This day in history...

Me, too

 

On December 1, 1824 in a rare exercise of the 12th Amendment, the Electoral College turns the fate of the 1824 presidential election over to the House of Representatives. In 1824, it would have taken 131 electoral votes to win the presidency. When the votes were counted on December 1, the final tally was: Sen. Andrew Jackson (TN), 99 votes; Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, 84; Treasury Secretary William Crawford, 41, Speaker of the House Henry Clay (KY), 37. In such an event, the 12th Amendment requires the House of Amendments to select the president from the top 3 electoral vote receivers, with each state delegation casting one vote. Thus disqualified from the election, Clay threw his support behind Adams, who became our 6th President. It is the only time the 12th Amendment has been exercised.


On December 1, 1990, workers digging under the English Channel from the English and French sides meet, opening the under construction Channel Tunnel into one continuous opening. It took 13,000 workers four years to make the breakthrough. The workers exchange British and French flags, toast the moment with champagne and get back to work. The "Chunnel' would open on May 6, 1994, providing rail service under the Channel between the two nations. It is 31.3 miles long, and the 23.5 miles under water is the longest underwater tunnel section in the world.


On December 1, 1976, Rush co-headlines with Ted Nugent at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles. Talk about mixed reviews.....The LA Times calls Rush's set, "derivative, loud, empty rock." But Hollywood Daily Variety says, "This Canadian hard-rock trio played as if they were at double strength and displayed some adroitly paced, ambitious tunes." And Creem writes, "The Forum crowd, mostly assembled for mad-dog Nugent, went for Rush carnivorously."

 

On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi causes the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in his laboratory at the University of Chicago. In his native Italy, Fermi had won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work with uranium, but fearing the Mussolini regime, he and his wife emigrated to the U.S. after travelling to Sweden to accept the award. Once here he begins collaborating with Danish-born physicist Niels Bohr, who first suggests the possibilities of a controlled nuclear chain reaction. Meanwhile, advised by Albert Einstein of the potential of nuclear power and the dangers to the world if Nazi Germany develops it first, President Roosevelt authorizes various scientists in this country to begin exploring nuclear power. Fermi's breakthrough, and the later establishment of the Manhattan Project, usher in the Nuclear Age.


On December 2, 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency begins operation. Concerns over pollution and its overall harm to the environment had been creeping into the American conscience over the previous 2 decades. President Richard Nixon authorized creation of the EPA as a result. Led by former Justice Department lawyer William Rickelshaus, the EPA's immediate affects would be the first serious enforcement of the Federal Clean Water Act and the banning of the pesticide DDT.


This entry has no historical confirmation....On December 2, 1777, Philadelphia nurse and housewife Lydia Darragh single-handedly saves the Continental Army, and quite possibly the life of George Washington. Weeks before, British General William Howe had established his headquarters across the street from the Darragh home, and soon commandeered a large upstairs room in the Darragh residence for a meeting room. Lydia took to eavesdropping outside the meetings, passing the information on to colonial soldiers outside the city by sewing the notes into the hem of her skirt. On December 2, Howe and his staff discuss a surprise attack on the Continental Army near Whitemarsh, PA, to be conducted 2 days later. Claiming to be going to purchase flour from a mill outside the city, Darragh successfully passed the information to Washington, whose troops were prepared when Howe attacked on the 4th. Rumor has it Lydia Darragh is revered among members of the CIA as one of America's first spies.

 

On December 3, 1989 President George H.W. Bush and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev conclude their first summit meeting at Malta. Although little of substance comes from the summit (they did agree that Gorbachev would meet with Bush in Washington the following year, and that a long range nuclear missile treaty would be on the table for that summit), both publicly state that the Cold War could be nearing its end.


On December 3, 1912, the Balkan League (Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria) signs an armistice with Turkey, bringing the first Balkan War to an end. During the 2 month conflict, the Balkan League successfully drove the Turks from all their European possessions, except the city of Constantinople. The peace is short-lived; a coup d'etat in Turkey just one month later ignites hostilities again. The fighting continues on and off over the next two years, finally spilling over into Austro-Hungary controlled territory and igniting World War I.


