Sunday, Dec. 7, is the 341st day of 2014. There are 24 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a pre-emptive air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl
Harbor in Hawaii as well as targets in Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines and Wake Island; the
United States declared war against Japan the next day.
On this date:
In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1796, electors chose John Adams to be the second president of the United States; in
In 1808, electors chose James Madison to be the fourth president of the United States.
In 1836, Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the United States.
In 1842, the New York Philharmonic performed its first concert.
In 1909, chemist Leo H. Baekeland received a U.S. patent for Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic.
In 1972, America’s last moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, was seriously wounded by an assailant
who was then shot dead by her bodyguards.
In 1987, 43 people were killed after a gunman aboard a Pacific Southwest Airlines jetliner in California
apparently opened fire on a fellow passenger, the pilots and himself, causing the plane to crash.
Ten years ago: Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president.