- Special Education Day
- National Fritters Day
- National Mutt Day
- Safety Razor Day
- Giving Tuesday
- International Day for the Abolishment of Slavery
- Republic Day-Laos
- Higher Education Day-Myanmar/Burma
- On This Day
- 1777 --- Philadelphia housewife and nurse Lydia Darragh single-handedly saves the lives of General George Washington and his Continental Army when she overhears the British planning a surprise attack on Washington's army for the following day. During the occupation of Philadelphia, British General William Howe stationed his headquarters across the street from the Darragh home, and when Howe's headquarters proved too small to hold meetings, he commandeered a large upstairs room in the Darraghs' house. Darragh overheard the British commanders planning a surprise attack on Washington's army at Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, for December 4 and 5. Using a cover story that she needed to buy flour from a nearby mill just outside the British line, Darragh passed the information to American Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Craig the following day.
- 1804 --- In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. Pope Pius VII handed Napoleon the crown that the 35-year-old conqueror of Europe placed on his own head.
- 1823 --- U.S. President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
- 1859 --- In Charles Town, Virginia, militant abolitionist John Brown is executed on charges of treason, murder, and insurrection.
- 1901 --- Gillette patented the KC Gillette Razor. It was first razor to feature a permanent handle and disposable double-edge razor blades.
- 1927 --- The Ford Motor Company unveiled the Model A automobile. It was the successor to the Model T.
- 1932 --- The Adventures of Charlie Chan was first heard on the NBC Blue radio network. The Chinese detective became even more popular on the movie screen in the 1930s and 1940s.
- 1939 --- New York's La Guardia Airport began operations as an airliner from Chicago landed at 12:01 a.m.
- 1942 --- Enrico Fermi, the Italian-born Nobel Prize-winning physicist, directs and controls the first nuclear chain reaction in his laboratory beneath the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, ushering in the nuclear age.
- 1949 --- Gene Autry's song "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," hit the record charts.
- 1954 --- The U.S. Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Senator Joseph R. McCarthy for conduct unbecoming of a senator. The condemnation, which was equivalent to a censure, related to McCarthy's controversial investigation of suspected communists in the U.S. government, military, and civilian society. What is known as "McCarthyism" began on February 9, 1950, when McCarthy, a relatively obscure Republican senator from Wisconsin, announced during a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, that he had in his possession a list of 205 communists who had infiltrated the U.S. State Department. The unsubstantiated declaration, which was little more than a publicity stunt, thrust Senator McCarthy into the national spotlight. Asked to reveal the names on the list, the opportunistic senator named just one official who he determined guilty by association: Owen Lattimore, an expert on Chinese culture and affairs who had advised the State Department. McCarthy described Lattimore as the "top Russian spy" in America. These and other equally shocking accusations prompted the Senate to form a special committee, headed by Senator Millard Tydings of Maryland, to investigate the matter. The committee found little to substantiate McCarthy's charges, but McCarthy nevertheless touched a nerve in the American public, and during the next two years he made increasingly sensational charges, even attacking President Harry S. Truman's respected former secretary of state, George C. Marshall.
- 1959 --- Behind the Great Wall, a truly stinking motion picture, was seen at the Mayfair Theatre in New York City. A somewhat noxious scent was piped through the ceiling vents during certain portions of theshow. The effect was called Aromarama. It didn’t catch on.
- 1959 --- The Malpasset Dam in France collapses and the resulting flood kills more than 400 people. The city of Frejus, dating back to Caesar's time, was devastated by the massive flood.
- 1961 --- Following a year of severely strained relations between the United States and Cuba, Cuban leader Fidel Castro openly declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist. The announcement sealed the bitter Cold War animosity between the two nations.
- 1962 --- Following a trip to Vietnam at President John F. Kennedy's request, Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-Montana) becomes the first U.S. official to refuse to make an optimistic public comment on the progress of the war. Originally a supporter of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, Mansfield changed his opinion of the situation after his visit. He claimed that the $2 billion the United States had poured into Vietnam during the previous seven years had accomplished nothing.
- 1969 --- The Boeing 747 jumbo jet got its first public preview as 191 people flew from Seattle, WA, to New York City, NY. Most of the passengers were reporters and photographers.
- 1969 --- Cindy Birdsong (Supremes) was kidnapped. She later managed to escape her captor.
- 1970 --- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began operations. William Ruckelshaus was the first director.
- 1972 --- "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon was released.
- 1972 --- Motown’s Temptations reached the #1 spot on the top 40 charts with Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone. It was the fourth #1 hit for the Temptations, joining My Girl (1965), I Can’t Get Next to You (1969) and Just My Imagination (1971).
- 1975 --- Ohio State University running back Archie Griffin becomes the first player in history to win the Heisman Trophy two years in a row.
- 1980 --- Four American churchwomen were raped, murdered and buried in El Salvador. (Five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.)
- 1982 --- Barney B. Clark became the first recipient of an artificial heart. The 61-year-old retired dentist from Seattle underwent a 7½-hour operation at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City. The operation was performed by a surgical team headed by Dr. William C. DeVries. Clark survived with the artificial heart for over 3 months.
- 1983 --- MTV aired Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video for the first time.
- 1993 --- Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces in Medellin.
- 1997 --- Good Will Hunting, a movie that will earn childhood friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon a Best Screenplay Oscar and propel them to Hollywood stardom, premieres in Los Angeles. Good Will Hunting featured Damon in the title role as a troubled math genius from South Boston. Directed by Gus Van Sant (Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho), the film co-starred Robin Williams as Will’s psychologist and Minnie Driver as Will’s girlfriend; Affleck played Will’s best friend, Chuckie.
- 2001 --- Enron filed for Chapter 11 protection in one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history.
- 2010 --- The House voted to censure Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., for financial and fundraising misconduct.
- 2010 --- NASA announced the discovery of a new arsenic-based life form.
- Birthdays
- Maria Callas
- Georges Seurat
- Charles Ringling
- Gianni Versace
- Ray Walston
- Monica Seles
- Nelly Furtado
- Britney Spears
- Aaron Rodgers
- 336th Day of 2014 / 29 Remaining
- Winter Begins in 19 Days
- Sunrise:7:08
- Sunset:4:50
- 9 Hours 42 Minutes
- Moon Rise:2:32pm
- Moon Set:3:00am
- Moon Phase:85%
- Next Full Moon December 6 @ 4:27am
- Full Cold Moon
- Full Long Nights Moon
During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.
- Tides:
- High Tide:7:04am/8:14pm
- Low Tide:12:31am/1:53pm
- Rainfall
- This Year to Date:3.44
- Last Year:1.70
- Avg YTD:4.80
- Annual Avg:23.80