December 12
1745 - John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City.
1787 - Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1870 - Joseph Rainey of South Carolina took his seat as the first African American member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
1913 - The Mona Lisa was recovered in Florence after having been stolen two years earlier from the Louvre.
1914 - The New York Stock Exchange re-opened for the first time since July 30. The market had shut down when World War I broke out.
1917 - Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside of Omaha, Nebraska.
1925 - The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, California.
1947 - The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.
1963 - Kenya gained its independence from Britain.
1975 - Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill President Gerald R. Ford.
1995 - By three votes, the U.S. Senate killed a proposed Constitutional amendment giving Congress authority to outlaw flag burning and other forms of desecration against Old Glory.
1998 - The House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth and final article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton and submitted the case to the full House.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to stop the presidential election recount in Florida, effectively making Republican George W. Bush the winner.
2001 - Yasir Arafat closed the offices of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
2009 - Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker.
2012 - North Koreans danced in the streets of their capital, Pyongyang, after the regime of Kim Jong Un succeeded in firing a long-range rocket in defiance of international warnings.
2015 - Nearly 200 nations meeting in Paris adopted the first global pact to fight climate change, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that didn’t do so.
2018 - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s one-time fixer, was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal Trump’s alleged sexual affairs.
2019 - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson led his Conservative Party to a landslide victory in a general election that was dominated by Brexit, offering Johnson a new mandate to take his country out of the European Union.
Birthdays
24 - Lucas Hedges (actor)
33 - Kate Todd (actress)
43 - Bridget Hall (model)
45 - Mayim Bialik (actress)
48 - Hank Williams III (country singer)
50 - Regina Hall (actress)
50 - Madchen Amick (actress)
50 - Jennifer Connelly (actress)
51 - Maggie Rodriguez (news anchor)
58 - Tracy Austin (tennis player)
62 - Sheree J. Wilson (actress)
63 - Sheila E. (singer)
68 - Cathy Rigby (gymnast/actress)
71 - Bill Nighy (actor)
73 - Wings Hauser (actor)
80 - Dionne Warwick (singer)
83 - Connie Francis (singer)
88 - Bob Pettit (basketball player)
97 - Bob Barker (game show host)
===================================================
Today in Sports History - December 12
1930 - The Baseball Rules Committee revises a number of rules, including now making a ball that bounces from the field into the stands an automatic double and not a home run.
1936 - The Philadelphia Eagles select fullback Sam Francis of Nebraska with the first pick in the 1937 NFL Draft.
1937 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 28-21 to win the NFL Championship Game.
1950 - Ohio State running back Vic Janowicz wins the Heisman Trophy.
1965 - Gale Sayers of the Chicago Bears ties an NFL record with six touchdowns in a 61-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
1966 - The Supreme Court rules 4-3 in favor of allowing the Braves baseball franchise to move from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
1968 - Arthur Ashe became the first black man to be ranked #1 in tennis.
1971 - Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks scored his 1,000th NHL point.
1973 - San Diego files an anti-trust suit against the National League, ultimately stopping a proposed move of the Padres baseball team to Washington, D.C.
1976 - Joe Namath played in his final game with the New York Jets.
1981 - Wayne Gretzky became the fastest to score 50 goals in a season in NHL history, doing so in just his 39th game.
1987 - The University of Oklahoma men's basketball team sets an NCAA record with 33 steals against Centenary.
1991 - The New Jersey Nets set a single-game NBA record with 22 blocks in a 121-81 win over the Denver Nuggets.
1992 - Miami (FL) quarterback Gino Torretta wins the Heisman Trophy.
2001 - Denver Nuggets coach Dan Issel was suspended for four games by his team for shouting a profanity and an ethnic remark at a fan.
2010 - The inflatable roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome collapsed following a snowstorm that had dumped 17 inches on the city. (The NFL was forced to shift an already rescheduled game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants to Detroit’s Ford Field.)
2011 - Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III wins the Heisman Trophy.
2015 - Alabama running back Derrick Henry won the Heisman Trophy.
