harlem. He stays there for five years.
    1930 - Birthday of jazz guitarist Jim Hall (d. 2013), Buffalo, NY.
http://www.gould68.freeserve.co.uk/JimHall3.html
http://www.lushlife.com/jimhall/
    1930 - Birthday of Harvey Edward Kuenn, Jr., (d. 1988) at West Allis, WI.   Baseball player and manager.  Kuenn was a fine-hitting shortstop and outfielder in both leagues, 1953 AL Rookie of the Year and 1959 AL leader in batting average. He managed the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, known as “Harvey’s Wallbangers”, to the American League pennant.
    1933 - "Tobacco Road", a play based on Erskine Caldwell’s book, premiered at the Masque Theatre in New York City. The play ran for eight years and 3,182 shows. 
    1940 – Birthday of Freddy ‘Boom Boom’ Cannon, born Frederick Anthony Picariello in Revere, MA.  1950s-60s rock ‘n’ roller whose hits include: “Tallahassee Lassie”, “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans”, “Palisades Park”, “Transistor Sister”, “Abigail Beecher”.
    1943 – The WPA, Work Progress Administration was shut down due to high employment during the war.
    1944 – Dennis Wilson (d. 1983), drummer of The Beach Boys, was born in Inglewood, CA. 
    1945 - By a vote of 65 to 7, the Senate approved United States participation in the UN, which had been established on October 24, 1945.
    1947 - Tennessee William's play “A Streetcar Named Desire” premieres on Broadway starring Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy.
    1948 – “Southside Johnny” Lyon was born in Neptune, NJ.
    1949 - Top Hits
Don’t Cry, Joe - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Betty Brewer)
I Can Dream, Can’t I? - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Jack Leonard)
That Lucky Old Sun - Frankie Laine
Slipping Around - Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely
    1950 - The University of Tennessee defies court rulings by rejecting five Negro applicants.
    1950 - Los Angeles wide receiver Tom Fears celebrates his 27th birthday by making an NFL record 18 receptions for 189 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams' 51-14 victory over Green Bay.
    1950 - DAVIS, RAYMOND G.,  Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps commanding officer, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Vicinity Hagaru-ri, Korea, 1 through 4 December 1950. Entered service at: Atlanta, Ga. Born: 13 January 1915, Fitzgerald, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Although keenly aware that the operation involved breaking through a surrounding enemy and advancing 8 miles along primitive icy trails in the bitter cold with every passage disputed by a savage and determined foe, Lt. Col. Davis boldly led his battalion into the attack in a daring attempt to relieve a beleaguered rifle company and to seize, hold, and defend a vital mountain pass controlling the only route available for 2 marine regiments in danger of being cut off by numerically superior hostile forces during their re-deployment to the port of Hungnam. When the battalion immediately encountered strong opposition from entrenched enemy forces commanding high ground in the path of the advance, he promptly spearheaded his unit in a fierce attack up the steep, ice-covered slopes in the face of withering fire and, personally leading the assault groups in a hand-to-hand encounter, drove the hostile troops from their positions, rested his men, and reconnoitered the area under enemy fire to determine the best route for continuing the mission. Always in the thick of the fighting Lt. Col. Davis led his battalion over 3 successive ridges in the deep snow in continuous attacks against the enemy and, constantly inspiring and encouraging his men throughout the night, brought his unit to a point within 1,500 yards of the surrounded rifle company by daybreak. Although knocked to the ground when a shell fragment struck his helmet and 2 bullets pierced his clothing, he arose and fought his way forward at the head of his men until he reached the isolated marines. On the following morning, he bravely led his battalion in securing the vital mountain pass from a strongly entrenched and numerically superior hostile force, carrying all his wounded with him, including 22 litter cases and numerous ambulatory patients. Despite repeated savage and heavy assaults by the enemy, he stubbornly held the vital terrain until the 2 regiments of the division had deployed through the pass and, on the morning of 4 December, led his battalion into Hagaru-ri intact. By his superb leadership, outstanding courage, and brilliant tactical ability, Lt. Col. Davis was directly instrumental in saving the beleaguered rifle company from complete annihilation and enabled the 2 marine regiments to escape possible destruction. His valiant devotion to duty and unyielding fighting spirit in the face of almost insurmountable odds enhance and sustain the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
