Dec 7, 1989: Sugar Ray Leonard fights Roberto Duran for the third and final time

On December 7, 1989, the boxer Sugar Ray Leonard triumphs over a lackluster Roberto Duran in a unanimous 12-round decision at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Leonard became a sensation in the boxing world during the 1980s, providing a superstar presence that boxing lacked after Muhammad Ali retired in 1981. After a successful amateur career, Leonard earned real notice when he won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Three years later, he won the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title over Wilfred Benitez. In 1981, seeking to defend his title, Leonard met the Panamanian Roberto Duran, a former lightweight champion, in a much-anticipated bout held in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. The more experienced Duran captured the title in a unanimous 15-round decision. On November 25, 1980, Duran and Leonard met in a rematch in New Orleans. After seven rounds, during which he outperformed Duran and continually taunted him, Leonard held a narrow lead on the judges’ scorecards. Duran quit in the eighth round of the bout, shocking his fans and leaving Leonard as welterweight champion once again. Leonard later suffered a detached retina and was inactive in the ring for nearly three years before returning to score an enormous upset over Martin Hagler for the middleweight title in 1987. In November 1988, he was knocked down but fought back to defeat Donny Lalonde for the WBC light heavyweight and super middleweight titles. The match at the new Mirage Hotel on December 7, 1989, marked Leonard’s second defense of his super middleweight crown. Though 16,000 fans showed up to watch the much-hype third meeting between Leonard and Duran, they were greatly disappointed, as the 33-year-old Leonard won a tactically superior but unexciting bout over a lethargic 38-year-old Duran. In fact, fans booed both fighters throughout the match, and Duran’s lackluster performance did nothing to quell the controversy still swirling around his decision to quit in New Orleans almost a decade earlier.(History.com 2014) (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sugar-ray-leonard-fights-roberto-duran-for-the-third-and-final-time)

Dec 7, 1941: FDR reacts to news of Pearl Harbor bombing

On this day in 1941, at around 1:30 p.m., President Franklin Roosevelt is conferring with advisor Harry Hopkins in his study when Navy Secretary Frank Knox bursts in and announces that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack killed more than 2,400 naval and military personnel. For weeks, a war with Japan had appeared likely since negotiations had deteriorated over the subject of Japan's military forays into China and elsewhere in the Pacific during World War II. FDR and his advisors knew that an attack on the U.S. fleet at the Philippines was possible, but few suspected the naval base at Pearl Harbor would be a target. In her account of Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor during the years of the Second World War, No Ordinary Time, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin recounts the scene at the White House on that tragic and pivotal day: Eleanor had just finished hosting a luncheon and walked into FDR's study just as he received confirmation of the attack via telephone. While aides and secretaries scurried around the room, Eleanor overheard some of her husband's conversation and knew that, in her words, "the final blow had fallen and we had been attacked." Although Eleanor, who knew Roosevelt best, later recalled her husband's demeanor on that day as "deadly calm," she knew that he was incensed by the attacks. He was concerned that it might only be a matter of time until Germany, too, would officially declare war on the United States and that, at that moment, U.S. forces would be hard-pressed to fight a war on two fronts. According to Goodwin, he told Eleanor that it would take time for the United States to build up its military and that he feared the nation would "have to take a good many defeats before we can have a victory." Indeed, FDR and his advisors had discussed the possibility that the Japanese were already planning an invasion of the mainland somewhere on the West Coast. As the day wore on, Roosevelt displayed a calm and steady efficiency: He consulted with military advisors, enlisted his son James' help to work with the media and spoke by telephone with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who told him "we are all in the same boat now." Early that evening, Roosevelt dictated a speech to his secretary, Grace Tully, which he planned to deliver to Congress the next day. (Eleanor actually addressed the nation on the subject of war before her husband. That evening she delivered a scheduled weekly radio broadcast in which she told listeners that although the United States had been thrust reluctantly into the war she was confident that "whatever is asked of [America] we shall accomplish it; we are the free and unconquerable people of the U.S.A.") Late that night, Roosevelt updated his cabinet and Congressional members on the situation: "this is probably the most serious crisis any Cabinet has confronted since the Civil War." One cabinet member later noted that the president, a former Navy man, was visibly distraught while recounting what he had been told of the strafing of sailors and the destruction of most of the Pacific fleet. After the meeting, Roosevelt went to bed. The next day, Roosevelt addressed Congress and the nation with a somber yet stirring speech in which he swore that America would never forget December 7, 1941, as a "date that would live in infamy." (History.com 2014) (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-reacts-to-news-of-pearl-harbor-bombing)

