December 2:

1804: Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of Francein the Notre Dame Cathedral.

1805: Battle of Austerlitz: Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Russians and Austrians.

1823: During his annual message to Congress, Pres. James Monroe made an important statement about American foreign policy in relation to Latin America. This became known as the Monroe Doctrine. It was the brainchild of his Sec. of State, John Q. Adams.

1859: Fanatical abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his role in leading the Harper's Ferry raid.

1859: Birthday of Georges Seurat, French painter, founder of Pointilism

1867: People waited in mile-long lines to hear Charles Dickens give his first reading in New York City.

1917: The new Bolshevik leaders of Russia proclaimed a cease fire during WWI & reach an armistice with the Central Powers. This freed up German forces for the Western Front and a final push to victory that failed due to the timely arrival of large numbers of American soldiers about a year after the U.S. declaration of war on Germany.

1925: Birthday of Alexander Haig, American army general and Secretary of State for Pres. Ronald Reagan

1927: Introduction of the Ford Model A to the public

1939: Birthday of Harry Reid, politician, former Senate Majority Leader

1942: Physicist Enrico Fermi produced the first nuclear chain reaction in his laboratory under the bleachers at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field.

1944: Gen. George Patton's troops broke through the Siegfried Line and entered the Saar Valley.

1954: The U.S. Senate voted to censure Joseph McCarthyafter his anti-communist crusade went too far in attacking the army.

1982: Barney Clark received the first permanent artificial heart which was developed by Dr. Robert K. Jarvik.

2001: Enron filed for bankruptcy.

historian said:

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December 2:


1859: Fanatical abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his role in leading the Harper's Ferry raid.

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A lengthy but fascinating article on John Brown and the twists of fate that changed the course of history:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/john-browns-day-of-reckoning-139165084/

Brown was cornered when the army broke into the firehouse where he was holed up, but the soldier in position to run him through with his saber struck Brown's belt buckle instead, bending the saber in half. Otherwise Brown would have been just another thug terrorist killed in action instead of a "martyr" to the radical abolitionists of the north.

It was one of those "but for" twists of history leading to a downward spiral toward war, not unlike Archduke Franz Ferdinand's driver making a wrong turn and getting stuck in traffic right in front of Gavrilo Prinzip.

Other tidbits of trivia in the article:

The leader of the Army regiment that cornered and captured Brown was one Lt. Col. R.E. Lee. He sent a junior officer under white flag to offer Brown terms of surrender, which Brown refused, and whom Brown could have easily shot when the troops immediately stormed the firehouse, but did not. That was Lt. J.E.B. Stuart. And in attendance at Brown's execution a few weeks later in Virginia were Lee, Prof. Thomas Jackson (later known as Stonewall), and an unemployed actor by the name of John W. Booth.

Good stuff!

whitetrash said:

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historian said:

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December 2:


1859: Fanatical abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his role in leading the Harper's Ferry raid.

---

A lengthy but fascinating article on John Brown and the twists of fate that changed the course of history:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/john-browns-day-of-reckoning-139165084/

Brown was cornered when the army broke into the firehouse where he was holed up, but the soldier in position to run him through with his saber struck Brown's belt buckle instead, bending the saber in half. Otherwise Brown would have been just another thug terrorist killed in action instead of a "martyr" to the radical abolitionists of the north.

It was one of those "but for" twists of history leading to a downward spiral toward war, not unlike Archduke Franz Ferdinand's driver making a wrong turn and getting stuck in traffic right in front of Gavrilo Prinzip.

Other tidbits of trivia in the article:

The leader of the Army regiment that cornered and captured Brown was one Lt. Col. R.E. Lee. He sent a junior officer under white flag to offer Brown terms of surrender, which Brown refused, and whom Brown could have easily shot when the troops immediately stormed the firehouse, but did not. That was Lt. J.E.B. Stuart. And in attendance at Brown's execution a few weeks later in Virginia were Lee, Prof. Thomas Jackson (later known as Stonewall), and an unemployed actor by the name of John W. Booth.