On December 3, 1947, a Broadway audience hears the cry of "Stellaaaaa!" for the first time, as Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire premiers at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The drama stuns the Broadway audience with its frank depiction of sexuality and brutality. Streetcar depicts the troubled Southern belle Blanche Dubois (played by Jessica Tandy) moving in with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter) and her husband Stanley Kowalski (23-year old Marlon Brando) in New Orleans' French Quarter. Blanche and Stanley despise each other from the start; in the play's shocking climax, Stanley rapes Blanche, triggering her final descent into insanity. The play ends with Blanche being led offstage in a straight jacket. Reviewers say when the curtain dropped, the audience sat in stunned silence for a moment, then burst into a round of applause that lasted 30 minutes. Streetcar would have 800 performances on Broadway and the road, earning a Tony Award for Tandy, a Pulitzer Prize for Williams, and instant stardom for Brando. In 1951, Brando and Hunter would take their roles to the film version of the show, with Vivian Leigh (Gone With The Wind) playing Blanche. Williams would extend the end of the script, having Stella leave Stanley as punishment for his ill deed, to appease moralists who objected to the show's explicit scenes.

 

On December 4, 1992, President George H.W. Bush orders 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia, a war-torn East African nation where rival warlords were blocking humanitarian aid to starving Somalis. Bush described the deployment, Operation Restore Hope, as “God’s work,” but promised the American people that troops would "not stay one day longer than is absolutely necessary.” Inevitably, America’s humanitarian troops became embroiled in Somalia’s political conflict, and the controversial mission stretched on for 15 months before being abruptly called off by President Bill Clinton in 1993, turning the mission over to the UN. American casualties during those 15 months were 43 killed, 153 wounded.


On December 4, 1942, two Christian women in Warsaw, Poland named Zofia Kossak and Wanda Filpowicz establsh the Council for the Assistance of the Jews. Since the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the Jewish population had been either thrust into ghettos, transported to concentration and labor camps, or murdered. Jewish homes and shops were confiscated and synagogues were burned to the ground. Word about the Jews’ fate finally leaked out in June of 1942, but little humanitarian aid was able to make it across the battle lines. The Council for the Assistance of the Jews was short-lived, and the fates of Kossak and Filipowicz are unknown. It is known that just two days later, SS troops rounded up 23 men, women, and children, and locked some in a cottage and some in a barn—then burned them alive. Their crime: suspicion of harboring Jews. (photo from the Warsaw ghetto)


On December 4, 1969, 14 Chicago police officers storm an apartment where several members of the militant Black Panther movement are holed up. An estimated 100 shots are fired; Black Panthers Fred Hampton (21 years old) and Mark Clark (22) are killed and 4 others are wounded. Police describe the incident as a "fierce battle", but later ballistics reports would show the Black Panthers fired just one shot. Two grand jury investigations would result in no charges filed against police. (photo: Fred Hampton)

 

On December 5, 1978, the Soviet Union and Afghanistan sign a "friendship treaty” calling for the Soviets to provide economic and military assistance to the unpopular Communist Afghan government. The Soviet Union had worked for closer relations with its neighbor to the south since the 1950's. A stable relationship seemed much close in April 1978, when members of the Afghan Communist Party overthrew and murdered President Sardar Mohammed Daoud. Nur Mohammed Taraki, head of the Communist Party, took over and immediately declared one-party rule in Afghanistan. The regime was extremely unpopular with many Afghans, so the Soviets sought to bolster it with the December 1978 treaty. But Afghan communist dissidents overthrew and killed Taraki in September 1979, leading to the Russian invasion 3 months later.


On December 5, 1776, five students at the College of William and Mary gather at Raleigh’s Tavern to found a new fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, selecting John Heath as their president. The first Phi Beta Kappa's modeled their fraternity after the "secret societies" of England and Germany, but with "American principles." In addition to being America's first fraternity, it will be the first to establish "chapters" at other colleges and universities. Today, Phi Beta Kappa numbers more than half a million members at 286 chapters. Its membership over more than two centuries has included 17 U.S. Presidents, 40 justices of the Supreme Court, and 136 Nobel laureates.


