On this day: December 12
Ol' Blue Eyes is born, Boys Town is founded, the first motel opens, "The Godfather: Part II" premieres, and the U.S. Supreme Court decides the 2000 presidential election, all on this day.
1745: John Jay, who would go on to become the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, is born in New York City.
1745: John Jay, who would go on to become the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, is born in New York City.
1787: Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.
1821: Writer Gustave Flaubert, best known for his first published novel, 1857's "Madame Bovary," is born in Rouen, France.
1862: The USS Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River in Mississippi, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
1863: Painter Edvard Munch, whose best known work is "The Scream," is born in Ådalsbruk in Løten, Norway.
1893: Actor Edward G. Robinson, best known for his roles as gangsters in movies such as "Little Caesar and "Key Largo," is born Emanuel Goldenberg in Bucharest, Romania.
1901: Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
1915: Singer and actor Frank Sinatra, known for such hits as "Strangers in the Night," "My Way," "That's Life" and "Summer Wind," and an Oscar-winner for 1953's "From Here to Eternity," is born in Hoboken, N.J. A founding member of the "Rat Pack," he also starred in such movies as "The Man with the Golden Arm," "The Manchurian Candidate," "Guys and Dolls" and "Ocean's 11."
1917: In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys. The orphanage would go on to pioneer development of new juvenile care methods and today is a national leader in the care and treatment of children and families for behavioral, emotional and physical problems.
1923: TV game show host Bob Barker, best known for hosting "The Price Is Right" from 1972 to 2007 and "Truth or Consequences" from 1956 to 1975, is born in Darrington, Wash.
1925: The Milestone Mo-Tel, the first motel in the world, opens in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The motel, whose name would eventually be changed to Motel Inn, was opened midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco to tap into the growing popularity of the automobile. Visitors could drive right up to their room's door or to a private garage.
1938: Singer Connie Francis, best known for the hit songs "Who's Sorry Now?" and "Stupid Cupid," is born in Newark, N.J.
1939: American actor Douglas Fairbanks, best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as "The Thief of Bagdad," "Robin Hood" and "The Mark of Zorro," dies at the age of 56 in Santa Monica, Calif., a day after having a heart attack in his sleep. Fairbanks was also a founding member of United Artists and The Motion Picture Academy, hosting the first Oscars ceremony in 1929. He's seen here in his final movie, 1934's "The Private Life of Don Juan."
1940: Singer Dionne Warwick, who ranks second only to Aretha Franklin as the most-charted female vocalist with 56 singles making the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998, is born in East Orange, N.J.
1941: Adolf Hitler declares the imminent destruction of the Jewish race during a meeting with the highest-ranking officials of the Nazi party at the Reich Chancellery. The meeting marked a turning point in the Nazi regime's attitude toward the Jewish people, shifting from propaganda, intimidation and attacks to outright and planned extermination.
1957: Drummer Sheila E., best known for her work with Prince, George Duke and Ringo Starr, is born Sheila Escovedo in California. She also had several hit singles in the 1980s, including "The Glamorous Life" and "A Love Bizarre."
1961: The drama "A Man for All Seasons," starring Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More, premieres in New York City. The movie would win six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Scofield.
1962: Tennis player Tracy Austin, a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the U.S. Open in 1979 and 1981, is born in Palos Verdes, Calif. Austin is seen here in 2009.
1964: The Righteous Brothers' single "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" is released. It would become a No. 1 hit single in the United States and the United Kingdom the following year.
1965: Rookie running back Gale Sayers of the Chicago Bears scores six touchdowns in a 61-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, tying a NFL record set twice before, by Ernie Nevers in 1929 and by Dub Jones in 1951.
1968: Arthur Ashe becomes the first African-American to be ranked No. 1 in tennis.
1970: The Doors make their last public performance with Jim Morrison, at The Warehouse in New Orleans. The second stop of a tour to promote their album "L.A. Woman," Morrison has a breakdown on stage, slamming his microphone into the stage floor until the platform underneath is destroyed. He then sits down and refuses to perform for the remainder of the show. After the concert, the rest of the band decide to end their live act, feeling that Morrison was ready to retire from performing. Morrison would die less than a year later on July 3, 1971.
