UPI Almanac for Friday, Dec. 2, 2016

Today is Friday, Dec. 2, the 337th day of 2016 with 29 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Jupiter and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune, and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include French painter Georges-Pierre Seurat in 1859; circus co-founder Charles Ringling in 1863; engineer Peter Carl Goldmark, the inventor of the long-playing record, in 1906; composer/lyricist Adolph Green in 1914; opera singer Maria Callas in 1923; former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig Jr. in 1924; actor Julie Harris in 1925; former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III in 1931 (age 84); Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 1939 (age 77); artist and dog photographer William Wegman in 1943 (age 73); actor Cathy Lee Crosby in 1944 (age 72); fashion designer Gianni Versace in 1946; figure skater Randy Gardner in 1958 (age 58); writer Ann Patchett in 1963 (age 53); actor Lucy Liu in 1968 (age 48); tennis player Monica Seles in 1973 (age 43); singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado in 1978 (age 38); pop singer Britney Spears in 1981 (age 35); and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 1983 (age 33).

On this date in history:

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France.

In 1823, during his annual address to the U.S. Congress, President James Monroe proclaimed a new U.S. foreign policy initiative that became known as the "Monroe Doctrine."

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, W.Va.

In 1927, the Model A Ford was introduced as the successor to the Model T. The price of a Model A roadster was $395.

In 1942, the Atomic Age was born when scientists demonstrated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction at a laboratory below the stands at the University of Chicago football stadium.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate voted 65 to 22 to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., for conduct unbecoming a senator. The condemnation, which was equivalent to a censure, related to McCarthy's controversial investigation of alleged communists in the U.S. government, military and civilian society.

In 1961, Fidel Castro disclosed he was a communist, acknowledging he concealed the fact until he solidified his hold on Cuba.

In 1982, retired dentist Barney Clark, 62, became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. He survived 112 days.

In 1990, Aaron Copland, the dean of American music, died at age 90 and actor Bob Cummings died at age 80.

In 1993, Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar was killed in a shootout with police and soldiers in the Colombian city of Medellin.

In 2001, U.S. forces in Afghanistan captured John Walker Lindh, 20, a U.S. citizen from San Anselmo, Calif., found fighting with the Taliban.

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin's party dominated parliamentary elections. Putin, who couldn't seek a third consecutive term, named his successor and became prime minister the following year. (Putin became president again in 2012.)

In 2011, U.S. unemployment declined to 8.6 percent in November, its lowest level in 2 1/2 years.

In 2012, parts of a tunnel collapsed on the Chuo Expressway about 50 miles west of Tokyo, killing nine people, injuring two and trapping at least 30 vehicles. Officials said aging ceiling bolts may have caused the collapse.

In 2013, U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said a fact-finding team found "massive evidence" that Syrian officials "at the highest level of government, including the head of state," were responsible for "war crimes, crimes against humanity."

In 2015, Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, attacked a social services facility in Southern California killing 14 before leading police in a running gun battle in which they were killed.

A thought for the day: "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world but if they don't play together the club won't be worth a dime." -- Babe Ruth