On December 5, 1872, the crew of the Dei Gratia, a small British brig, spots the Mary Celeste, an American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Upon boarding, the crew of the Dei Gratia reported the Mary Celeste's sails were slightly damaged, there was several feet of water in the hold, and the lifeboat and navigational instruments missing. Otherwise, the ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was onboard. The Mary Celeste had sailed from New York on November 7 bound for Genoa, Italy, carrying Captain Benjamin S. Briggs, his wife and two-year-old daughter, a crew of eight, and a cargo of some 1,700 barrels of crude alcohol. The captain's last log entry had been made 9 days earlier, and put the ship 500 miles from where she was sighted. No trace of Captain Briggs, his family, or the crew of the vessel was ever found, and the reason for the abandonment of the Mary Celeste has never been determined.

 

On December 6, 1917, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc collides with the Norwegian ship Imo in Halifax harbor, Nova Scotia. The Mont Blanc is loaded down with war materials, mostly highly volatile. The ship explodes 20 minutes after the collision, the largest manmade explosion in pre-atomic age history. The blast kills nearly 1800, injures another 9000, and flattens the northern part of the city. Much of the destruction is caused by the 60-foot tsunami generated by the blast. The shock wave is felt in Cape Breton, nearly 130 miles away. Trivia note: the City of Boston's official Christmas tree is a tree sent every year by the City of Halifax in gratitude for aid rendered following the explosion.


On December 6, 1921, The Irish Free State, comprising four-fifths of Ireland, is declared, ending a five-year Irish struggle for independence from Britain. Like other autonomous nations of the former British Empire, Ireland was to remain part of the British Commonwealth, symbolically subject to the king. The Irish Free State later severed ties with Britain and was renamed Eire, and is now called the Republic of Ireland.

On December 6, 1768, the first volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica is published. Its 15th - and final - edition, published in 2008, would span 32 volumes, compiled by more than 4,000 contributors. In 1912, Britannica's publishers announce they would seize print publications and focus entirely online, ending the run of the English language's longest-running print encyclopedia at 244 years.

 

On December 7, 1941, 15 sailors and officers of the U.S. Navy perform their duty during the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor at such a level of valor that they are awarded the Medal of Honor. Ten of the 15 MoH's will be awarded posthumously, including to the following:

Captain Mervyn Bennion, who remained on the bridge of the USS West Virginia despite having been mortally wounded.


Ensign Francis Flaherty, who sacrificed his own life guiding sailors to safety aboard the USS Oklahoma.


Chief Boatswain Edwin Hill, who performed with great valor while under fire, directing his men to cast off lines and get the USS Nevada underway. He was killed moments after these actions.


Ensign Herbert Jones, directed operations to supply ammunition to anti-aircraft guns aboard the USS California, despite having been mortally wounded.


Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, killed in the performance of his duties as commander of Battleship Division One while on the bridge of the USS Arizona.


Chief Radioman Thomas Reeves, killed while assisting in hand delivering ammunition to anti-aircraft guns aboard the USS California.


Machinist's Mate First Class Robert Scott refused to leave his post and subsequently drowned aboard the USS California.


Chief Watertender Peter Tomich refused to leave his post until all stations were secure aboard the USS Utah.


Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, killed in the performance of his duties as Captain of the USS Arizona.


Seaman First Class James Ward, who guided sailors to safety at the cost of his own life aboard the USS Oklahoma


In addition, 1st Lieutenant George Cannon, USMC, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for directing the reorganization of the Command Post while wounded and under fire at Sand Island, Midway.


Boatswain' Mate 2nd Class Francis Hammerberg (Navy diver) would receive a posthumous Medal of Honor for rescuing two fellow divers during salvage operations at Pearl in February, 1942 (no photo)

In addition to the Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses, 53 Silver Stars, four Navy and Marine Corps Medals, one Distinguished Flying Cross, four Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three Bronze Stars were awarded to American servicemen who distinguished themselves in combat at Pearl Harbor. A special decoration, the Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal, was later authorized for all military veterans of the attack.