Today in History - December 12th

1787 - On this day in history, Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1800 - Washington, DC, was established as the capital of the United States.
1900 - Today in history, Charles M. Schwab formed the United States Steel Corporation.
1915 - The first all-metal aircraft, the German Junkers J1 , made its first flight.
1925 - On this day in history, The "Motel Inn," the first motel in the world, opened in San Luis Obispo, CA.
1946 - A United Nations committee voted to accept a six-block tract of Manhattan real estate to be the site of the UN's headquarters. The land was offered as a gift by John D. Rockefeller Jr.
1997 - Today in history, The Justice Department ordered Microsoft to sell its Internet browser separately from its Windows operating system to prevent it from building a monopoly of Web access programs.
1998 - The House Judiciary Committee rejected censure and approved the final article of impeachment against President Clinton.

2000 - On this day in history, The Supreme Court found that the recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court in the 2000 U.S. Presidential election was unconstitutional. U.S. Vice President Al Gore conceded the election to Texas Gov. Bush the next day.
2000 - Timothy McVeigh abandoned his final round of appeals and asked that his execution be set within 120 days. McVeigh was convicted of the April 1995 truck bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 and injured 500.
2001 - Today in history, actress Winona Ryder was arrested at Saks Fifth Avenue for shoplifting and possessing pharmaceutical drugs without a prescription. The numerous items of clothing and hair accessories were valued at $4,760.

MUSIC HISTORY - Today in History, December 12th

1792 - In Vienna, 22-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven received one of his first lessons in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn.
1964 - On this day in history, The Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" was released.
1968 - The "Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus" was recorded. It was not shown publicly until its release in late 1996.
1970 - Today in history, Steven Stills' "Love the One You're With" was released.
1971 - Filming began on the Diana Ross movie, "Lady Sings the Blues."
1992 - On this day in history, The Nirvana album "Insecticide" was released.

2000 - The Texas Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez to a record breaking 10-year, $252 million contract. The contract amount broke all MLB records and all professional sports records.

1899 - Today in history, George Franklin Grant patented the wooden golf tee.
1901 - The first radio signal to cross the Atlantic was picked up near St. John's Newfoundland by inventor Guglielmo Marconi.