1970: Steven Stills' single "Love The One You're With" is released. The first release from his solo debut "Stephen Stills," it would peak at No. 14 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
1970: Actress Jennifer Connelly, best known for her roles in movies such as "Labyrinth," "Requiem for a Dream" and "A Beautiful Mind," is born in Round Top, N.Y.
1974: The drama "The Godfather: Part II," starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro, premieres in New York City. The sequel to 1972's "The Godfather," it was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and would become the first sequel to win Best Picture. It also won five other Oscars: Best Director for Francis Ford Coppola, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro, Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and Mario Puzo, and Best Original Dramatic Score.
1974: Guitarist Mick Taylor, who had replaced Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones at the age of 20, quits the band. During his five years with the Rolling Stones, Taylor appeared on some of their classic albums, including "Let It Bleed," "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main St."
1975: Actress Mayim Bialik, best known for playing the character Blossom Russo on the TV sitcom "Blossom," is born in San Diego, Calif. Bialik, who also earned a doctorate in neuroscience after "Blossom" ended, now has a regular role on the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory."
1985: Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing 256, including 236 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division headed home to Fort Campbell, Ky., from peacekeeping duty in the Sinai Desert. An investigation by the Canadian Aviation Safety Board pointed to icing on the jet's wings as the most likely cause of the crash. Pictured here is wreckage from the crash being stored in a Gander Airport hangar during the investigation.
1985: American actress Anne Baxter, best remembered for her performances in films such as "The Magnificent Ambersons," "All About Eve," "The Razor's Edge" and "The Ten Commandments," dies at the age of 62 in New York City, eight days after suffering a brain aneurysm. Baxter won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "The Razor's Edge" and was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for "All About Eve."
1991: Actor Richard Gere marries supermodel Cindy Crawford in an impromptu ceremony at Las Vegas' Little Church of the West. The marriage would last for four years before the celebrity pair, branded "the sexiest couple alive" by People magazine, split up. They are seen here in 1994.
1999: American author Joseph Heller, best known for his satirical novel "Catch-22," dies of a heart attack at the age of 76 in East Hampton, N.Y. Heller is seen here in 1986.
2000: In the case Bush v. Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court finds that the recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court in the 2000 U.S. presidential election between Republican candidate George W. Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore was unconstitutional. Vice President Gore would concede the election to Bush the next day.
2001: In Beverly Hills, Calif., actress Winona Ryder is arrested at Saks Fifth Avenue for shoplifting items of clothing and hair accessories valued at $4,760. She is also charged with possessing pharmaceutical drugs without a prescription. She would eventually be convicted of grand theft, shoplifting and vandalism and be sentenced to three years of probation, 480 hours of community service and $10,000 worth of fines and restitution.
2003: Keiko, the male orca made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, dies at the age of 27 in a Norwegian fjord. Pneumonia was later determined as his probable cause of death.
2006: The Baiji Yangtze freshwater dolphin is presumed functionally extinct when a scientific expedition ends an intense six-week search of China's heavily polluted Yangtze River without any results. The Baiji is the first large mammal brought to extinction due to human destruction of its habitat. From around 400 Baiji known in the early 1980s, numbers declined to 13 sightings in 1997, and none seen since September 2004.
2006: American actor Peter Boyle, best known for his roles in the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" and in the movie spoof "Young Frankenstein," dies of multiple myeloma and heart disease at the age of 71 in New York City.
2007: Musician Ike Turner, most popularly known for his 1960s and 1970s work with his then-wife Tina Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner revue, dies of a cocaine overdose at the age of 76 in San Marcos, Calif. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office also found that high blood pressure and emphysema also contributed to his death. Tina Turner's domestic abuse allegations against him in her 1986 autobiography, and the 1993 film adaptation of the book, coupled with his cocaine addiction, damaged Ike Turner's career in the 1980s and 1990s.
2009: Houston becomes the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker. She was re-elected to a second term in 2011.