     1950 - HUDNER, THOMAS JEROME, JR., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lieutenant (J.G.) U.S. Navy, pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, attached to U.S.S. Leyte. Place and date: Chosin Reservoir area of Korea, 4 December 1950. Entered service at: Fall River, Mass. Born: 31 August 1924, Fall River, Mass. Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, while attempting to rescue a squadron mate whose plane struck by antiaircraft fire and trailing smoke, was forced down behind enemy lines. Quickly maneuvering to circle the downed pilot and protect him from enemy troops infesting the area, Lt. (J.G.) Hudner risked his life to save the injured flier who was trapped alive in the burning wreckage. Fully aware of the extreme danger in landing on the rough mountainous terrain and the scant hope of escape or survival in subzero temperature, he put his plane down skillfully in a deliberate wheels-up landing in the presence of enemy troops. With his bare hands, he packed the fuselage with snow to keep the flames away from the pilot and struggled to pull him free. Unsuccessful in this, he returned to his crashed aircraft and radioed other airborne planes, requesting that a helicopter be dispatched with an ax and fire extinguisher. He then remained on the spot despite the continuing danger from enemy action and, with the assistance of the rescue pilot, renewed a desperate but unavailing battle against time, cold, and flames. Lt. (J.G.) Hudner's exceptionally valiant action and selfless devotion to a shipmate sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
    1951 - The first completely automated parking garage was the Park-O-Mat Garage opened in Washington, DC, by the Parking Services Company. A car could be parked or returned in 50 seconds. The garage was an open building with 16 floors and 2 basement levels. Two elevators parked 72 cars on a lot 25 by 40 feet. There were no ramps, no aisles, no lanes, and only one attendant, who used push-button controls and did not enter the cars. The “vehicle parking apparatus” was patented on October 14, 1947, by Richard L. Sinclair of Los Angeles, CA.
    1954 – The first Burger King opened in Miami.
    1954 - The Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman" hit #1.
    1956 - Elvis Presley visited the Sun recording studio with his companion, Marilyn Evans, a showgirl from Las Vegas, and interrupted a Carl Perkins session that featured Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Fellow label mate Johnny Cash also arrived and the four begin running through an impromptu jam on a series of songs they all know (mainly spirituals). Producer Sam Phillips records what would become famously known as the "Million Dollar Quartet" sessions, although they don't get released to the public officially until the early Eighties.
    1957 - Fats Domino records "I'm Walkin'" in New Orleans. The single will reach #4 on the pop chart and Number One on the R&B chart in April.
    1957 - Former heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis appears on "The Steve Allen Show" to introduce singer Solomon Burke, who performs Louis' "You Can Run, but You Can't Hide."
    1957 - After hearing reports that many US radio stations had banned Elvis' Christmas album because of their shock over "the Pelvis" singing religious songs, DJ Allen Brooks of CKWS in Kingston, Ontario, plays the entire album and invites listeners to call in their opinion. Of eight hundred callers, only 56 disapprove of Presley's sacred music. 
    1957 - Top Hits
“Jailhouse Rock” - Elvis Presley
“April Love” - Pat Boone
“Raunchy” - Bill Justis
“Wake Up Little Susie” - The Everly Brothers
    1960 - After reaching #28 with their first chart entry, "Honest I Do" earlier in the year, Kathy Young and The Innocents attain their only US Top 10 hit when "A Thousand Stars" tops out at #3. 
    1961 - Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl" is released on Vee Jay Records. By the first week of February, 1962, it would reach number one in the US, on its way to selling over one million copies worldwide.
    1961 - Syracuse University halfback and Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis became the first African-American to be selected first in the NFL draft when he was picked by the Washington Redskins, then almost immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns who issued him number 45. However, he never played a professional game, as he was diagnosed with leukemia in 1962 and died at the age of 23. Davis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
    1964 - One of the worst ice storms on record was in progress across Massachusetts and eastern New York. Ice accretions reached 1.5 inches in some places. Well over 80,000 homes lost power. Some homes did not have power for 5 days.
    1964 - The Beatles released their fourth album, "Beatles For Sale", which would spend 11 weeks as the #1 album in the UK. 
    1964 - Nine hundred students boycott classes at Berkeley, during Free Speech Movement. A small movement is about to explode (in three days) on campus. 
    1965 - Top Hits
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” - The Byrds
“1-2-3” - Len Barry
“I Got You (I Feel Good)” - James Brown
“Make the World Go Away” - Eddy Arnold
    1965 - Fender Guitars is sold to CBS for $13 million. Fender guitars, along with Gibson's, are a favorite brand among rock ‘n’ rollers.
    1965 - The Byrds' scored their second US number one hit with "Turn, Turn, Turn". Unlike their first chart topper, "Mr. Tambourine Man", the entire band was allowed to play on the recording, instead of studio musicians. "Turn, Turn, Turn" made it to #26 in the UK. 
