This day in history: 7 Dec

1787: Delaware became the first state to ratify the new US Constitution.

1917: The United States (which had already been at war with Germany for eight months) declared war on Austria-Hungary.

1941: US bases at Pearl Harbor, Kaneohe and elsewhere on Oahu were attacked by aircraft launched from the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku.




1965: The Catholic-Orthodox Joint Declaration ended the mutual excommunication of the Catholic Pope and the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch which had been in place since the Great Schism of 1054.

1972: Apollo 17 (Cernan, Evans and Schmitt), the last moon mission to date, was launched.

1995: The Galileo probe, launched from the space shuttle Atlantis (mission STS-34), on 18 Oct 89, arrived at Jupiter.

Michel Ney (1769-1815), William Bligh FRS (1745-1817), Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-1894), Thomas Nast (1840-1902), Rube Goldberg (1882-1970), Joan Bennett (1910-1990) and Frederick Fennell (1914-2004) died on this date.



And happy birthday to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545-1567), George Grossmith (1847-1912), Richard Sears (1863-1914), Gerard Kuiper (1905-1973), Eli Wallach (1915-TBD) and Harry Chapin (1942-1981).