Dec 7, 1805: Lewis and Clark temporarily settle in Fort Clatsop

Having spied the Pacific Ocean for the first time a few weeks earlier, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark cross to the south shore of the Columbia River (near modern-day Portland) and begin building the small fort that would be their winter home. Lewis, Clark, and their men deserved a rest. During the past year, they had made the difficult trip from the upper Missouri River across the rugged Rockies, and down the Columbia River to the ocean. Though they planned to return home by retracing their steps in the spring, the Corps of Discovery settled in the relatively mild climate of the Pacific Coast while winter raged in the mountain highlands. For their fort, Lewis and Clark picked a site three miles up Netul Creek (now Lewis and Clark River), because it had a ready supply of elk and deer and convenient access to the ocean, which the men used to make salt. The men finished building a small log fortress by Christmas Eve; they named their new home Fort Clatsop, in honor of the local Indian tribe. During the three months they spent at Fort Clatsop, Lewis and Clark reworked their journals and began preparing the scientific information they had gathered. Clark labored long hours drawing meticulous maps that proved to be among the most valuable fruits of the expedition. After talking with local Indians, the two men determined that they had taken an unnecessarily difficult path through the Rockies, and planned alternate routes for the return journey. Meanwhile, the enlisted men and fellow travelers hunted and trapped-they killed and ate more than 100 elk and 20 deer during their stay. While the stay at Fort Clatsop was peaceful, it was not entirely pleasant. The Clatsop Indian tribe was friendly, but Clark noted that the Indians were hard bargainers, which caused the expedition party to rapidly deplete its supply of gifts and trading goods, and eventually caused some resentment on both sides. Most vexing, though, was the damp coastal weather--rain fell all but twelve days of the expedition's three-month stay. The men found it impossible to keep dry, and their damp furs and hides rotted and became infested with vermin. Nearly everyone suffered from persistent colds and rheumatism. The expedition departed for home from soggy Fort Clatsop on March 23, 1806. The region they explored later became the state of Oregon--Lewis and Clark's journey strengthened the American claim to the northwest and blazed a trail that was followed by thousands of trappers and settlers.(History.com 2014) (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lewis-and-clark-temporarily-settle-in-fort-clatsop)

Dec 7, 1963: The Singing Nun reaches #1 on the U.S. pop charts with "Dominique"

From the perspective of the American pop charts, December 1963 was, as the Four Seasons would later sing, a very special time indeed. The previous month, pop radio stations around the country had briefly gone dark out of respect for the late President John F. Kennedy following his assassination in Dallas on November 22. The following month, those same stations would begin broadcasting, nearly nonstop, the first sounds of a coming revolution, as the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" hit American shores on January 13. Perhaps only during the unique moment in pop-music history that fell between those historic landmarks could an actual Belgian nun have ascended to the American pop charts with a jaunty tune about a Catholic saint—sung in French, no less. That's exactly what happened on this day in 1963, when Soeu Sourire—billed in English as "The Singing Nun"—scored a #1 hit with the song "Dominique." "Domnique" was recorded in early 1963 in Brussels, Belgium, by Sister Luc-Gabrielle (nee Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers) and four companions from the Dominican convent in nearby Fichermont. Originally a vanity pressing intended only for distribution as gifts among their fellow nuns, the album of light, religious-themed tunes recorded by the Fichermont nuns was impressive enough to Phillips Records executives that it was released commercially in Europe shortly thereafter. Already a huge hit on the continent, the album and its lead artist were re-christened as "The Singing Nun" prior to crossing the Atlantic in the fall of 1963. "Dominique"—a song honoring St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order—proved popular enough not only to hit #1 on this day in 1963, but to stay there for four weeks and block "Louie, Louie" from ever reaching the top of the pop charts. Though the 1966 Debby Reynolds movie of the same name would do little to indicate it, the Singing Nun went on to live a deep, complex and ultimately tragic life. After achieving pop immortality, Deckers walked away from stardom and from her church and adopted a new stage name: Luc Dominique. An unsuccessful album honoring the birth control pill was the highlight of Deckers' post-Singing Nun career, however. She also attempted a comeback in 1982 with a disco version of "Dominique" that failed to catch on as the original had back in 1963. Deckers' career and life ended tragically in 1985, when she and her longtime female companion committed suicide in the face of a massive tax bill from the Belgian government relating to unpaid taxes on royalties that Deckers had donated in full to the Roman Catholic Church. (History.com 2014) (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-singing-nun-reaches-1-on-the-us-pop-charts-with-quotdominiquequot)

Dec 7, 1873: Willa Cather is born

On this day in 1873, Willa Cather is born in Winchester, Virginia. Cather was the first of seven children born to an old Virginia family dating back to colonial times. Her maternal grandfather served several terms in the Virginia House of Delegates. Her grandmother was a strong, courageous woman who had a powerful influence on Cather and served as the model for several of her characters. Cather's family moved to Red Cloud, Nebraska, when she was a child, and for the rest of her life she wrote about the deep conflict she felt between East and West. While books like O Pioneers (1913) and My Antonia (1918) celebrated the spirit of the frontier, in other works, such as The Song of the Lark (1915), she explores the stifling effects of small-town life on creative young minds. After graduating from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1895, Cather moved to Pittsburgh to be an editor for a family magazine. She later became an editor for the daily paper in Pittsburgh. In 1901, she became a teacher and stuck with it for several years while she published her first book of verse, April Twilights (1903), and her first collection of stories, The Troll Garden (1905). She moved to New York to take a job as managing editor of McClure's, a monthly publication, and began writing novels. Her first, Alexander's Bridge, appeared in 1912, but she didn't find her true voice until O Pioneers. Cather won a Pulitzer in 1922 for One of Ours. Her 1927 novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop, the story of two French-Canadian priests who build a cathedral in the wilds of New Mexico, was also well received. Cather lived most of her adult life in New York, writing novels until she died in 1947. (History.com 2014) (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/willa-cather-is-born)

Dec 7, 2001: Clooney stars in Sinatra role in Ocean’s Eleven remake

On this day in 2001, Ocean’s Eleven, a caper film featuring an all-star ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts, opens in theaters. Ocean’s Eleven was a remake of the 1960 film of the same name, which featured so-called “Rat Pack” actors Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, along with Angie Dickinson. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the blockbuster 2001 remake spawned the profitable sequels Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). In 1960’s Ocean’s Eleven, Frank Sinatra starred as Danny Ocean, the ringleader of a gang of 11 accomplices who plot to rob a Las Vegas casino. At the time, the now-iconic entertainer had already won an Academy Award, in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his performance as an army private in Hawaii just before the Pearl Harbor attack in 1953’s From Here to Eternity, featuring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. Sinatra also earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role as an ex-heroin addict in 1955’s The Man with the Golden Arm, with Kim Novak. Born on December 12, 1915, in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra first rose to fame as a singer in the 1940s. He launched his movie career the same decade, appearing in such films as Anchors Away (1945) and Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), both of which co-starred Gene Kelly. Sinatra went on to star in such popular movie musicals as Guys and Dolls (1955), in which he played Nathan Detroit to Marlon Brando’s Sky Masterson, and Pal Joey (1957), with Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. “Old Blue Eyes” also appeared in serious dramas, including The Manchurian Candidate (1962), a political thriller co-starring Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury. Sinatra’s final silver-screen appearance was a cameo in 1984’s Cannonball Run II, starring Burt Reynolds. The Chairman of the Board died at age 82 on May 14, 1998. George Clooney, who took on the role of Danny Ocean in the 2001 Ocean’s Eleven remake, was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky. He began his acting career on television, with supporting roles on the popular sitcoms The Facts of Life and Roseanne and the drama Sisters, as well as single episodes of such programs as The Golden Girls and Murder, She Wrote. Clooney first achieved star status with his role as Dr. Doug Ross on the prime-time medical drama ER, which debuted in 1994. By the time he left ER in 1999, Clooney had appeared in such movies as Batman & Robin (1997), Out of Sight (1998), which marked the first time Clooney worked with Soderbergh, his frequent future collaborator; and Three Kings (1999). Clooney went on to starring roles in The Perfect Storm (2000), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and Ocean’s Eleven. The handsome actor made his directorial debut with 2002’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, about the 1960s and ‘70s game show host Chuck Barris, who claimed he also worked for the C.I.A. Clooney won his first Academy Award, in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his role in Syriana (2005), a complex thriller about the oil industry. That same year, he received Best Director and Best Screenplay Oscar nominations for Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), about the 1950s TV newsman Edward R. Murrow and his conflict with the anti-Communist U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy. Clooney received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in the title role of 2007’s legal thriller Michael Clayton. (History.com 2014) (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/clooney-stars-in-sinatra-role-in-oceans-eleven-remake)

Dec 7, 1988: Earthquake devastates Armenia

In the Soviet Union, an earthquake of a 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale hits northwestern Armenia, affecting an area 50 miles in diameter. The initial earthquake was followed four minutes later by a powerful 5.8 magnitude aftershock. More than 20 towns and 342 villages were affected, and 58 of them were heavily damaged. Spitak, a major population center, was almost completely destroyed. The earthquakes killed more tha at least 60,000 people, injured at least 15,000, and left some 500,000 Armenians homeless. Direct economic losses were estimated at $14 billion. With the USSR nearing economic collapse, rebuilding was slow and ineffective. (History.com 2014) (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-devastates-armenia)