    1965 - Acid Test. The second Acid Test was held at "Big Nig's" house in San Jose. It featured the Warlocks band (future Grateful Dead), a light show, and was attended by some 400 people.
    1969 - Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, was killed by Chicago police while he was sleeping. Mark Clark was also killed. Nearly a hundred bullets had been fired in what police described as a fierce gun battle with members of the Black Panther Party. However, ballistics experts later determined that only one of those bullets came from the Panthers' side. In addition, the "bullet holes" in the front door of the apartment, which police pointed to as evidence that the Panthers had been shooting from within the apartment, were actually nail holes created by police in an attempt to cover up the attack.
http://www.providence.edu/afro/students/panther/hamptonsr.html
http://www.africanpubs.com/Apps/bios/0213HamptonFred.asp?pic=none
http://www.providence.edu/afro/students/panther/hamptonjr.html
http://www.inpdum.com/fred_is_free(spear).htm
    1970 - The classic rock album, "Supersession", a recorded jam session with Mike Bloomfield (Electric Flag), Al Kooper (Blood, Sweat and Tears) and Steve Stills (Buffalo Springfield), is certified Gold. 
    1970 - Cesar Chavez jailed for 20 days for refusing to call off United Farm Workers lettuce boycott, Salinas, California.
    1971 - Don McLean's "American Pie" enters Billboard's Hot 100. The eight and a half minute song will eventually sell over 3 million copies and become one of the most discussed, dissected and debated songs that popular music has ever produced.
    1971 - Sly and the Family Stone's "Family Affair" begins a three-week stint at the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100. It is their third and final chart topper and their last to make the Top Ten. 
    1971 - Led Zeppelin started a two week run at the top of the UK album chart with the "Four Symbols" album. Featuring the 8 minute track, "Stairway to Heaven", the LP stayed on the US chart for nearly 5 years, selling over 11 million copies.
    1972 - Billy Paul from Philadelphia received a gold record for his smash hit, "Me and Mrs. Jones". 
    1972 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "I Am Woman," Helen Reddy.
    1972 - Winds gusting to 70 mph sent the temperatures at Livingston, MT plunging from 52 degrees to 18 degrees in just 20 minutes
    1973 - Top Hits
“Top of the World” - Carpenters
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” - Elton John
“Just You ’n’ Me” - Chicago
“The Most Beautiful Girl” - Charlie Rich
    1976 - A year after leaving The Guess Who, lead singer Burton Cummings is awarded a Gold record for his million selling, US Top Ten, solo hit, "Stand Tall”.
    1978 – Following the November 27 murders of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco’s first female mayor. 
    1981 - “Falcon Crest” premiered on television. This nighttime serial was set in Napa County, making the California wine country famous to the general public. It originally focused on Angela Channing’s efforts to gain control of the Falcon Crest vineyard winery; later the emphasis turned to crime. Famous actors who were a part of the cast at one time or another include: Wyman, Lorenzo Lamas, Billy R. Moses, Cliff Robertson, Turner, Gina Lollobrigida, Parker Stevenson, Anne Archer, Ionia, Cesar Romero, Morgan Fairchild, Ken Olin and Mary Mobley. In the season finale, Angela received Falcon Crest and everyone was happy.
    1981 - President Ronald Reagan broadens the power of the CIA by allowing spying in the United States.
    1981 - Top Hits
“Physical” - Olivia Newton-John
“Waiting for a Girl like You” - Foreigner
“Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” - The Police
“My Favorite Memory” - Merle Haggard
    1982 - The temperature in New York City's Central Park reached 72 degrees to establish a record high for December. The month as a whole was also the warmest of record.
    1985 - Dallas, Texas became the largest city in the United States to pass a no smoking law for restaurants. ‘Big D’ added another ‘biggest’ to its list. 
    1987 - IBM shipped the first version of its multitasking operating system, OS/2. IBM had developed the system as a way to free itself of MS-DOS, which Microsoft had designed and still owned: Microsoft would code OS/2 to IBM's design specifications. Far from freeing IBM from Microsoft's domination, OS/2 almost accelerated the process. IBM initially developed the program to run on the 286 processor, not the more powerful 386, which contributed to the system's failure to catch on with many businesses. Meanwhile, early versions of Windows continued to gain ground, and with the launch of Windows 3.0 in 1990, Microsoft quickly became the leader in operating systems.
    1988 - Roy Orbison gave his last concert, in Akron, OH. He died two days later. 
