Today in History - December 7th

1732 - On this day in history, the original Covent Garden Theatre Royal (now the Royal Opera House) was opened.
1787 - Delaware became the first state to ratify the US constitution becoming the first to do so in of the United States.
1796 - Today in history, John Adams was elected to be the second president of the US.
1836 - Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the United States.
1868 - On this day in history, the Jesse James gang robbed bank in Gallatin Missouri and killed 1.
1925 - Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in the 150-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 25 and 2/5 seconds. He went on to play "Tarzan" in several movies.
1941 - Today in history, Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu was attacked by nearly 200 Japanese warplanes. The attack resulted in the United States entering into World War II.
1972 - Apollo 17 was launched at Cape Canaveral. It was the last moon mission.

1987 - On this day in history, Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev set foot on American soil for the first time.
1989 - East Germany's Communist Party agreed to cooperate with the plan for free elections and a revised constitution.
1992 - Today in history, the US Supreme Court rejected a Mississippi abortion law which required women to get counseling and then wait 24 hours before terminating their pregnancies.
1993 - Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders suggested that the American government study the impact of drug legalization.
1993 - On this day in history, the Long Island Rail Road massacre took place: Passenger Colin Ferguson murdered six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.
1996 - The space shuttle Columbia returned from the longest-ever shuttle flight of 17 days, 15 hours and 54 minutes.
2003 - A 12-inch by 26-inch painting of a river landscape and sailing vessel by Martin Johnson Heade was sold at auction for $1 million. The painting was found in the attic of a suburban Boston home where it had been stored for more than 60 years.

SCIENCE, INVENTIONS, PATENTS - Today in History, December 7th

1926 - Today in history, the gas-operated refrigerator was patented by The Electrolux Servel Corporation.
1945 - Microwave oven was patented.

1732 - The Royal Opera House opened at Covent Garden, London.
1963 - On this day in history, The Beatles appeared on the British TV show "Jukebox Jury."
1967 - Otis Redding recorded "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay."
1984 - Today in history, Michael Jackson testified in Chicago that he wrote the song "The Girl is Mine," and not an Illinois man. Jackson won the case.
1993 - Guns N' Roses announced they would keep the tune written by Charles Manson "Look at Your Game, Girl" on their album, "The Spaghetti Incident?" The decision to keep the song came when the band learned that the royalties would go to the son of one of Manson's victims.
1996 - On this day in history, Jerry Lewis' white and red pinstriped devil suit was stolen from his dressing room at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. Lewis needed the costume, valued at $9,000, to play the role of Satan in the musical Damn Yankees.