Today in History

Today is Saturday, Dec. 1, the 335th day of 2018. There are 30 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus; the incident sparked a year-long boycott of the buses by blacks.

On this date:

In 1824, the presidential election was turned over to the U.S. House of Representatives when a deadlock developed between John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. (Adams ended up the winner.)

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln sent his Second Annual Message to Congress, in which he called for the abolition of slavery, and went on to say, "Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves."

In 1941, Japan's Emperor Hirohito approved waging war against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands after his government rejected U.S. demands contained in the Hull Note.

In 1942, during World War II, nationwide gasoline rationing went into effect in the United States; the goal was not so much to save on gas, but to conserve rubber (as in tires) that was desperately needed for the war effort.

In 1952, the New York Daily News ran a front-page story on Christine Jorgensen's sex-reassignment surgery with the headline, "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty".

In 1965, an airlift of refugees from Cuba to the United States began in which thousands of Cubans were allowed to leave their homeland.

In 1969, the U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.

In 1989, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

In 1990, British and French workers digging the Channel Tunnel between their countries finally met after knocking out a passage in a service tunnel.

In 1992, a judge in Mineola, New York, sentenced Amy Fisher to 5 to 15 years in prison for shooting and seriously wounding her lover's wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco. (Fisher served seven years.)

In 1997, a 14-year-old boy opened fire on a prayer circle at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, killing three fellow students and wounding five; the shooter is serving a life sentence.

In 2004, Tom Brokaw signed off for the last time as principal anchor of the "N-B-C Nightly News"; he was succeeded by Brian Williams.

Ten years ago: The National Bureau of Economic Research officially declared the U.S. to be in a recession; the Dow industrials lost 679 points to end a five-day win streak. President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team, including Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, Eric Holder as attorney general and Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary; Obama also said that Robert Gates would stay on as defense secretary. Actor Paul Benedict, who played English neighbor Harry Bentley on "The Jeffersons," died on Martha's Vineyard, Mass. at age 70.

Five years ago: A New York City commuter train rounding a riverside curve derailed, killing four people and injuring more than 70 (federal regulators later said a sleep-deprived engineer had nodded off at the controls just before taking the 30 mph curve at 82 mph, causing the derailment). Edward J. "Babe" Heffron, 90, whose World War II service as a member of Easy Company was recounted in the book and television miniseries "Band of Brothers," died in Stratford, New Jersey.

One year ago: Retired general Michael Flynn, who served as President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about reaching out to the Russians on Trump's behalf; he said members of the president's inner circle had, at times, directed his contacts. (Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18, 2018.) The president dismissed as "fake news" reports that he wanted to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (Trump replaced Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo in March, 2018.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor-director Woody Allen is 83. World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino is 79. Singer Dianne Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 79. Country musician Casey Van Beek (The Tractors) is 76. Television producer David Salzman is 75. Rock singer-musician Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) is 74. Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors) is 74. Actress-singer Bette Midler is 73. Singer Gilbert O'Sullivan is 72. Former child actor Keith Thibodeaux (TV: "I Love Lucy") is 68. Actor Treat Williams is 67. Country singer Kim Richey is 62. Actress Charlene Tilton is 60. Actress-model Carol Alt is 58. Actor Jeremy Northam is 57. Actress Katherine LaNasa is 52. Producer-director Andrew Adamson is 52. Actor Nestor Carbonell is 51. Actress Golden Brooks is 48. Actress-comedian Sarah Silverman is 48. Actor Ron Melendez is 46. Contemporary Christian singer Bart Millard is 46. Actor-writer-producer David Hornsby is 43. Singer Sarah Masen is 43. Rock musician Brad Delson (Linkin Park) is 41. Actor Nate Torrence is 41. Rock/Christian music singer-songwriter Mat Kearney is 40. Rock musician Mika Fineo (Filter) is 37. Actor Riz Ahmed (Film: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story") is 36. Actor Charles Michael Davis is 34. R&B singer-actress Janelle Monae is 33. Actress Ashley Monique Clark is 30. Pop-rock-rap singer Tyler Joseph (Twenty One Pilots) is 30. Actress Zoe Kravitz is 30. Pop singer Nico Sereba (Nico & Vinz) is 28. Actor Jackson Nicoll is 15.

Thought for Today: "The only people who attain power are those who crave it." -- Erich Kastner, German author and poet (1899-1974).