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UPI Almanac for Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019

On Dec. 11, 2008, Bernard Madoff, an investment manager, was arrested and charged with defrauding clients of up to $50 billion in what may have been the largest swindle in Wall Street history.

By United Press International
On December 11, 1941, four days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. File Photo courtesy Das Bundesarchiv
1 of 2 | On December 11, 1941, four days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. File Photo courtesy Das Bundesarchiv

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 11, the 345th day of 2019 with 20 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include Pope Leo X in 1475; U.S. statesman George Mason in 1725; New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1882; actor Vampira, born Maila Nurmi, in 1922; football Hall of Fame member Doc Blanchard in 1924; blues Hall of Fame member Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, in 1926; actor Rita Moreno (first performer to win an Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy) in 1931 (age 88); singer David Gates in 1940 (age 79); former Secretary of State John Kerry in 1943 (age 76); actor Teri Garr in 1944 (age 75); singer Brenda Lee in 1944 (age 75); actor Donna Mills in 1940 (age 79); actor Bess Armstrong in 1953 (age 66); Rock and Roll Hall of Famer member Jermaine Jackson in 1954 (age 65); rock musician Nikki Sixx, born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna, in 1958 (age 61); actor Mo'Nique, born Monique Angela Hicks, in 1967 (age 52); actor Mos Def, born Yasiin Bey, in 1973 (age 46); actor Rider Strong in 1979 (age 40); actor Karla Souza in 1985 (age 34); actor Hailee Steinfeld in 1996 (age 23).

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On this date in history:

In 1816, Indiana joined the United States as its 19th state.

In 1936, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson. His brother succeeded to the throne as King George VI.

In 1941, four days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

In 1946, UNICEF was established.

In 1951, Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from baseball.

In 1964, Ernesto "Che" Guevara addressed the United Nations General Assembly.

In 1972, Apollo 17 landed on the moon. It was the final Apollo lunar landing. Ron Evans was the command module pilot and Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt walked on the surface during the mission. Cernan was the last to re-enter their lunar module -- the last man on the moon.

In 1984, a nativity scene was displayed near the White House for the first time since courts ordered it removed in 1973.

In 1994, up to 40,000 Russian troops invaded Chechnya, a semi-autonomous Republic on Russia's border with Georgia, to put down a secessionist rebellion.

In 1995, two Japanese cult members admitted they released toxic sarin gas in Tokyo subway trains that killed 12 people in March.

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In 2001, the United States filed its first charges in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, accusing Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, of conspiring with others to carry out the assault.

In 2004, Vienna doctors treating the mystery illness of Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko determined he was poisoned with dioxin while campaigning for president.

In 2006, Jewish groups worldwide expressed anger as Iran opened a two-day conference in Tehran to determine if the Holocaust was reality or myth.

In 2008, Bernard Madoff, an investment manager, was arrested and charged with defrauding clients of up to $50 billion in what may have been the largest swindle in Wall Street history. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials said he ran a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. In June 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

In 2010, police said Mark Madoff, the 46-year-old eldest son of convicted multibillion-dollar Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff, hanged himself in his New York apartment on the second anniversary of his father's arrest.

In 2018, Time magazine named journalists targeted for their work, including slain Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, the "person of the year."

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A thought for the day: "Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it." -- founder of Pennsylvania William Penn

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