December 2 is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 29 days remaining until the end of the year. Events 1409 – The University of Leipzig opens. 1697 – St Pauls Cathedral is consecrated in London. 1755 – The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire. 1763 – Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States. 1775 – The USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); the flag is hoisted by John Paul Jones. 1804 – At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French, the first French Emperor in a thousand years. 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Austerlitz – French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force. 1823 – Monroe Doctrine: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas. 1845 – Manifest Destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West. 1848 – Franz Josef I becomes Emperor of Austria. 1851 – French President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic. 1852 – Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French as Napoleon III. 1859 – Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16 raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. 1867 – At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States. 1899 – Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed The Filipino Thermopylae, is fought. 1908 – Puyi becomes Emperor of China at the age of two. 1917 – World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk begin. 1920 – Following more than a month of Turkish-Armenian War, the Turkish dictated Treaty of Alexandropol is concluded. 1927 – Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile. 1930 – Great Depression: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a US$150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy. 1939 – New York Citys La Guardia Airport opens. 1942 – World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. 1943 – World War II: A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo and transport ships, including the American SS John Harvey, which is carrying a stockpile of World War I-era mustard gas. 1947 – Jerusalem Riots of 1947: Riots break out in Jerusalem in response to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. 1954 – Cold War: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to censure Joseph McCarthy for conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute. 1954 – The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Taiwan, is signed in Washington, D.C.. 1956 – The Granma reaches the shores of Cubas Oriente province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution. 1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism. 1962 – Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to comment adversely on the wars progress. 1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations. 1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm Al Quwain form the United Arab Emirates. 1975 – The Pathet Lao seizes the Laotian capital of Vientiane, forces the abdication of King Sisavang Vatthana, and proclaims the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. 1976 – Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado. 1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: Four U.S. nuns and churchwomen, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Jean Donovan, and Dorothy Kazel, are murdered by a military death squad. 1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. 1988 – Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state. 1993 – Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed in Medellín. 1993 – Space Shuttle program: STS-61 – NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. 1999 – Glenbrook Rail Accident: Seven passengers are killed when two trains collide near Sydney, New South Wales. 1999 – The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive. 2001 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 01:13:58 +0000