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What happened in history on this day: December 2?
On December 2 in ...
- 1777 - British General Howe plots attack on US General George Washington's army for December 4.
- 1791 - Bank of the United States issues paper money.
- 1812 - James Madison is re-elected President of US, with Elbridge Gerry as Vice-President.
- 1816 - Philadelphia Savings Fund Society opens first savings bank in US to accept deposits.
- 1822 - In San Salvador, a congress proposes incorporation into US.
- 1823 - US President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine".
- 1840 - William H Harrison is elected President of US, with John Tyler as Vice-President.
- 1859 - John Brown, US abolitionist, hanged in Charles Town, Virginia at age 59. Brown had been found guilty of murder, treason, and inciting a slave insurrection.
- 1863 - Thomas Crawford's statue Freedom is placed at the top of the US Capitol building.
- 1864 - Archibald Gracie Junior, Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at age 31.
- 1864 - Skirmish at Rocky Creek Church, Georgia.
- 1895 - 54th US Congress (1895-97) convenes.
- 1899 - US and Germany agree to divide Samoa between them.
- 1903 - The Panamanian Government signs the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, giving the USA exclusive rights to a canal zone.
- 1927 - Ford sells first Model A cars, in the USA, for US$385.
- 1932 - Adventures of Charlie Chan first heard on NBC-Blue radio network.
- 1935 - Albert Kessel is first to die in California gas chamber.
- 1939 - New York's La Guardia Airport begins operations as an airliner from Chicago lands, one minute after midnight.
- 1941 - Largest roller-skating rink (outside of New York City) opens in Peekskill, New York.
- 1941 - US Naval Intelligence ceases bugging Japanese consul.
- 1941 - Japanese Yamamoto sends his fleet to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
- 1942 - Scientists at the University of Chicago in the US induce a nuclear chain reaction, proving an atomic bomb to be possible.
- 1944 - US 95th Infantry division occupies bridge at Saar.
- 1952 - First human birth televised to public (KOA-TV Denver, Colorado, USA).
- 1954 - US Senate censures Joe McCarthy (Senator-Republican-Wisconsin) for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".
- 1957 - First US full-scale atomic electric power plant-power generated, Shippingport, Pennsylvania.
- 1968 - US President Richard Nixon names Henry Kissinger security advisor.
- 1969 - Boeing 747 jumbo jet first public preview (Seattle, Washington to New York City, New York).
- 1970 - American Environmental Protection Agency begins (Director: William Ruckelshaus).
- 1972 - "December Giant" largest sinkhole in US collapses (Alabama).
- 1979 - Crowds attack US embassy at Tripoli, Libya.
- 1980 - Four American Maryknoll nuns killed by death squads in El Salvador.
- 1981 - Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco opens at 11:30 AM.
- 1982 - At the University of Utah, 61-year-old retired dentist Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart (he will live for 112 days with the device). Doctor William DeVries performs the implant of a Jarvik-7 artificial heart.
- 1983 - Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time.
- 1987 - Jennifer Steele, age 17, of Colorado becomes Miss Teen America.
- 1987 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1991 - Muslim Shiites release American held hostage in Lebanon (Joseph Cicippio).
- 1993 - NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission (STS-61) to repair an optical flaw in the Hubble Space Telescope.
- 1999 - AlliedSignal Incorporated changes its company name to Honeywell International.
- 2001 - Enron Corporation, based in Houston, Texas, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York court, five days after Dynegy cancels a US$8.4 billion buyout bid. At the time this is the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
- 2004 - David Bieber, a 38-year-old former American marine, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a Leeds policeman and the attempted murder of two others following an incident on December 26, 2003. The trial judge recommends that he should never be released from prison.
- 2005 - In Wentworth, North Carolina, Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1,000th person to be executed in the United States since the re-introduction of capital punishment in 1976.
- 2007 - Activision and Vivendi Games announce a merger, to be called Activision Blizzard. The US$18.9 billion deal is the biggest ever in the videogame industry.
- 2008 - US President-elect Barack Obama names New York Senator Hillary Clinton as his nominee for secretary of state, and asks U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain in office.
Births on December 2
- 1866 - Birth of Henry Thacker Burleigh in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA; composer (Springarn Medal).
- 1893 - Birth of William Gaxton in San Francisco, California, USA; actor (Destry, Convoy).
- 1894 - Birth of Warren William [Krech] in Aitkin, Minnesota, USA; actor (Caesar - Cleopatra, Morgan - Go West Young Man).
- 1908 - Birth of Robert F Simon in Mansfield, Ohio, USA; actor (Custer, MASH, Man Who Shot Liberty Valance).
- 1908 - Birth of Rufe Davis in Oklahoma, USA; actor (Cocoanut Grove, Trail Blazers, Gangs of Sonora).
- 1910 - Birth of Robert Paige in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; actor (Colgate Comedy Hour).
- 1914 - Birth of Bill Erwin in Honey Grove, Texas, USA; actor (Glenn - Struck by Lightning).
