1804

Today in History 12/02 (Enron)

A former Enron employee sits in front of the company's headquarters in Houston after being laid off on December 3, 2001 (© James Nielsen/Getty Images)(2001) Enron’s bankruptcy filing exposes massive fraud
The huge energy-trading company based in Houston sparks one of the largest corporate scandals in history when it files for bankruptcy. An investigation will reveal that executives misled investors about profits, and the ensuing scandal will wipe out retirement accounts and send key execs to prison.
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 1985 as a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. Before its bankruptcy on December 3, 2001, Enron employed approximately 29,000 staff and was a major electricity, natural gas, communications and pulp and paper company, with claimed revenues of nearly $101 billion during 2000. Fortune named Enron “America’s Most Innovative Company” for six consecutive years.
Founded: 1985 · Omaha, NE
Ceased operation: Dec 02, 2001
Revenue: $40.11 billion USD (2000)
Headquarters: Houston, TX
Founders: Kenneth Lay · Jeffrey Skilling
Subsidiary: Azurix

Logo of Enron, the defunct U.S. company
Logo of Enron, the defunct U.S. company
wiki/Enron
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(2001) Enron’s bankruptcy filing exposes massive fraud.
Also on this day,

1804 | Napoleon crowns himself emperor of France
The 35-year-old military strategist becomes the first emperor of France in 1,000 years. The ceremony is held at Notre Dame Cathedral in the presence of the pope. Napoleon will rule until 1814 and, briefly, in 1815. He will die at 51, in exile on a remote island in the Atlantic.
1954 | McCarthy censured as US Senate condemns McCarthy for Redbaiting
The Senate votes 65-22 to censure their colleague, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, for conduct unbecoming of a senator in his vitriolic campaign, known as McCarthyism, to root out suspected communists in the US. After the censure, his last traces of influence will evaporate, and he’ll die of alcoholism in 1957.
1982 | Artificial heart operation as doctors implant first permanent artificial heart in a human
University of Utah doctors implant the device into patient Barney Clark, a Seattle dentist who suffers from congestive heart failure and is too ill for a transplant. Clark, who knew he was unlikely to survive the surgery, will live for 112 days with the artificial heart.

Today in History 12/02/17

Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy on December 2, 1954, after testifying on the Senate floor in Washington, DC (© AP)(1954) US Senate condemns McCarthy for Redbaiting
The Senate votes 65-22 to censure their colleague, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, for conduct unbecoming of a senator in his vitriolic campaign, known as McCarthyism, to root out suspected communists in the US. After the censure, his last traces of influence will evaporate, and he'll die of alcoholism in 1957.
Joseph Raymond McCarthy was an American politician who served as U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in the United States in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion. He is known for alleging that numerous Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated the United States federal government, universities, film industry, and elsewhere. Ultimately, the smear tactics he used led him to be censured by the U.S. Senate. The term "McCarthyism", coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today, the term is used in reference to what are considered demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.
Lived: Nov 14, 1908 - May 02, 1957 (age 48)
Spouse: Jean Kerr (m. 1953 - 1957)
Movies: Point of Order
Parties: Republican Party · Democratic Party
Children: Tierney Elizabeth McCarthy (Daughter)
Previous office: United States Senator WI (1947 - 1957)
Highlights
  • 1950: The term "McCarthyism", coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities.

  • 1953: In 1953, McCarthy married Jean Kerr, a researcher in his office.

  • 1954: McCarthy subpoenaed Peress to appear before his subcommittee on January 30, 1954.

  • 1954: On March 9, 1954, Vermont Republican Senator Ralph E. Flanders gave a humor-laced speech on the Senate floor, questioning McCarthy's tactics in fighting communism, likening McCarthyism to "housecleaning" with "much clatter and hullabaloo".

  • 1954: To counter the negative publicity, McCarthy appeared on See It Now on April 6, 1954, and made a number of charges against the popular Murrow, including the accusation that he colluded with VOKS, the "Russian espionage and propaganda organization".

  • 1957: McCarthy died in Bethesda Naval Hospital on May 2, 1957, at the age of just 48.


Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy.

wiki/Joseph_McCarthy
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Today in History 07/11 (Burr-Hamilton Duel)

Drawing depicting Alexander Hamilton being fatally wounded during a duel with Aaron Burr in Weehawken, NJ, on July 11, 1804 (© Kean Collection/Getty Images)(1804) Political rivals meet in a deadly duel
US Vice President Aaron Burr and former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton arrive at New Jersey’s Palisades and proceed with a pistol duel after years of public rivalry. Hamilton fires into the air, but Burr shoots directly at Hamilton, felling him with a fatal bullet.
The Burr–Hamilton duel was fought between prominent American politicians Aaron Burr, the sitting Vice President of the United States, and Alexander Hamilton, the former Secretary of the Treasury, at Weehawken, New Jersey on July 11, 1804, and was the culmination of a long and bitter rivalry between the two men. Hamilton shot first, only to miss and hit a tree directly behind Burr, who then responded by shooting and mortally wounding Hamilton, who was carried to the home of William Bayard Jr. where he died the next day.
Date: Jul 11, 1804
Location: Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S.
Target: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr
Attack type: Duel
Deaths: 1 (Hamilton)
Weapons: Wogdon pistols

Hamilton-Burr pistols
wiki/Burr–Hamilton_duel
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(1804) Political rivals meet in a deadly duel.
Also on this day,

1859 | Big Ben chimes for the first time
After the Great Clock of Westminster’s first bell cracks during testing, a second one called Big Ben is installed, ringing this day in London for the first time. The new bell will also crack that September and take several years to repair.
1960 | Readers meet Scout, Jem, Boo, and Atticus
A semi-autobiographical tale of small-town racial prejudice is released, with the publisher warning the author that it likely won’t sell well. Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ will go on to sell millions, introducing the world to Atticus Finch and his extraordinary fight for justice.
1972 | US and Soviet masters meet in Cold War chess clash
Soviet players have had a lock on the World Chess Championships for 24 years, and their grandmaster Boris Spassky now meets American phenom Bobby Fischer for the ‘Match of the Century’ in Reykjavík, Iceland. What follows will be deemed by many the greatest chess competition in history.