---

WOW!

December 3:

1468: Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano succeeded their father, Piero de Medici, as leaders of Florence.

1755: Birthday of Gilbert Stewart, artist, painter of portraits (including George Washington)

1762: France ceded to Spain the Louisiana Territory

1818: Illinois became the 21ststate

1826: Birthday of George McClellan, Union commanding general (twice) during the Civil War

1847: Frederick Douglass and Martin R. Delaney began publishing the North Star,an anti-slavery newspaper

1912: The First Balkan War ended.

1915: The U.S. expelled German attaches as spies

1916: Gen. Joseph Joffre was dismissed from command of the French Army for his failure at the Somme.

1918: End of the Allied Conference in London with the determination that Germany must pay for WWI.

1926: British reports that German soldiers were being trained in the Soviet Union in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

1955: Birthday of Art Briles

1955: Birthday of Phil Bennett

1965: The National Council of Churches asked the U.S. to halt bombings of North Vietnam.

1967: First human heart transplant.

1977: The State Department proposed allowing 10,000 more Vietnamese refugees to enter the U.S.

1989: Pres. George Bush met with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta.

1989: Birthday of Elliot Coffey

1992: A test engineer for the Sema Group sent the first text message, using a personal computer and the Vodafone network.

1997: Representatives of 121 nations signed the Ottawa Treaty prohibiting the manufacture or deployment of antipersonnel landmines. China, Russia, and the U.S. did not sign.

2011: Baylor football defeated Texas 48-24. This was the last game RGIII played in Waco.

December 4:

771: With the death of his brother, Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Frankish Empire.

1783: Gen. George Washington summoned his officers to announce that he was resigning his commission.

1863: Union forces ended seven days of bombardment of Charleston, S.C.

1867: Oliver Kelley organized the Grange which became a powerful political force for western farmers.

1892: Birthday of Francisco Franco, general and dictator after the Spanish Civil War

1941: Operation Typhoon, Germany's drive to take Moscow that began in October, was halted due to freezing temperatures and insufficient aircraft.

1942: Polish Christians aided Polish Jews by establishing the Council for the Assistance of the Jews.

1947: Premier of Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire.

1959: The Chinese Communist government pardoned Pu Yi, the last emperor of China and of the Japanese puppet regime.

1991: The last American hostages held in Lebanon, including Terry Anderson, were freed.

1992: Pres. Bush ordered U.S. troops to Somalia to aid in the UN efforts there.

historian said:

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December 4:

771: With the death of his brother, Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Frankish Empire.

1783: Gen. George Washington summoned his officers to announce that he was resigning his commission.

1863: Union forces ended seven days of bombardment of Charleston, S.C.

1867: Oliver Kelley organized the Grange which became a powerful political force for western farmers.

1892: Birthday of Francisco Franco, general and dictator after the Spanish Civil War

1941: Operation Typhoon, Germany's drive to take Moscow that began in October, was halted due to freezing temperatures and insufficient aircraft.

1942: Polish Christians aided Polish Jews by establishing the Council for the Assistance of the Jews.

1947: Premier of Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire.

1959: The Chinese Communist government pardoned Pu Yi, the last emperor of China and of the Japanese puppet regime.

1991: The last American hostages held in Lebanon, including Terry Anderson, were freed.

1992: Pres. Bush ordered U.S. troops to Somalia to aid in the UN efforts there.

---

December 5:

1484: Pope Innocent VIII issued a bull deploring the spread of witchcraft and heresy in Germany.

1782: Birthday of Martin Van Buren, 8thpresident of the U.S. and first born in the U.S.

1791: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna.

1839: Birthday of George Armstrong Custer, Union cavalry officer killed at Little Big Horn

1890: Birthday of Fritz Lang, film director

1901: Birthday of Walt Disney, filmmaker

1904: The Japanese destroyed a Russian fleet at Port Arthur in Korea. It was a surprise attack similar to what they would do at Pearl Harbor in 1941.

