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Today in History
December 13, 1621
First export of American furs
Under the care of Robert Cushman, the first American furs to be exported from the continent leave for England aboard the Fortune.
One month before, Cushman and the Fortune had arrived at Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts with 35 settlers, the first new colonists since the settlement was founded in 1620. During Cushman's return to England, the Fortune was captured by the French, and its valuable cargo of furs was taken. Cushman was detained on the Ile d'Dieu before being returned to England.
Within a few years of their first fur export, the Plymouth colonists, unable to make their living through cod fishing as they had originally planned, began concentrating almost entirely on the fur trade. The colonists developed an economic system in which their chief crop, Indian corn, was traded with Native Americans to the north for highly valued beaver skins, which were in turn profitably sold in England to pay the Plymouth Colony's debts and buy necessary supplies.
December 13, 2003
Saddam Hussein captured
After spending nine months on the run, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is captured on this day in 2003. Saddam's downfall began on March 20, 2003, when the United States led an invasion force into Iraq to topple his government, which had controlled the country for more than 20 years.
Saddam Hussein was born into a poor family in Tikrit, 100 miles outside of Baghdad, in 1937. After moving to Baghdad as a teenager, Saddam joined the now-infamous Baath party, which he would later lead. He participated in several coup attempts, finally helping to install his cousin as dictator of Iraq in July 1968. Saddam took over for his cousin 11 years later. During his 24 years in office, Saddam's secret police, charged with protecting his power, terrorized the public, ignoring the human rights of the nation's citizens. While many of his people faced poverty, he lived in incredible luxury, building more than 20 lavish palaces throughout the country. Obsessed with security, he is said to have moved among them often, always sleeping in secret locations.
In the early 1980s, Saddam involved his country in an eight-year war with Iran, which is estimated to have taken more than a million lives on both sides. He is alleged to have used nerve agents and mustard gas on Iranian soldiers during the conflict, as well as chemical weapons on Iraq's own Kurdish population in northern Iraq in 1988. After he invaded Kuwait in 1990, a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in 1991, forcing the dictator's army to leave its smaller neighbor, but failing to remove Saddam from power. Throughout the 1990s, Saddam faced both U.N. economic sanctions and air strikes aimed at crippling his ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. With Iraq continuing to face allegations of illegal oil sales and weapons-building, the United States again invaded the country in March 2003, this time with the expressed purpose of ousting Saddam and his regime.
Despite proclaiming in early March 2003 that, "it is without doubt that the faithful will be victorious against aggression," Saddam went into hiding soon after the American invasion, speaking to his people only through an occasional audiotape, and his government soon fell. After declaring Saddam the most important of a list of his regime's 55 most-wanted members, the United States began an intense search for the former leader and his closest advisors. On July 22, 2003, Saddam's sons, Uday and Qusay, who many believe he was grooming to one day fill his shoes, were killed when U.S. soldiers raided a villa in which they were staying in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Five months later, on December 13, 2003, U.S. soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding in a six-to-eight-foot deep hole, nine miles outside his hometown of Tikrit. The man once obsessed with hygiene was found to be unkempt, with a bushy beard and matted hair. He did not resist and was uninjured during the arrest. A soldier at the scene described him as "a man resigned to his fate."
Saddam is now in Iraqi custody with U.S. security and faces trial in front of a special tribunal on several criminal cases pending against him. The first began in October 2005. On November 5 of the next year, he was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. After an unsuccessful appeal, he was executed on December 30, 2006. Despite a prolonged search, weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq.
December 13, 2000
Al Gore concedes presidential election
Vice President Al Gore reluctantly concedes defeat to Texas Governor George W. Bush in his bid for the presidency, following weeks of legal battles over the recounting of votes in Florida, on this day in 2000.
In a televised speech from his ceremonial office next to the White House, Gore said that while he was deeply disappointed and sharply disagreed with the Supreme Court verdict that ended his campaign, ''partisan rancor must now be put aside.''
“I accept the finality of the outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College'' he said. “And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.''
Gore had won the national popular vote by more than 500,000 votes, but narrowly lost Florida, giving the Electoral College to Bush 271 to 266.
Gore said he had telephoned Bush to offer his congratulations, honoring him, for the first time, with the title ''president-elect.''
''I promised that I wouldn't call him back this time'' Gore said, referring to the moment on election night when he had called Bush to tell him he was going to concede, then called back a half hour later to retract that concession.
Gore only hinted at what he might do in the future. ''I've seen America in this campaign and I like what I see. It's worth fighting for -- and that's a fight I'll never stop.''
Among the friends and family beside Gore were his wife, Tipper, and his running mate, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, and his wife, Hadassah.
A little more than an hour later, Bush addressed the nation for the first time as president-elect, declaring that the “nation must rise above a house divided.” Speaking from the podium of the Texas House of Representatives, Bush devoted his speech to themes of reconciliation following one of the closest and most disputed presidential elections in U.S. history. ''I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation,'' Bush said.
Bush and his running mate, **** Cheney, took office on January 20, 2001. They were re-elected in 2004 over Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards.
