Today In History – 7 December

43 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and politician is assassinated in Formiae

1909 Inventor Leo Baekeland patents the first thermo-setting plastic, Bakelite, sparking the birth of the plastics industry

1941 Imperial Japanese Navy with 353 planes attack the US fleet at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, killing 2,403 people

1965 Pope Paul VI & Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously lift mutual excommunications that led to split of 2 churches in 1054

1988 PLO delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time

1988 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia kills 25,000-50,000 people and leaves up to 500,000 homeless

1979 “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” first movie of the series premieres directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy

1995 American rock band The Grateful Dead break up

2017 Ballon d’Or: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins his 5th award to equal Lionel Messi’s record; 2nd consecutive win for Ronaldo

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