December 2nd, 2008

Today in History

1990:
A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all-German elections since 1932.

1962:
Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of US President John F. Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to not make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.

1954:
Red Scare: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."

1899:
Philippine-American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.

1755:
The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire.