This day in history

[December 01, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Dec. 1, the 335th day of 2010. There are 30 days left in the year. The Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, begins at sunset.

Today's highlight in history:

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus. The incident sparked a yearlong boycott of the buses by blacks.

On this date:

In 1824, the presidential election was turned over to the U.S. House of Representatives when a deadlock developed between John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. (Adams ended up the winner.)

In 1860, the Charles Dickens novel "Great Expectations" was first published in weekly serial form.

In 1909, the first kibbutz was founded in the Jordan Valley by a group of Jewish pioneers; the collective settlement became known as Degania Alef.

In 1910, Porfirio Diaz was inaugurated for an eighth term as President of Mexico. (He was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution and forced to flee the following year.) The Miami Herald was first published under that name (it was known under previous ownership as the Miami Morning News-Record).

In 1921, the Navy flew the first nonrigid dirigible to use helium; the C-7 traveled from Hampton Roads, Va., to Washington, D.C.

In 1934, Soviet communist official Sergei M. Kirov, an associate of Josef Stalin, was assassinated in Leningrad, resulting in a massive purge.

In 1944, Bela Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Serge Koussevitzky.

In 1969, the U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.

In 1973, David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, died in Tel Aviv at age 87.

In 1990, British and French workers digging the Channel Tunnel between their countries finally met after knocking out a passage in a service tunnel large enough to walk through and shake hands.

Ten years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a narrow question of Florida election law while the Florida Supreme Court and a circuit judge denied Al Gore's petitions for immediate recounts. Florida's high court also refused to order a new election in Palm Beach County, where a "butterfly ballot" had drawn protests from Democratic voters. Vicente (vih-SEN'-tay) Fox was sworn in as president of Mexico, ending 71 years of ruling-party domination.

Five years ago: A roadside bomb killed 10 U.S. Marines near Fallujah, Iraq. Pakistani officials reported that Hamza Rabia, one of al-Qaida's top five leaders, was killed by Pakistani security forces near the Afghan border. South Africa's highest court ruled in favor of gay marriage. A jury in Sarasota, Fla. recommended the death sentence for Joseph Smith, the killer of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia. A dog and its owner found the bodies of Sarah and Philip Gehring, two children who'd been fatally shot by their father and buried in rural Ohio.

One year ago: President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops into the war in Afghanistan but promised during a speech to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to begin withdrawal in 18 months. General Motors Co. CEO Frederick "Fritz" Henderson stepped down after the board determined that the company wasn't changing quickly enough.

Today's birthdays: Actor Paul Picerni is 88. Former CIA director Stansfield Turner is 87. Singer Billy Paul is 76. Actor-director Woody Allen is 75. World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino is 71. Singer Dianne Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 71. Country musician Casey Van Beek (The Tractors) is 68. Television producer David Salzman is 67. Rock singer-musician Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) is 66. Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors) is 66. Actress-singer Bette Midler is 65. Singer Gilbert O'Sullivan is 64. Actor Treat Williams is 59. Country singer Kim Richey is 54. Actress Charlene Tilton is 52. Actress-model Carol Alt is 50. Actor Jeremy Northam is 49. Producer-director Andrew Adamson is 44. Actor Nestor Carbonell is 43. Actress Golden Brooks is 40. Actress-comedian Sarah Silverman is 40. Actor Ron Melendez is 38. Contemporary Christian singer Bart Millard (MIL'-urd) is 38. Actor-writer-producer David Hornsby is 35. Singer Sarah Masen is 35. Rock musician Brad Delson (Linkin Park) is 33. Actor Nate Torrence is 33. Rock musician Mika Fineo (Filter) is 29. Actress Ashley Monique Clark is 22.

Thought for today: "The only people who attain power are those who crave it." -- Erich Kastner, German author and poet (1899-1974)

[Associated Press]

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