December 7
1787 - Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1796 - John Adams was elected the second president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson was elected vice president.
1836 - Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the United States. Richard M. Johnson was elected vice president.
1842 - The New York Philharmonic gave its first concert.
1917 - The United States declared war on Austria-Hungary during World War I.
1941 - Japanese war planes attacked the home base of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which would draw the United States into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans were killed in the attack.
1972 - America's final mission to the moon, Apollo 17, blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
1975 - Indonesia invaded East Timor, leading to a 25-year occupation.
1982 - A U.S. prisoner was executed by means of lethal injection for the first time, in Huntsville, Texas.
1985 - Retired Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart died at age 70.
1987 - Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev set foot on American soil for the first time, arriving for a Washington summit with President Ronald Reagan.
1988 - A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Armenia, killing an estimated 25,000 people.
1993 - A gunman opened fire on a Long Island commuter train, killing six people and wounding 17. (Colin Ferguson was later sentenced to a minimum of 200 years in prison.)
1995 - A 746-pound probe from the Galileo spacecraft hurtled into Jupiter's atmosphere, sending back data to the mothership before it was destroyed.
2001 - Taliban forces fled from Kandahar, their last stronghold in Afghanistan.
2002 - Iraq formally declared to the United Nations that it had no weapons of mass destruction.
2004 - Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.
2011 - Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption.
2012 - President Barack Obama asked Congress for $60.4 billion in federal aid for New York, New Jersey and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy (lawmakers ended up passing a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure in addition to a $9.7 billion bill to replenish the National Flood Insurance Program).
Birthdays
20 - Asian Doll (rapper)
24 - Jasmine Villegas (R&B singer)
24 - Indyamarie (model)
26 - Laci Kay Somers (model)
27 - Yasiel Puig (baseball player)
28 - Nicholas Hoult (actor)
29 - Emily Browning (actress)
30 - Aaron Carter (singer)
31 - JB Gill (singer)
32 - Dean Ambrose (professional wrestler)
38 - Sara Bareilles (singer)
38 - Jennifer Carpenter (actress)
44 - Terrell Owens (football player)
51 - C. Thomas Howell (actor)
61 - Larry Bird (basketball player)
==================================
Today in Sports History - December 7
1907 - Eugene Corri becomes first referee in a boxing ring.
1911 - The National Hockey Association (the forerunner of the National Hockey League) is formed with teams in New Westminster, Vancouver and Victoria.
1918 - Washington University (Missouri) defeated Nebraska 20-7 in a postseason charity game. Huskers ended the season with a 2-3-1 record.
1937 - The Boston Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams.
1939 - Lou Gehrig was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame. He was the first player to have the rule waived that required a player to be retired one year before he could be elected.
1949 - Notre Dame end Leon Hart wins the Heisman Trophy.
1963 - Videotaped instant replay was used for the first time in a live sports telecast during the Army-Navy football game on CBS.
1978 - Mike Bossy (New York Islanders) got his first career hat trick.
1985 - Auburn running back Bo Jackson wins the Heisman Trophy.
1988 - The Texas Rangers signed free-agent pitcher Nolan Ryan to a one-year contract.
1995 - NBA settles strike of referees, referees to return on December 12.
1996 - Texas upset #3 Nebraska 37-27 in the inaugural Big 12 Conference championship game in St. Louis, Missouri.
1787 - Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1796 - John Adams was elected the second president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson was elected vice president.
1836 - Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the United States. Richard M. Johnson was elected vice president.
1842 - The New York Philharmonic gave its first concert.
1917 - The United States declared war on Austria-Hungary during World War I.
1941 - Japanese war planes attacked the home base of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which would draw the United States into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans were killed in the attack.
1972 - America's final mission to the moon, Apollo 17, blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
1975 - Indonesia invaded East Timor, leading to a 25-year occupation.
1982 - A U.S. prisoner was executed by means of lethal injection for the first time, in Huntsville, Texas.
1985 - Retired Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart died at age 70.
1987 - Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev set foot on American soil for the first time, arriving for a Washington summit with President Ronald Reagan.
1988 - A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Armenia, killing an estimated 25,000 people.
1993 - A gunman opened fire on a Long Island commuter train, killing six people and wounding 17. (Colin Ferguson was later sentenced to a minimum of 200 years in prison.)
1995 - A 746-pound probe from the Galileo spacecraft hurtled into Jupiter's atmosphere, sending back data to the mothership before it was destroyed.
2001 - Taliban forces fled from Kandahar, their last stronghold in Afghanistan.
2002 - Iraq formally declared to the United Nations that it had no weapons of mass destruction.
2004 - Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.
2011 - Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption.
2012 - President Barack Obama asked Congress for $60.4 billion in federal aid for New York, New Jersey and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy (lawmakers ended up passing a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure in addition to a $9.7 billion bill to replenish the National Flood Insurance Program).
Birthdays
20 - Asian Doll (rapper)
24 - Jasmine Villegas (R&B singer)
24 - Indyamarie (model)
26 - Laci Kay Somers (model)
27 - Yasiel Puig (baseball player)
28 - Nicholas Hoult (actor)
29 - Emily Browning (actress)
30 - Aaron Carter (singer)
31 - JB Gill (singer)
32 - Dean Ambrose (professional wrestler)
38 - Sara Bareilles (singer)
38 - Jennifer Carpenter (actress)
44 - Terrell Owens (football player)
51 - C. Thomas Howell (actor)
61 - Larry Bird (basketball player)
==================================
Today in Sports History - December 7
1907 - Eugene Corri becomes first referee in a boxing ring.
1911 - The National Hockey Association (the forerunner of the National Hockey League) is formed with teams in New Westminster, Vancouver and Victoria.
1918 - Washington University (Missouri) defeated Nebraska 20-7 in a postseason charity game. Huskers ended the season with a 2-3-1 record.
1937 - The Boston Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams.
1939 - Lou Gehrig was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame. He was the first player to have the rule waived that required a player to be retired one year before he could be elected.
1949 - Notre Dame end Leon Hart wins the Heisman Trophy.
1963 - Videotaped instant replay was used for the first time in a live sports telecast during the Army-Navy football game on CBS.
1978 - Mike Bossy (New York Islanders) got his first career hat trick.
1985 - Auburn running back Bo Jackson wins the Heisman Trophy.
1988 - The Texas Rangers signed free-agent pitcher Nolan Ryan to a one-year contract.
1995 - NBA settles strike of referees, referees to return on December 12.
1996 - Texas upset #3 Nebraska 37-27 in the inaugural Big 12 Conference championship game in St. Louis, Missouri.
