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UPI Almanac for Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018

On Dec. 12, 1968, Arthur Ashe became the first African American to be ranked No. 1 in tennis in the United States.

By UPI Staff
On December 12, 1968, Arthur Ashe became the first African American to be ranked No. 1 in tennis in the United States. File Photo courtesy Nationaal Archief
1 of 2 | On December 12, 1968, Arthur Ashe became the first African American to be ranked No. 1 in tennis in the United States. File Photo courtesy Nationaal Archief

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2018 with 19 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include French novelist Gustave Flaubert in 1821; Norwegian painter Edvard Munch in 1863; actor Edward G. Robinson in 1893; English writer Patrick O'Brian in 1914; singer/actor Frank Sinatra in 1915; TV game show host Bob Barker in 1923 (age 95); former New York Mayor Edward Koch in 1924; basketball Hall of Fame member Bob Pettit in 1932 (age 86); singer Connie Francis in 1938 (age 80); singer Dionne Warwick in 1940 (age 78); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Dickey Betts in 1943 (age 75); actor Bill Nighy in 1949 (age 69); former Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby in 1952 (age 66); musician Sheila E., born Sheila Escovedo, in 1957 (age 61); former tennis star Tracy Austin in 1962 (age 56); actor Jennifer Connelly in 1970 (age 48); actor Regina Hall in 1970 (age 48); actor Mayim Bialik in 1975 (age 43); actor Lincoln Melcher in 2003 (age 15).

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In this date in history:

In 1870, Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina was sworn in as the first African-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1901, Italian physicist and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1913, two years after it was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was recovered in a Florence, Italy, hotel room.

In 1917, the Rev. Edward J. Flanagan, a 31-year-old Irish priest, opened the doors to Boys Town, a home for troubled and neglected children in Omaha. He lived by the adage, "There is no such thing as a bad boy." It graduated its first class of girls in 1983.

In 1968, Arthur Ashe became the first African American to be ranked No. 1 in tennis in the United States.

In 1975, Sara Jane Moore said she willfully tried to kill U.S. President Gerald Ford. She was sentenced to life in prison but released Dec. 31, 2007.

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In 1980, a U.S. oil tycoon spent $5 million at auction for a notebook written by Leonardo da Vinci. The 36 pages of notes featured "remarkably illegible right-to-left writing" and was "illustrated with marginal sketches of a technical nature."

In 1985, the crash of Arrow Air Flight 1285, a military charter, on takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland, killed all 256 people aboard, including 248 U.S. soldiers.

In 1988, three trains collided in London, killing 40 people, Britain's worst railway accident in 21 years.

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 it was reversing the ruling of the Florida Supreme Court allowing hand recount of votes in Florida, in effect ensuring the Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush would win the presidency over former Vice President Al Gore.

In 2005, Gibran Tueni, an anti-Syrian member of the Lebanese Parliament and head of a leading Lebanon newspaper, was killed in an explosion that tore through his armored car outside Beirut.

In 2006, a Baghdad suicide bomber, luring unemployed Iraqis to his truck with promises of work, killed at least 70 people and injured more than 220 others.

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In 2013, North Korea announced the execution of Jang Song Thaek, an uncle of leader Kim Jong Un, for trying to overthrow the government. Jang, until recently, had been considered one of the most powerful figures in the country.

In 2015, Saudis elected women to municipal councils for the first time in Saudi Arabian history.

In 2016, newly elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte admitted he personally killed drug suspects while mayor of Davao City, prompting human rights activists to call for an investigation.

In 2017, Democrat Doug Jones narrowly won Alabama's tightly contested special election over Republican Roy Moore, who was plagued by allegations of sexual misconduct with underage young women when he was in his 30s. Jones replaced Jeff Sessions in the Senate after the latter was made attorney general.


A thought for the day: "Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise." -- Sigmund Freud

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