1912: Germany, Austria, and Italy renewed the Triple Alliance for another 6 years.

1916: David Lloyd George became the new British Prime Minister.

1921: The British empire reached an agreement with Sinn Fein, Irish revolutionaries, so that Ireland would become an independent nation.

1933: The 21st amendment ending Prohibition was ratified.

1934: Italian and Ethiopian forces clashed at the disputed border between Ethiopia and Somalia.

1936: The Soviet Union's new constitution guaranteed universal suffrage but only the Communist Party was legal.

1945: A squadron of 5 U.S. Navy torpedo bombers disappeared in the Bermuda triangle while on a routine training mission.

1950: The invading Chinese army captured Pyongyang in Korea.

1955: Beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., the new pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

1964: Capt. Roger Donlon was awarded the first Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam.

1978: The Soviet Union signed a 20-year friendship pact with neighboring Afghanistan. They would invade 3 years later.

1983: Military Junta in Argentina was dissolved.

2013: Nelson Mandela died.

December 6:

1421: Birthday of Henry VI, the youngest king of England (he was 269 days old when he acceded to the throne)

1492: Christopher Columbus landed on Santo Domingo in search of gold.

1812: What was left of Napoleon's Grand Army staggered into Vilnius, Lithuania to complete the failed Russian campaign.

1865: The 13th amendment prohibiting slavery was ratified.

1877: Thomas Edison made the first sound recording on his phonograph machine.

1884: Construction of the Washington Monument was completed.

1896: Birthday of Ira Gershwin, American lyricist and brother to composer George

1917: The Bolsheviks imprisoned Tsar Nicholas II and his family in Tobolsk.

1921: The Irish Free State was proclaimed.

1922: Benito Mussolini threatened Italian newspapers with censorship if they continued to publish "false information."

1938: France and Germany signed a treaty of friendship. Germany would invade France less than two years later.

1941: Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a personal appeal to Emperor Hirohito of Japan asking him to use his influence to prevent a war.

1947: Everglades National Park was established in Florida.

1948: The "Pumpkin Spy Papers" were found on Whittaker Chambers's Maryland farm with evidence of Alger Hiss as a spy for the Soviets.

1967: Adrian Kantrowitz performed the first human heart transplant in the U.S.

1969: Hells Angels, hired to provide security for a Rolling Stones concert, beat to death one of the attendees.

1971: Pakistan severed diplomatic relations with India after the latter recognized the state of Bangladesh.

1973: The House of Representatives confirmed Gerald Ford as vice president. Pres. Nixon had appointed Ford, after Spiro Agnew had resigned related to an IRS investigation.

1976: Democrat Tip O'Neill was elected Speaker of the House. He would serve the longest consecutive term as leader of the House of Representatives.

historian said:

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December 6:

1421: Birthday of Henry VI, the youngest king of England (he was 269 days old when he acceded to the throne)

1492: Christopher Columbus landed on Santo Domingo in search of gold.

1812: What was left of Napoleon's Grand Army staggered into Vilnius, Lithuania to complete the failed Russian campaign.

1865: The 13th amendment prohibiting slavery was ratified.

1877: Thomas Edison made the first sound recording on his phonograph machine.

1884: Construction of the Washington Monument was completed.

1896: Birthday of Ira Gershwin, American lyricist and brother to composer George

1917: The Bolsheviks imprisoned Tsar Nicholas II and his family in Tobolsk.

1921: The Irish Free State was proclaimed.

1922: Benito Mussolini threatened Italian newspapers with censorship if they continued to publish "false information."

1938: France and Germany signed a treaty of friendship. Germany would invade France less than two years later.

1941: Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a personal appeal to Emperor Hirohito of Japan asking him to use his influence to prevent a war.

1947: Everglades National Park was established in Florida.

