More Stabs From The Past

Today is Friday, December 14th, the 348th day of 2007. There are 17 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History: On December 14th, 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, died at his Mount Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.
On this date:
In 1819, Alabama joined the Union as the 22nd state.
In 1861, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, died in London.
In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his group became the first men to reach the South Pole, beating out an expedition led by Robert F. Scott.
In 1939, the Soviet Union was dropped from the League of Nations.
In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish U.N. headquarters in New York.
In 1962, the US space probe Mariner 2 approached Venus, transmitting information about the planet.
In 1967, DNA was first synthesized. [It's mutants on parade now!! — Ed.]
In 1975, six South Moluccan extremists surrendered after holding 23 hostages for 12 days on a train near the Dutch town of Beilen.
In 1981, Israel annexed the Golan Heights, which it had seized from Syria in 1967.
In 1985, Wilma Mankiller became the first woman to lead a major American Indian tribe as she took office as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
In 1986, the experimental aircraft Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.
In 1989, Nobel Peace laureate Andrei D. Sakharov died in Moscow at age 68.
In 1993, a Colorado judge struck down as unconstitutional the state's voter-approved ban on gay rights laws.
In 1995, Presidents Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Franjo Tudjman of Croatia signed the Bosnian peace treaty in Paris.
Ten years ago: Iran's new president, Mohammad Khatami, called for a dialogue with the people of the United States -- a nation reviled by his predecessors as "The Great Satan." Cuban President Fidel Castro declared Christmas 1997 an official holiday to ensure the success of Pope John Paul II's upcoming visit to the communist country.
In 1999, U.S. and German negotiators agreed to establish a $5.2 billion fund for Nazi-era slaves and forced laborers. [Better late than never, but never better late. — Ed.] Charles M. Schulz announced he was retiring the "Peanuts" comic strip. [But it still hasn't stopped! — Ed.]
In 2000, the Federal Trade Commission unanimously approved the $111 billion merger of America Online and Time Warner. [That's worked out quite well, hasn't it? — Ed.]
Five years ago: Jordanian police announced the arrest of two alleged al-Qaida members in the October killing of American diplomat Laurence Foley.
One year ago: South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the 8th secretary-general of the United Nations. A British police inquiry concluded that the deaths of Princess Diana and her boyfriend in a 1997 Paris car crash were a "tragic accident" and that allegations of murder were unfounded.

Today's Birthdays:
Jazz musician Clark Terry is 87. Former "60 Minutes" executive producer Don Hewitt is 85. Actor-playwright George Furth is 75. Actress Patty Duke is 61. Pop singer Joyce Vincent-Wilson (Tony Orlando and Dawn) is 61. Tennis Hall of Famer Stan Smith is 61. Entertainment executive Michael Ovitz is 61. Actress Dee Wallace is 59. Rhythm-and-blues singer Ronnie McNeir (The Four Tops) is 58. Rock musician Cliff Williams (AC/DC) is 58. Singer-musician Peter "Spider" Stacy (The Pogues) is 49.

No Longer a Birthday, Merely a Birthdate:
Nostradamus, astrologer and physician (1503)
Tycho Brahe, astronomer (1546)
John Mercer Langston, public official, diplomat, educator (1829) [Never heard of him. Yet 178 yrs. after his birth, someone remembers. Oh, no wonder we'd never heard of him. Click & see why. Busy guy. — Ed.]
James Doolittle, aviator, military leader (1896)
Shirley Jackson, writer (1919)

This Date in Show Bidness "History:"
In 1947, Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman separated.
In 1961, Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John" became the first country single to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
In 1963, singer Dinah Washington died of an overdose of sleeping pills in Detroit. She was 39.In 1972, Alexander's department store in New York stayed open late so singer Alice Cooper could do his Christmas shopping.
In 1977, the movie "Saturday Night Fever" opened in New York.
In 1978, the movie "Superman," starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, opened in Los Angeles.
In 1979, the Clash's "London Calling" was released.
In 1980, fans around the world paid tribute to John Lennon, six days after he was shot to death in New York City. Hundreds of silent vigils were held at 2 p.m. Eastern time for ten minutes at the request of Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. [More Beatle stuff. Every day. — Ed.]
In 1984, Madonna had her first number-one hit when "Like a Virgin" hit the top of the "Billboard" singles chart.
In 1998, actress Linda Hamilton filed for divorce from director James Cameron. They were married a year and a half.
In 2006, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun died in New York at age 83. Actor Mike Evans, who'd played Lionel Jefferson on "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," died in Twentynine Palms, California, at age 57.