Hello.
Welcome to your weekend. We’re glad you are here!
As we finish the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers and flip the calendar page to the last month of 2024 it can gear up to be a whirlwind of seasonal activity…and sometimes stress. Hey, we get it.
That’s why we like to take a moment on Saturday mornings to simply slow down with a “scroll down memory lane.” It’s a look back at events that happened on these days in history before we head out to make new history today…so, grab your favorite sippin’ drink and let’s scroll!
Tomorrow is Sunday, December 1st, the 336th day of the year.
On this day:
In 1903, “The Great Train Robbery” was released. It was the world’s first western film.
In 1941, Japanese Emperor Hirohito signed a declaration of war against the United States, United Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Days later, on December 7, 1941 Japanese forces struck at the U.S. Fleet in Pearl Harbor.
In 1952, the first successful sexual reassignment surgery is reported by the New York Daily Post.
In 1954, the United States signed a mutual defense treaty with Nationalist China.
In 1955, seamstress Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama. Police took Parks into custody after she refused to give up her seat in the front of a bus to a white man. The arrest sparked a year-long boycott of the buses by blacks. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled that segregation on city buses was unconstitutional and struck down the law.
In 1969, the U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War Two.
In 1988, the first World AIDS Day was recognized in a number of countries around the world. Sponsored by the World Health Organization, the day inspired messages from President Reagan, Pope John Paul II and United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar who called for stepped-up efforts against the disease.
In 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev became the first Soviet leader to visit the Vatican and meet the Pope.
In 1992, Amy Fisher was sentenced to five-to-15 years in prison for shooting and seriously wounding Mary Jo Buttafuoco.
In 1999, an international team of scientists announced it had mapped virtually an entire human chromosome.
In 2004, NBC News’ longtime anchor and managing editor Tom Brokaw said good night for the last time on “NBC Nightly News.” At the end of the newscast Brokaw spoke briefly about his more than 20 years on the anchor desk. He closed by saying “you’ll see Brian Williams here tomorrow night, and I’ll see you along the way.”
In 2013, a New York train derailment left several people dead and dozens of others injured in the Bronx. The Metro North train derailed while traveling from Poughkeepsie, New York to New York City.
In 2015, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife announced plans to give 99-percent of their Facebook shares to their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in honor of their daughter’s birth. The stock was worth about 45-billion dollars at the time.
In 2015, Former Cincinnati Bengals player Devon Still says his daughter Leah is cancer-free. Still took to Instagram thanking everyone for their prayers and support as recent scans showed no evidence of disease. Leah was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma in June 2014, and was given a 50-50 chance to survive.
In 2018, Ariana Grande had the biggest launch on a YouTube Premiere with her single “Thank U Next”
In 2018, singer and actor Nick Jonas married actress Priyanka Chopra in a three-day ceremony in India. They held a Christian ceremony the first day, a Hindu ceremony the next, and ended with a reception the Tuesday after their wedding weekend.
In 2020, actor Elliot Page, formerly known as Ellen Page, revealed he is transgender.
In 2023, the US House of Representatives voted to expel indicted member George Santos. He faced federal charges of wire fraud, identity theft, and making false statements.
In 2023, the first woman Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died at the age of 93.
And that brings us here to this day.
So, whatever plans you have for your own weekend and first taste of December here’s hoping there are moments along the way to record on the pages of your own personal history books.
Thanks for stopping by!