1745 - John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City.
1787 - Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1870 - Joseph Rainey of South Carolina took his seat as the first African American member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
1913 - The Mona Lisa was recovered in Florence after having been stolen two years earlier from the Louvre.
1914 - The New York Stock Exchange re-opened for the first time since July 30. The market had shut down when World War I broke out.
1917 - Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside of Omaha, Nebraska.
1925 - The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, California.
1947 - The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.
1963 - Kenya gained its independence from Britain.
1975 - Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill President Gerald R. Ford.
1995 - By three votes, the U.S. Senate killed a proposed Constitutional amendment giving Congress authority to outlaw flag burning and other forms of desecration against Old Glory.
1998 - The House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth and final article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton and submitted the case to the full House.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to stop the presidential election recount in Florida, effectively making Republican George W. Bush the winner.
2001 - Yasir Arafat closed the offices of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
2009 - Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker.
2012 - North Koreans danced in the streets of their capital, Pyongyang, after the regime of Kim Jong Un succeeded in firing a long-range rocket in defiance of international warnings.
2015 - Nearly 200 nations meeting in Paris adopted the first global pact to fight climate change, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that didn’t do so.
2018 - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s one-time fixer, was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal Trump’s alleged sexual affairs.
2019 - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson led his Conservative Party to a landslide victory in a general election that was dominated by Brexit, offering Johnson a new mandate to take his country out of the European Union.
Birthdays
24 - Lucas Hedges (actor)
33 - Kate Todd (actress)
43 - Bridget Hall (model)
45 - Mayim Bialik (actress)
48 - Hank Williams III (country singer)
50 - Regina Hall (actress)
50 - Madchen Amick (actress)
50 - Jennifer Connelly (actress)
51 - Maggie Rodriguez (news anchor)
58 - Tracy Austin (tennis player)
62 - Sheree J. Wilson (actress)
63 - Sheila E. (singer)
68 - Cathy Rigby (gymnast/actress)
71 - Bill Nighy (actor)
73 - Wings Hauser (actor)
80 - Dionne Warwick (singer)
83 - Connie Francis (singer)
88 - Bob Pettit (basketball player)
97 - Bob Barker (game show host)
===================================================
Today in Sports History - December 12
1930 - The Baseball Rules Committee revises a number of rules, including now making a ball that bounces from the field into the stands an automatic double and not a home run.
1936 - The Philadelphia Eagles select fullback Sam Francis of Nebraska with the first pick in the 1937 NFL Draft.
1937 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Chicago Bears 28-21 to win the NFL Championship Game.
1950 - Ohio State running back Vic Janowicz wins the Heisman Trophy.
1965 - Gale Sayers of the Chicago Bears ties an NFL record with six touchdowns in a 61-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
1966 - The Supreme Court rules 4-3 in favor of allowing the Braves baseball franchise to move from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
1968 - Arthur Ashe became the first black man to be ranked #1 in tennis.
1971 - Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks scored his 1,000th NHL point.
1973 - San Diego files an anti-trust suit against the National League, ultimately stopping a proposed move of the Padres baseball team to Washington, D.C.
1976 - Joe Namath played in his final game with the New York Jets.
1981 - Wayne Gretzky became the fastest to score 50 goals in a season in NHL history, doing so in just his 39th game.
1987 - The University of Oklahoma men's basketball team sets an NCAA record with 33 steals against Centenary.
1991 - The New Jersey Nets set a single-game NBA record with 22 blocks in a 121-81 win over the Denver Nuggets.
1992 - Miami (FL) quarterback Gino Torretta wins the Heisman Trophy.
2001 - Denver Nuggets coach Dan Issel was suspended for four games by his team for shouting a profanity and an ethnic remark at a fan.
2010 - The inflatable roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome collapsed following a snowstorm that had dumped 17 inches on the city. (The NFL was forced to shift an already rescheduled game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants to Detroit’s Ford Field.)
2011 - Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III wins the Heisman Trophy.
2015 - Alabama running back Derrick Henry won the Heisman Trophy.