1948: The "Pumpkin Spy Papers" were found on Whittaker Chambers's Maryland farm with evidence of Alger Hiss as a spy for the Soviets.

1967: Adrian Kantrowitz performed the first human heart transplant in the U.S.

1969: Hells Angels, hired to provide security for a Rolling Stones concert, beat to death one of the attendees.

1971: Pakistan severed diplomatic relations with India after the latter recognized the state of Bangladesh.

1973: The House of Representatives confirmed Gerald Ford as vice president. Pres. Nixon had appointed Ford, after Spiro Agnew had resigned related to an IRS investigation.

1976: Democrat Tip O'Neill was elected Speaker of the House. He would serve the longest consecutive term as leader of the House of Representatives.

---

1969: Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm

Maybe. But there is nothing smart or great about having a gang provide "security" to a supposedly legitimate event or about murder.

historian said:

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Maybe. But there is nothing smart or great about having a gang provide "security" to a supposedly legitimate event or about murder.

---

True. I was just being a smart az

Several have said that Hells Angels weren't hired for "security" but just to protect the stage.... sit around the edges , drink beer and keep the fans off of it!

The guy that was killed pulled a gun .... and was then stabbed to death by the Angels. Was determined that it was self defense.

The entire thing was thrown together quickly without any proper planning... and "things" started escalating. much earlier.

I saw the documentary a long time ago... can't remember everything but it was a real mess!

They should not have been too surprised with the results if they invited a gang to be there. It's not the Rotary Club!

December 7:

43: Cicero, one of Rome's greatest orators and statesmen, was assassinated on the orders of Marcus Antonius.

1787: Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution.

1805: A few weeks after first seeing the Pacific Ocean, Lewis & Clark established winter lodgings in Fort Clatsop at modern day Portland.

1941: The Japanese attacked America's Pacific fleet stationed in Pearl Harbor, ensuring the U.S. would enter the war. When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill learned of this he said, "I knew we had won."

1942: The US Navy launched the USS New Jersey, one of the largest battleships ever built.

1956: Birthday of Larry Bird, basketball player for the Boston Celtics

1972: Apollo 17 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was the last manned mission to the moon.

1988: An earthquake devastated Armenia, killing apx. 100,000 people.

1988: Yasar Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization terrorist group, recognized Israel's right to exist.

1999: The recording industry filed a lawsuit against Napster for copyright infringement.

2013: Baylor secured its first ever Big 12 Championship with a win over Texas in ice fog: 30-10. It was also the 11thwin of the season, another first for the program.

historian said:

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December 7:

43: Cicero, one of Rome's greatest orators and statesmen, was assassinated on the orders of Marcus Antonius.

1787: Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution.

1805: A few weeks after first seeing the Pacific Ocean, Lewis & Clark established winter lodgings in Fort Clatsop at modern day Portland.

1941: The Japanese attacked America's Pacific fleet stationed in Pearl Harbor, ensuring the U.S. would enter the war. When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill learned of this he said, "I knew we had won."

1942: The US Navy launched the USS New Jersey, one of the largest battleships ever built.

1956: Birthday of Larry Bird, basketball player for the Boston Celtics

1972: Apollo 17 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was the last manned mission to the moon.

1988: An earthquake devastated Armenia, killing apx. 100,000 people.

1988: Yasar Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization terrorist group, recognized Israel's right to exist.

1999: The recording industry filed a lawsuit against Napster for copyright infringement.

2013: Baylor secured its first ever Big 12 Championship with a win over Texas in ice fog: 30-10. It was also the 11thwin of the season, another first for the program.

---

re 1942: The New Jersey, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin were 4 of the 5 Iowa-class battleships built. The Kentucky was never completed. When the Wisconsin collided with the USS Eaton the Wisconsin suffered severe damage to the bow. The bow from the unfinished Kentucky was removed to replace the damaged bow on the Wisconsin. The repair took an unbelievably fast 14 days to complete.

My dad served on the Wisconsin as a gunner's mate in turret 2.

