Today in History

From wikipedia.org:

Events
1732 - The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London
1787 - Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution
1941 - The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor officially brings the United States into World War II
1949 - Chinese Civil War: The government of the Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei
1965 - Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras simultaneously lift mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054
1972 - Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched
1982 - First US execution by lethal injection is carried out
1988 - In Armenia an earthquake 6.9 on the Richter scale killed nearly 25,000, injured 15,000 and left 400,000 persons homeless
1988 - Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist

Births
521 - Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland (d. 597)
1598 - Gian Lorenzo Bernini, artist (d. 1680)
1637 - Bernardo Pasquini, composer (d. 1710)
1761 - Marie Tussaud, museum proprietress and waxwork modeller (d. 1850)
1847 - George Grossmith, English actor and comic writer, best remembered for his work with Gilbert & Sullivan (d. 1912)
1863 - Pietro Mascagni, composer (d. 1945)
1863 - Richard Sears, department store founder (d. 1914)
1873 - Willa Cather, novelist (d. 1947)
1879 - Rudolf Friml, American composer (d. 1972)
1905 - Gerard Kuiper, astronomer (d. 1973)
1927 - Helen Watts, Welsh contralto
1928 - Noam Chomsky, linguist, political writer
1942 - Harry Chapin, musician (d. 1981)
1947 - Johnny Bench, Baseball Hall of Famer
2003 - Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands

Deaths
283 - St. Eutychian, Pope
1817 - William Bligh, British naval officer
1902 - Thomas Nast, cartoonist
1975 - Thornton Wilder, playwright

Holidays & observances
United States: Pearl Harbor Day (observance)