This Day in History
In Alaska
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• In 1925, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Alaska's graduated excise tax on canned salmon.
• In 1931, 20 tons of dynamite was set off at the Alaska-Juneau gold mine to bring down an estimated 750,000 tons of rock.
• In 1979, state and federal judges refused to cancel the planned Beaufort Sea oil and gas lease sale scheduled for Dec. 11.
In the nation
• In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
• In 1796, electors chose John Adams to be the second president of the United States.
• In 1836, Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the U.S.
• In 1907, the first Christmas Seals to help the fight against tuberculosis were sold, in Wilmington, Del. (Some sources say Dec. 9.)
• In 1941, Japanese forces attacked American and British territories and possessions in the Pacific, including the home base of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
• In 1946, fire broke out at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta; the blaze killed 119 people, including hotel founder W. Frank Winecoff.
• In 1972, America's last moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.