- 1744: James Bradley announced the discovery of Earth's motion of
                       nutation, or wobbling.
                     - 1783: The import of African slaves was banned by all of the
                       Northern states.
                     - 1857: Britain's Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital
                       of Canada.
                     - 1862: The Union ironclad ship Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C.
                     - 1862: President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill admitting West
                       Virginia to the Union.
                     - 1879: The cornerstone was laid for Honolulu's Iolani Palace, the
                       only royal palace in the United States.
                     - 1879: Inventor Thomas Edison publicly demonstrated his electric
                       incandescent light in Menlo Park, N.J.
                     - 1911: Marie Curie received her second Nobel prize for her work on
                       radioactive elements.
                     - 1923: The first transatlantic radio broadcast of a voice occurred
                       between Pittsburgh and Manchester, England.
                     - 1935: Charles Darrow of Pennsylvania patented the game of Monopoly.
                     - 1938: Dr. R.N. Harger's "drunkometer," the first breath test for car
                       drivers, was officially introduced in Indianapolis.
                     - 1946: President Truman officially proclaimed the end of World War
                       II.
                     - 1961: The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12
                       billion in foreign aid; The Beach Boys played their debut gig under
                       that name at a Ritchie Valens memorial concert in Calif.
                     - 1962: "The Match Game" debuted on NBC with host Gene Rayburn.
                     - 1963: Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir played music together for the first
                       time.
                     - 1972: Pittsburgh Pirates star outfielder Roberto Clemente was
                       killed in a plane crash near Puerto Rico while flying relief
                       supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.
                     - 1974: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac.
                     - 1976: The Cars played their first gig.
                     - 1981: CNN Headline News debuted.
                     - 1984: The nation's first mandatory seat belt law went into effect
                       in New York at midnight.
                     - 1984: Rajiv Gandhi took office as India's sixth prime minister,
                       succeeding his mother, Indira.
                     - 1984: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was involved in a serious
                       motor accident that tore off his left arm.
                     - 1985: Singer Rick Nelson, 45, and six other people were killed when
                       fire broke out aboard a privately owned DC-3 that was taking the
                       group to a New Year's Eve performance in Dallas.
                     - 1990: The Sci-Fi Channel began transmitting.
                     - 1995: Cartoonist Bill Watterson ended his popular "Calvin and
                       Hobbes" comic strip after 10 years.

                     *Happy Birthday*
                     ----------------
                     - Rick Aguilera, 37, MLB Pitcher
                     - Jane Badler, 45, actress, "V"
                     - Paula Barbieri, 32, actress/model
                     - Barbara Carrera, 53, actress, "Never Say Never Again"
                     - Taylor Hackford, 54, film director, "The Devil's Advocate"
                     - Tom Hamilton, 47, bassist, Aerosmith
                     - Sir Anthony Hopkins, 61, actor
                     - Scott Ian, 35, singer/musician, Anthrax
                     - Val Kilmer, 39, actor, "The Saint"
                     - Ben Kingsley, 55, actor, "Gandhi"
                     - Tim Matheson, 51, actor, "Animal House"
                     - Bebe Neuwirth, 39, actress, "Cheers"
                     - James Remar, 45, actor, "Boys on the Side"
                     - Donna Summer, 50, singer
                     - Andy Summers, 56, guitarist, The Police