Wow!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/694979783984769/permalink/1866101793539223/

Not just the ship but The Nauticus Museum is very impressive.

December 8:

1542: Birthday of Mary Queen of Scots.

1775: American forces began the siege of Quebec.

1863: Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty & Reconstruction in attempt to be conciliatory in restoring the Union.

1941: The U.S. declared war on Japan, a day after the "day in infamy" when they attacked Pearl Harbor.

1949: Chinese Nationalists moved their capital to Taiwan after losing the Civil War to the communists.

1980: John Lennon was shot.

1987: Pres. Ronald Reagan & Premier Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)--the first successful nuclear arms treaty.

1993: Pres. George H. W. Bush signed NAFTA into law.

December 9:

1835: Texan rebel forces captured San Antonio.

1854: Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" was published.

1917: Jerusalem surrendered to British forces during WWI.

1958: The John Birch Society was established.

1987: The Intifada began in the Gaza Strip.

1990: Lech Walesawas elected the first president of Poland.

1992: U.S. Marines arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia.

1992: Prince Charles & Princess Diana announced their separation,

December 10:

1690: The first paper currency was issued in the British colonies of North America, specifically in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1864: Gen. William T. Sherman completed his March to the Sea.

1869: Wyoming granted women the right to vote.

1898: The Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War.

1901: The first Nobel prizes were awarded.

1920: Pres. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

December 11:


1688: James II of England abdicated with the landing of William of Orange at the behest of Parliament. This was called the Glorious Revolution because the change in monarchs was completed with minimal bloodshed.

1803: Birthday of Hector Berlioz, French composer

1816: Indiana was admitted as the 19thstate

1862: Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside occupied Fredericksburg and prepared to attack Confederate forces just outside of town under Gen. Robert E. Lee.

1918: Birthday of Alexander Slozhenitsyn, Russian writer, author of The Gulag Archipelago and winner of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize

1936: King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry an American divorcee, Wallis Warfield Simpson.

1941: Germany declared war on the U.S. and the U.S. declared war on Germany and Italy.

1945: A Boeing B-29 Superfortress shattered all records by crossing the country in 5 hours and 27 minutes.

1951: Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from baseball.

1955: Israel raided Syrian positions in the Sea of Galilee.

1967: The Concorde, a joint British-French venture and the world's first supersonic airliner, was unveiled in Toulouse, France.

1972: The lunar module for Apollo 17, Challenger, touched down on the moon, the last time men visited that body.

2008: Bernie Madoff, perpetrator of a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, was arrested.

December 12:

1745: Birthday of John Jay, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, author of some of the Federalist Papers

1753: George Washingtondelivered an ultimatum to French forces at Fort Le Boeuf, repeating Britain's claim to the entire Ohio River Valley. This was a precursor to the outbreak of the French and Indian War.

1770: The British soldiers responsible for the Boston Massacrewere acquitted on murder charges. They were defended by American attorney John Adams, later a leader in the fight for independence.

1787: Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution.

1805: Birthday of William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist

1863: Birthday of Edward Munch, Norwegian artist

1893: Birthday of Edward G. Robinson, American actor

1901: The first transatlantic radio signal.

1915: Birthday of Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor

1956: The United Nations called on the Soviets to withdraw from Hungary immediately. They refused and instead continued the brutal suppression of their independence struggle.

1963: Kenya declared independence from Great Britain.

1991: The Russian Federation became independent of the Soviet Union.

1995: Willie Brown defeated incumbent Frank Jordan to become the first black mayor of San Francisco.

Dec 12, 1899 - Dr. George F. Grant patents the golf tee

December 13:

1577: Sir Frances Drake set sail from England with 5 ships to raid Spanish holdings in the New World.

1818: Birthday of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Pres. Abraham Lincoln.

1862: Battle of Fredericksburg: Gen. Ambrose Burnside ordered repeated assaults on Confederate fortified positions to no effect. After 14 failed attempts, he finally stopped the senseless slaughter.