- 1914 - Birth of Eddie Sauter in Brooklyn, New York, USA; musician (Sauter-Finegan Band, Saturday Night Revue).
- 1914 - Birth of Herman Walston AKA Ray Walston in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; actor (Luther Billis - South Pacific, My Favorite Martian TV show, Mr. Applegate - Damn Yankees, Judge Henry Bone - Picket Fences TV show, Fast Times at Ridgemont High movie).
- 1915 - Birth of Randolph Apperson Hearst in California, USA; newspaper publisher, chairman of the Hearst Corporation (1973-1996).
- 1918 - Birth of Milton Delugg in Los Angeles, California, USA; orchestra leader (The Tonight Show).
- 1922 - Birth of Leo V Gordon in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Circus Boy, Enos, Winds of War).
- 1923 - Birth of Maria M Callas in New York City, New York, USA; soprano (Carmen, Mademoiselle Award-1953).
- 1924 - Birth of Alexander Haig Junior in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, USA; (Republican) US Secretary of State (1981-82)/general.
- 1925 - Birth of Julie Harris in Grosse Point, Michigan, USA; actress (Bell Jar, East of Eden).
- 1929 - Birth of Harvey Phillips in Aurora, Missouri, USA; tubist (New York City Ballet Orchestra).
- 1929 - Birth of Lowell North in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA; yachtsman (Olympics-gold-1968).
- 1931 - Birth of Edwin Meese III; American Attorney General (1985-88).
- 1938 - Birth of Michael Levin in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; actor (Ryan's Hope).
- 1942 - Birth of Bob E Smith in Sacramento, California, USA; PGA golfer (1993 Yanase Cup).
- 1942 - Birth of Ted Bluechel in San Pedro, California, USA; rock vocalist/drummer (The Association).
- 1944 - Birth of Cathy Lee Crosby in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (Coach, That's Incredible).
- 1950 - Birth of Merrill Ashley in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; ballerina (New York City Ballet).
- 1952 - Birth of Keith Szarabajka in Oak Park, Illinois, USA; actor (Nightlife).
- 1952 - Birth of Michael McDonald in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; rock keyboardist/vocals (Doobie Brothers).
- 1953 - Birth of Jay Dean Haas in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; PGA golfer (1978 Andy Williams-San Diego).
- 1955 - Birth of Dennis Christopher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (Breaking Away, California Dreaming).
- 1959 - Birth of Patty Jordan in Buffalo, New York, USA; LPGA golfer (1988 Mitsubishi Motors Ocean).
- 1964 - Birth of Chip Hale in Santa Clara, California, USA; infielder (Minnesota Twins).
- 1964 - Birth of Yolanda Henry in Houston, Texas, USA; high jumper.
- 1965 - Birth of Karrie Mitchell in Arvada, Colorado, USA; Miss Colorado-America (1991-top 10).
- 1966 - Birth of Rob Sullivan in Chicago, Illinois, USA; Canadian Tour golfer (1991 Tri-City Pro-Am).
- 1966 - Birth of Zeke Jones in Yipsilanti, Michigan, USA; 114.5 pounds freestyle wrestler (Olympics-1996).
- 1968 - Birth of Darryl Kile in Garden Grove, California, USA; pitcher (Houston Astros).
- 1969 - Birth of Paul Francis Stankowski in Oxnard, California, USA; PGA golfer (1994 Las Vegas-5th).
- 1975 - Birth of Mark Kotsay in Whittier, California; baseball outfielder (Olympics-bronze-1996).
- 1981 - Birth of Britney Jean Spears in Kentwood, Louisiana; singer ("Baby One More Time", "You Drive Me Crazy", "Oops I Did It Again").
Deaths on December 2
- 1859 - John Brown, US abolitionist, hanged in Charles Town, Virginia at age 59. Brown had been found guilty of murder, treason, and inciting a slave insurrection.
- 1863 - Death of Jane Means Appleton Pierce, spouse of US President Franklin Pierce.
- 1864 - Archibald Gracie Junior, Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at age 31.
- 1967 - Cardinal Francis Spellman, archbishop of New York, dies at age 78.
- 1972 - José Limón, Mexican/US dancer (moor's pavane), dies at age 64.
- 1980 - Four American Maryknoll nuns killed by death squads in El Salvador.
- 1981 - Wallace K[irkman] Harrison, US architect (United Nations), dies at age 86.
- 1986 - Death of Desi Arnaz of lung cancer at age 69; American actor (Ricky Ricardo - I Love Lucy).
- 1990 - Aaron Copland, American composer (Fanfare for the Common Man), dies at age 90 (born 1900).
- 1995 - Roxie Roker, actress (Helen Willis - The Jeffersons) / mother of Lenny Kravitz, dies of breast cancer at age 66.
- 2005 - In Wentworth, North Carolina, Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1,000th person to be executed in the United States since the re-introduction of capital punishment in 1976.
- 2007 - Death of Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic and novelist (born 1916).
- 2016 - Death of Sammy Lee, American Olympic diver (born 1920).
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