December 12
1745 - John Jay, statesman and first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was born in New York City.
1787 - Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1870 - Joseph Rainey took his seat as the first African American in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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.
1915 - Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, N.J.
1917 - Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Nebraska.
1919 - The "Mona Lisa" was recovered in Florence, Italy after having been stolen two years earlier from the Louvre.
1925 - The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, California.
1937 - Japanese aircraft sank the U.S. gunboat Panay on China's Yangtze River. (Japan apologized, and paid $2.2 million in reparations.)
1946 - A United Nations committee voted to accept a six-block tract of Manhattan real estate offered as a gift by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to be the site of the U.N.'s headquarters.
1947 - The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.
1963 - Kenya gained independence from Britain.
1975 - Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill President Gerald R. Ford.
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 stopped the presidential election recount in Florida, effectively making 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.
Birthdays
24 - Luma Grothe (model)
30 - Kate Todd (actress)
40 - Bridget Hall (model)
42 - Mayim Bialik (actress)
45 - Hank Williams III (country singer)
47 - Regina Hall (actress)
47 - Madchen Amick (actress)
47 - Jennifer Connelly (actress)
55 - Tracy Austin (tennis player)
60 - Sheila E. (singer)
68 - Bill Nighy (actor)
77 - Dionne Warwick (singer)
94 - Bob Barker (TV host)
=============================================
Today in Sports History - December 12
1899 - George F Grant of Boston, Massachusetts, USA patents the wooden golf tee.
1930 - Baseball Rules Committee greatly revises the rule book, when a ball bounces into stands now a double, not a homerun.
1937 - The Washington Redskins defeated the Chicago Bears 28-21 in the NFL championship game.
1949 - American League votes 7-1 rejecting legalizing the spitball.
1950 - Ohio State running back Vic Janowicz wins the Heisman Trophy.
1965 - Gale Sayers of Chicago Bears scores six touchdowns, ties NFL record.
1966 - US Supreme Court votes 4-3 allowing Braves baseball team to move from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
1968 - Arthur Ashe became the first black man to be ranked #1 in tennis.
1971 - Bobby Hull (Chicago Black Hawks) scored his 1000th point.
1973 - San Diego files anti-trust lawsuit against the National League (stopping San Diego Padres move to Washington DC).
1976 - Joe Namath plays his final game with the New York Jets.
1981 - Wayne Gretzky became the quickest to reach 50 goals in a season. It was in the 39th game.
1987 - Oklahoma sets an NCAA men's basketball record with 33 steals in a game against Centenary.
1991 - New Jersey Nets set NBA record of 22 blocks beating Denver Nuggets 121-81.
1992 - Miami (FL) quarterback Gino Torretta wins the Heisman Trophy.
1997 - Boston Red Sox sign Pedro Martinez to record six year $69 million contract.
1998 - Pitcher Kevin Brown becomes baseball's first US$100+ million dollar man as he signs a seven-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for US$105 million.
2010 - The collapse of the inflatable roof at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Mall of America Stadium caused the cancellation of a game between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. The teams played the next day at Detroit's Ford Field.
1745 - John Jay, statesman and first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was born in New York City.
1787 - Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1870 - Joseph Rainey took his seat as the first African American in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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.
1915 - Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, N.J.
1917 - Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Nebraska.
1919 - The "Mona Lisa" was recovered in Florence, Italy after having been stolen two years earlier from the Louvre.
1925 - The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, California.
1937 - Japanese aircraft sank the U.S. gunboat Panay on China's Yangtze River. (Japan apologized, and paid $2.2 million in reparations.)
1946 - A United Nations committee voted to accept a six-block tract of Manhattan real estate offered as a gift by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to be the site of the U.N.'s headquarters.
1947 - The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.
1963 - Kenya gained independence from Britain.
1975 - Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill President Gerald R. Ford.
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 stopped the presidential election recount in Florida, effectively making 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.
Birthdays
24 - Luma Grothe (model)
30 - Kate Todd (actress)
40 - Bridget Hall (model)
42 - Mayim Bialik (actress)
45 - Hank Williams III (country singer)
47 - Regina Hall (actress)
47 - Madchen Amick (actress)
47 - Jennifer Connelly (actress)
55 - Tracy Austin (tennis player)
60 - Sheila E. (singer)
68 - Bill Nighy (actor)
77 - Dionne Warwick (singer)
94 - Bob Barker (TV host)
=============================================
Today in Sports History - December 12
1899 - George F Grant of Boston, Massachusetts, USA patents the wooden golf tee.
1930 - Baseball Rules Committee greatly revises the rule book, when a ball bounces into stands now a double, not a homerun.
1937 - The Washington Redskins defeated the Chicago Bears 28-21 in the NFL championship game.
1949 - American League votes 7-1 rejecting legalizing the spitball.
1950 - Ohio State running back Vic Janowicz wins the Heisman Trophy.
1965 - Gale Sayers of Chicago Bears scores six touchdowns, ties NFL record.
1966 - US Supreme Court votes 4-3 allowing Braves baseball team to move from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
1968 - Arthur Ashe became the first black man to be ranked #1 in tennis.
1971 - Bobby Hull (Chicago Black Hawks) scored his 1000th point.
1973 - San Diego files anti-trust lawsuit against the National League (stopping San Diego Padres move to Washington DC).
1976 - Joe Namath plays his final game with the New York Jets.
1981 - Wayne Gretzky became the quickest to reach 50 goals in a season. It was in the 39th game.
1987 - Oklahoma sets an NCAA men's basketball record with 33 steals in a game against Centenary.
1991 - New Jersey Nets set NBA record of 22 blocks beating Denver Nuggets 121-81.
1992 - Miami (FL) quarterback Gino Torretta wins the Heisman Trophy.
1997 - Boston Red Sox sign Pedro Martinez to record six year $69 million contract.
1998 - Pitcher Kevin Brown becomes baseball's first US$100+ million dollar man as he signs a seven-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for US$105 million.
2010 - The collapse of the inflatable roof at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Mall of America Stadium caused the cancellation of a game between the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. The teams played the next day at Detroit's Ford Field.