1918: Pres. Woodrow Wilson arrived in France for the upcoming peace talks to negotiate treaties to end WWI.

1925: Birthday of Dick Van Dyke, American actor

1937: Japanese forces captured the Chinese capital of Nanking beginning massive atrocities known as the Rape of Nanking.

1972: Astronaut Gene Cernan climbed into the lunar module and prepared to lift off. He was the last human to walk on the moon.

2000: Al Gore conceded the 2000 election.

2003: Saddam Hussein was captured.

December 14:

1546: Birthday of Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer

1585: Birthday of Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France

1799: George Washingtondied at his home Mount Vernon.

1819: Alabama became the 22ndstate.

1861: Death of Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria.

1896: Birthday of James Doolittle, American Air Force general who commanded the Doolittle raids bombing Japan a few months after Pearl Harbor

1900: Max Planck published his study of radiation introducing the field of quantum physics.

1906: The first U1 submarine began service in Germany.

1908: Beginning of Turkey's first truly representative Parliament.

1911: Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the South Pole.

1939: USSR was expelled from the League of Nations after their invasion of Finland.

1960: An American Boeing B-52 bomber set a 10,000 mile record for a non-stop flight without refueling.

1980: NATO warned the Soviets against interfering in Poland's internal affairs, that it would destroy dtente between the East and the West.

1981: Israel's Knesset passed legislation extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights on their border with Syria.

1994: Construction began on China's Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.

1995: The Dayton Agreement was signed in Paris, providing a framework for ending the Bosnian War.

2004: The Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge, opened near Millau, France.

2012: Mass murder Sandy Hook school in Connecticut

December 15:

37: Birthday of Nero, emperor of Rome likely responsible for the great fire of Rome and infamous persecutor of Christians

1791: Bill of Rights were ratified by Congress.

1832: Birthday of Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, designer of the tower that bears his name

1864: Beginning of the Battle of Nashville

1892: Birthday of J. Paul Getty, American oil man and art collector

1944: Bandleader Glenn Miller disappeared over the English Channel.

1945: Supreme Commander of Allied Powers Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered the end of Shintoism as the official state religion of Japan.

1946: Vietnamese nationalist (& communist) leader Ho Chi Minh sent a note to the new French Premier, Leon Blum, seeking peace talks.

1961: Adolf Eichmann, a key Nazi leader responsible for the Holocaust, was sentenced to die after his trial in Jerusalem.

1978: The US announced that it would recognize communist China and sever relations with Taiwan.

1998: US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee issued a report with the recommendation that Pres. Bill Clinton be impeached.

2001: After an 11 year & $27 million fortification project, the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened reopened. The famous lean was retained.

2005: The F-22 Raptor Stealth fighter entered active service with the US Air Force.

2011: The U.S. declared the war in Iraq over.

December 16:

1431: Henry VI of England was crowned King of France

1485: Birthday of Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Spanish monarchs Ferdinand & Isabella and first wife of Henry VIII of England. Because her only surviving child was a daughter, later Mary I, Henry divorced her and started the English Reformation.

1653: Oliver Cromwellis named "Lord Protector" and assumed dictatorial powers.

1770: Birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. Probably: he was baptized the next day.

1773: Boston Tea Party: A group of Americans dressed as Indians boarded British ships and dumped their cargo of tea into Boston Harbor.

1775: Birthday of Jane Austen, British novelist

1864: The Battle of Nashville ended with a Union victory.

1893: Premier in New York of Antonin Dvorak's Symphony #9, "New World".

1944: Beginning of the Battle of the Bulge during WWII: Germany unexpectedly mounted a large offensive in the west in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. As Allied lines fell back, a bulge was created in the front.

1949: Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong visited the Kremlin in Moscow.

1998: Pres. Bill Clinton ordered an missile attack on Iraq because Saddam Hussein's government had not cooperated with UN weapons inspectors.