Today is Saturday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2021. There are 27 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Dec. 4, 1942, during World War II, U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time with a raid on Naples. ... President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration, which had been created to provide jobs during the Depression.
Also on this date:
In 1783, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his Continental Army officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.
In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson left Washington, D.C., on a trip to France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference.
In 1954, the first Burger King stand was opened in Miami by James McLamore and David Edgerton.
In 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins gathered for the first and only time for a jam session at Sun Records in Memphis.
In 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard on a two-week mission. (While Gemini 7 was in orbit, its sister ship, Gemini 6A, was launched on Dec. 15 on a one-day mission; the two spacecraft were able to rendezvous within a foot of each other.)
In 1967, actor-comedian Bert Lahr, who played the Cowardly Lion in “The Wizard of Oz,” died in New York at age 72.
Fun fact
The first human-made object to reach the surface of the moon was the Soviet Union’s Luna 2 mission on Sept. 13, 1959.
They eat what?!
Jalapeno duck hearts are served and eaten in Toronto.
Trending words
“Hoity-toity:” adjective; (hoy-tee-TOY-tee). Definition: Pretentious, fancy or pompous.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Game show host Wink Martindale is 88. Pop singer Freddy Cannon is 85. Actor-producer Max Baer Jr. is 84. Actor Gemma Jones is 79. Rock musician Bob Mosley (Moby Grape) is 79. Singer-musician Chris Hillman is 77. Musician Terry Woods (The Pogues) is 74. Rock singer Southside Johnny Lyon is 73. Actor Jeff Bridges is 72. Rock musician Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd; the Rossington Collins Band) is 70. Actor Patricia Wettig is 70. Actor Tony Todd is 67. Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 66. Country musician Brian Prout (Diamond Rio) is 66. Rock musician Bob Griffin (formerly with The BoDeans) is 62. Rock singer Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge) is 59. Actor Marisa Tomei is 57. Actor Chelsea Noble is 57. Actor-comedian Fred Armisen is 55. Rapper Jay-Z is 52. Actor Kevin Sussman is 51. Actor-model Tyra Banks is 48. Country singer Lila McCann is 40. Actor Lindsay Felton is 37. Actor Orlando Brown is 34. Actor Scarlett Estevez (“Lucifer”) is 14.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
