December 6

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1768 – The first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica was published.

1790 – The U.S. Congress moved from New York, NY to Philadelphia, PA.

1849 – Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in Maryland. She returned to the South 19 times and freed more than 300 slaves.

1865 – The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified.

1877 – Thomas Edison demonstrated the first gramophone, with a recording of himself reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb” onto a cylinder.

1877 – The first edition of “The Washington Post” was published.

1883 – “Ladies’ Home Journal” was published for the first time.

1884 – After 34 years, construction of the Washington Monument was completed by Army engineers.

1907 – In Monongah, WV, 361 people were killed in America’s worst mine disaster.

1923 – President Calvin Coolidge became the first President to have a Presidential address broadcast on radio.

1947 – The Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman.

1957 – America’s first attempt at putting a satellite (Vanguard TV3) into orbit failed when the satellite blew up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, FL.

1960 – Gene Autry and Bob Reynolds were granted the Los Angeles Angels baseball franchise by the American League.

1964 – The stop animation TV Christmas special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” debuted on NBC.

1973 – Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, becoming the first non-elected Vice President.

1990 – Vice President Dan Quayle was enshrined in the Little League Museum’s Hall of Excellence.

1994 – Orange County, CA, filed for bankruptcy protection due to investment losses of about $2 billion. The county was one of the richest in the United States and became the largest municipality to file for bankruptcy.

1998 – Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour connected the first two building blocks of the International Space Station in the Shuttle cargo bay.

2002 – Winona Ryder was sentenced to 36 months of probation and 480 hours of community service stemming from her conviction for shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue. She also had to pay $10,000 in fines and restitution.

2004 – Dick Clark suffered a stroke that forced him to miss his annual assignment hosting “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”.

2005 – The iTunes Music Store reached more than 3 million videos sold.

2006 – NASA revealed photographs taken by the Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

BIRTHDAYS:

Donald J. Kutyna – 92 years old (1933) – General

Kenneth Copeland – 89 years old (1936) – Evangelist and author

David Ossman – 89 years old (1936) – Writer and comedian

Patrick Bauchau – 87 years old (1938) – Belgian-American actor

Richard Edlund – 85 years old (1940) – Visual effects designer and cinematographer

Bruce Nauman – 84 years old (1941) – Sculptor and illustrator

Bill Thomas – 84 years old (1941) – Academic and politician

Robb Royer – 83 years old (1942) – Guitarist, keyboard player, and songwriter

Miroslav Vitouš – 78 years old (1947) – Czech-American bassist and songwriter

Don Nickles – 77 years old (1948) – Businessman and politician

JoBeth Williams – 77 years old (1948) – Actress

Linda Barnes – 76 years old (1949) – Author, playwright, and educator

Craig Newmark – 73 years old (1952) – Computer programmer and entrepreneur; founded Craigslist

Tom Hulce – 72 years old (1953) – Actor

Chris Stamey – 71 years old (1954) – Singer-songwriter, musician, and music producer

Steven Wright – 70 years old (1955) – Actor, comedian, and screenwriter

Peter Buck – 69 years old (1956) – Guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Andrew Cuomo – 68 years old (1957) – Politician, 56th Governor of New York

Bill Hanzlik – 68 years old (1957) – Basketball player and coach

Deborah Estrin – 66 years old (1959) – Computer scientist and academic

David Lovering – 64 years old (1961) – Drummer

Janine Turner – 63 years old (1962) – Actress

Judd Apatow – 58 years old (1967) – Director, producer, and screenwriter

Helen Greiner – 58 years old (1967) – Businesswoman and engineer

Adrian Fenty – 55 years old (1970) – Lawyer and politician, 6th Mayor of the District of Columbia

Jeff Rouse – 55 years old (1970) – Swimmer

Craig Brewer – 54 years old (1971) – Director, producer, and screenwriter

Heather Mizeur – 53 years old (1972) – Lawyer and politician

Jens Pulver – 51 years old (1974) – Mixed martial artist and boxer

Lindsay Price – 49 years old (1976) – Actress

Kevin Cash – 48 years old (1977) – Baseball player and manager

Chris Başak – 47 years old (1978) – Baseball player

Darrell Jackson – 47 years old (1978) – Football player

Ryan Carnes – 43 years old (1982) – Actor and producer

Robbie Gould – 43 years old (1982) – Football player

Syndric Steptoe – 41 years old (1984) – Football player

Nora Kirkpatrick – 41 years old (1984) – Actress and musician

Shannon Bobbitt – 40 years old (1985) – Basketball player

Matt Niskanen – 39 years old (1986) – Ice hockey player

Adam Eaton – 37 years old (1988) – Baseball player

Coco Vandeweghe – 34 years old (1991) – Tennis player

Johnny Manziel – 33 years old (1992) – Football player

A Boogie wit da Hoodie – 30 years old (1995) – Rapper and singer-songwriter

Stefanie Scott – 29 years old (1996) – Actress and singer

Sabrina Ionescu – 28 years old (1997) – Basketball player

TODAY IS:

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.