December 2 - Bear

Bear

Family Birthdays

Tom Halpin (Daddy's godfather)

This Day In History

1409

The University of Leipzig opens.

1755

The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire.

1763

Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what would become the United States.

1775

USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); the flag is hoisted by John Paul Jones.

1823

US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts.

1867

At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.

1927

Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.

1942

During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

1970

The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.

1982

At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.

1993

NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

Famous Birthdays

1595

Henry Lawes, English musician and composer (d. 1662)

1760

Joseph Graetz, German composer, organist, and music educator (d. 1826)

1859

Georges Seurat, French painter (d. 1891)

1863

Charles Ringling, American circus owner (d. 1926)

1914

Ray Walston, American actor (d. 2001)

1925

Julie Harris, American actress

1946

David Macaulay, British-born American author

1963

Brendan Coyle, English actor

1968

Lucy Liu, American actress

1983

Aaron Rodgers, American football player