Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett(introduced the poinsettia plant to the U.S.)–
Robert Browning(poet)–
Henrietta Swan Leavitt(astronomer)–
Dee Brown(author)–
Keiko the killer whale(star of the Free Willy movies, died at 27 of pneumonia in a Norwegian fjord)–
Peter Boyle(actor)–
Tom Laughlin(actor)–
Born
Edvard Munch(artist)–
Frank Sinatra(singer)–
Bob Barker(game show host and animal activist)–
Edward "Ed" Koch(former mayor of New York City)–
Connie Francis(singer)–
Dionne Warwick(singer
)–
Madeleine Wickham(author, aka Sophie Kinsella)–
Jennifer Connelly(actress)–
Katrina Elam(country music singer)–
Events
Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution and became the second state in the Union –
Joseph Hayne Rainey became the first African-American to serve as a U.S. representative –
Golf was played for the first time in the U.S. at Franklin Park, Boston –
George Grant received patent for improved golf tee –
Father Edward Flanagan founded a home for boys in Omaha, Nebraska—the start of Boys Town –
Orange soil discovered by Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt during their second day of exploration on the lunar surface –
Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones accepted a knighthood from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace –
Jean Chretien stepped down after 10 years as Canada’s popular and often argumentative prime minister. Paul Martin, a former finance minister, inherited his post, becoming the 21st prime minister.
–
Weather
Snow accumulated to 16 inches in Nantucket, Massachusetts –
Baltimore received 12 inches of snow in the first of three major storms that winter –
20.4 inches of snow covered Newark, New Jersey –
Albany, New York, registered a low of -12 degrees F –
After a two-day storm, 17.1 inches of snow covered Minneapolis, Minnesota. The snow event set an all-time record for two-day snowfall in December. The weight of the snow caused a tear in the roof of the Metrodome and deflated it, forcing the Vikings-Giants game to be rescheduled and moved to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. –