    1989 - Top Hits
“Blame It on the Rain” - Milli Vanilli
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” - Billy Joel
“(It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me” - Paula Abdul
It’s Just a Matter of Time - Randy Travis
    1989 - Seventeen cities in the eastern U.S., including nine in Florida, reported record low temperatures for the date. Lakeland, FL reported a record low of 31 degrees, and Watertown, NY was the cold spot in the nation with a low of 20 degrees below zero.
    1991 - A sad chapter in U.S. history came to a close when Terry Anderson, an Associated Press correspondent, became the final American hostage held in Lebanon to be freed. Anderson had been held since March 16, 1985, one of 15 Americans who were held hostage for from two months to as long as six years and eight months. Three of the hostages, William Buckley, Peter Kilburn and Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins, were killed during their captivity.
    1991 – Pan American World Airways, one of the country’s first airlines, ceased operations after 64 years when Capt. Mark Pyle landed ‘Clipper Goodwill’, a PanAm 727-221ADV, at Miami International Airport.
    1992 - Flagstaff, AZ was buried under 23 inches of snow and Sandia Peak, NM had 22 inches.
    1995 - The 746-pound Galileo spacecraft launched in October, 1989 from Cape Canaveral, FL, entered Jupiter’s upper cloud layer. It descended by parachute several hundred miles before being crushed and vaporized under intense atmospheric pressure. It found out many things, including that Jupiter’s atmosphere lacked water and complex organic molecules. Galileo itself was the first spacecraft to orbit one of the giant outer plants for a long-term survey, and is considered an historic flight.
    1995 - Netscape, Sun, and two dozen other vendors announced JavaScript, which helped transform ordinary, brochure-like Web sites into dynamic applications. JavaScript was designed to let developers rapidly create Java applications. Netscape included JavaScript in its Web authoring tool, making it quicker and easier to create interactive Web pages.
    1996 - The first electric car to be mass-produced using modern technology was the Electric Vehicle One, or EVI, market by General Motors. The first models were leased to customers in Los Angeles, CA, at a price tag of $34,000. The two-seater coupe was powered by a 137-horsepower, three-phase induction motor that ran on stored energy in a lead-acid battery pack. The EV1 cold travel 70 to 90 miles between changings, which took 3 to 12 hours. It reached speeds between 25 to 35 mph.
    1997 - Cincinnati running back Corey Dillon rushes for a rookie record 246 yards in a 41-14 victory over Tennessee.
    1997 – The NBA suspended Warriors PG Latrell Sprewell for attacking Coach P.J. Carlesimo on Dec. 1 at practice.  When Carlesimo yelled at Sprewell to make crisper passes, Sprewell responded that he was not in the mood for criticism and told the coach to keep his distance. When Carlesimo approached, Sprewell threatened to kill him and dragged him backwards by his throat, choking him for 7–10 seconds before his teammates and assistant coaches pulled Sprewell off his coach. Sprewell returned about 20 minutes later after showering and changing and again accosted Carlesimo. He landed a glancing blow at Carlesimo's right cheek before being dragged away again by the assistant coaches.  Sprewell was suspended for 10 games without pay. The next day, in the wake of a public uproar, the Warriors voided the remainder of his contract, which included $23.7 million over three years, and the NBA suspended him for one year. Sprewell took the case to arbitration, and, as a result, the contract voiding was overturned and the league suspension was reduced to the remaining 68 games of the season.
    1999 - San Francisco Mime Troupe celebrates its 40th anniversary for next two days, setting the stage for the Mime Troupe to enter the next millennium empowered by the energy of its collective past.
http://www.sfmt.org/
    2002 - An early season winter storm brought an expansive shield of snow and ice through much of the eastern U.S., from the lower Ohio Valley, southern Appalachians and into the Northeast. Snow accumulations of 4-8 inches were common along the northern edge of the precipitation shield, while a significant accrual of glaze occurred in the Carolinas. The storm caused at least 17 fatalities, mostly from traffic accidents (CNN). In the Carolinas, electric utilities provider Duke Power characterized the ice storm as the worst in the company's history, with 1.2 million customers or nearly half its entire customer base without power on the morning of the 5th. This surpassed electrical outages inflicted by Hurricane Hugo as it swept through the central Carolinas in September 1989.
    2006 - McGINNIS, ROSS ANDREW, Medal of Honor
United States Army. Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner's hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled "grenade," allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade's blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner's hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion. Private McGinnis' gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
    2014 - Texas and 16 other states sued the Obama administration regarding an executive order that will postpone deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants; the states claim the order is illegal.