Updated December 1, 2012, 1:28 pm
On Dec. 2, 1954, the Senate voted to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R Wis., for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”
On Dec. 2, 1923, Maria Callas, the legendary American soprano opera singer, was born. Following her death on Sept. 16, 1977, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1804 Napoleon was crowned emperor of France. 1823 President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere. 1954 The Senate voted to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R Wis., for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.” 1961 Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared himself a Marxist-Leninist who would lead Cuba to Communism. 1969 The Boeing 747 jumbo jet debuted. 1980 Four American churchwomen were raped, murdered and buried in El Salvador. (Five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.) 1982 Doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart in a human. Barney Clark lived 112 days with the device. 1990 Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s center-right coalition easily won the first free all-German elections since 1932. 1990 Composer Aaron Copland died at age 90. 1993 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces in Medellin. 1999 A power-sharing cabinet of Protestants and Catholics sat down together for the first time in Northern Ireland. 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. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers turns 29 years old today.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., turns 73 years old today.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
1925 Julie Harris, Actress, turns 87 1931 Edwin Meese III, Former attorney general, turns 81 1944 Cathy Lee Crosby, Actress, turns 68 1954 Stone Phillips, Broadcast journalist, turns 58 1960 Rick Savage, Rock musician (Def Leppard), turns 52 1968 Lucy Liu, Actress, turns 44 1973 Monica Seles, Tennis player, turns 39 1978 Nelly Furtado, Rock singer, turns 34 1981 Britney Spears, Singer, TV judge (“The X Factor”), turns 31 Historic Birthdays
Maria Callas 12/2/1923 – 9/16/1977 Greek-American opera singer Go to obituary »
46 John Breckinridge 12/2/1760 – 12/14/1806
American politician57 Rene Waldeck-Rousseau 12/2/1846 – 8/10/1904
French premier31 Georges Seurat 12/2/1859 – 3/29/1891
French painter63 Charles Ringling 12/2/1863 – 12/3/1926
American circus owner72 Ruth Draper 12/2/1884 – 12/30/1956
American entertainer64 George Richards Minot 12/2/1885 – 2/25/1950
American physician and Nobel Prize winner70 Sir John Barbirolli 12/2/1899 – 7/29/1970
English conductor and cellist71 Peter Carl Goldmark 12/2/1906 – 12/7/1977
Hungarian-American engineer; developed the first commercial color television50 Gianni Versace 12/2/1946 – 7/15/1997
Italian-American fashion designer