December 13, 1922
Early convertible top patented
Eight years after they began offering their removable cartop on KisselKar and Kissel automobiles, William Kissel and Friedrich Werner received an American patent for their invention. Their "Convertible Automobile Body" had a removable hard top that could turn a closed car into an open touring car--one of the earliest convertibles.
December 13, 1939
Lincoln Continental is born
The first production Lincoln Continental was finished on this day (prototypes of the touring car had already been driven). The Lincoln Continentals of the 1940s are commonly considered some of the most beautiful production cars ever made. Today, the Lincoln Continental remains one of the world's most popular luxury cars.
December 13, 1957
Thunderbird makes a change
The last two-seater T-bird was produced on this day. Through 1957, Ford's Thunderbirds were jaunty, two-seater sports cars that boasted removable hard tops and powerful V-8 engines. The 1958 Thunderbird (nicknamed the "square bird") was a four-passenger car, 18 inches longer and half a ton heavier than the previous year's model. The new luxury Thunderbird packed a 300hp V-8, making it one of the most muscular cars on the road. And one of the most popular. It sold more cars in 1958 than 1957, despite a nationwide slump in auto sales. Ford discontinued the Thunderbird after the 1997 model year, by which time it bore little resemblance to the stylish early "Bird" versions. To the delight of Thunderbird aficionados, it was reintroduced in 2002, with a brand-new and noteworthy design that incorporated elements of 1955-57 and 1961-62 models, including "porthole" windows, rounded lights and a hood scoop.
December 13, 1950
James Dean appears in Pepsi ad
An undiscovered actor named James Dean appears in a Pepsi commercial, dancing with other teens around a jukebox. Dean would later personify the angry, restless youth culture in three films that made a deep impression on the American public: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), East of Eden (1955), and Giant (1956). Dean died at age 24 in a car crash in 1955, before East of Eden or Giant had opened.
December 13, 1621
First export of American furs
Under the care of Robert Cushman, the first American furs to be exported from the continent leave for England aboard the Fortune.
One month before, Cushman and the Fortune had arrived at Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts with 35 settlers, the first new colonists since the settlement was founded in 1620. During Cushman's return to England, the Fortune was captured by the French, and its valuable cargo of furs was taken. Cushman was detained on the Ile d'Dieu before being returned to England.
Within a few years of their first fur export, the Plymouth colonists, unable to make their living through cod fishing as they had originally planned, began concentrating almost entirely on the fur trade. The colonists developed an economic system in which their chief crop, Indian corn, was traded with Native Americans to the north for highly valued beaver skins, which were in turn profitably sold in England to pay the Plymouth Colony's debts and buy necessary supplies.
December 13, 2003
Saddam Hussein captured
After spending nine months on the run, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is captured on this day in 2003. Saddam's downfall began on March 20, 2003, when the United States led an invasion force into Iraq to topple his government, which had controlled the country for more than 20 years.
Saddam Hussein was born into a poor family in Tikrit, 100 miles outside of Baghdad, in 1937. After moving to Baghdad as a teenager, Saddam joined the now-infamous Baath party, which he would later lead. He participated in several coup attempts, finally helping to install his cousin as dictator of Iraq in July 1968. Saddam took over for his cousin 11 years later. During his 24 years in office, Saddam's secret police, charged with protecting his power, terrorized the public, ignoring the human rights of the nation's citizens. While many of his people faced poverty, he lived in incredible luxury, building more than 20 lavish palaces throughout the country. Obsessed with security, he is said to have moved among them often, always sleeping in secret locations.
In the early 1980s, Saddam involved his country in an eight-year war with Iran, which is estimated to have taken more than a million lives on both sides. He is alleged to have used nerve agents and mustard gas on Iranian soldiers during the conflict, as well as chemical weapons on Iraq's own Kurdish population in northern Iraq in 1988. After he invaded Kuwait in 1990, a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq in 1991, forcing the dictator's army to leave its smaller neighbor, but failing to remove Saddam from power. Throughout the 1990s, Saddam faced both U.N. economic sanctions and air strikes aimed at crippling his ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. With Iraq continuing to face allegations of illegal oil sales and weapons-building, the United States again invaded the country in March 2003, this time with the expressed purpose of ousting Saddam and his regime.
Despite proclaiming in early March 2003 that, "it is without doubt that the faithful will be victorious against aggression," Saddam went into hiding soon after the American invasion, speaking to his people only through an occasional audiotape, and his government soon fell. After declaring Saddam the most important of a list of his regime's 55 most-wanted members, the United States began an intense search for the former leader and his closest advisors. On July 22, 2003, Saddam's sons, Uday and Qusay, who many believe he was grooming to one day fill his shoes, were killed when U.S. soldiers raided a villa in which they were staying in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Five months later, on December 13, 2003, U.S. soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding in a six-to-eight-foot deep hole, nine miles outside his hometown of Tikrit. The man once obsessed with hygiene was found to be unkempt, with a bushy beard and matted hair. He did not resist and was uninjured during the arrest. A soldier at the scene described him as "a man resigned to his fate."
Saddam is now in Iraqi custody with U.S. security and faces trial in front of a special tribunal on several criminal cases pending against him. The first began in October 2005. On November 5 of the next year, he was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. After an unsuccessful appeal, he was executed on December 30, 2006. Despite a prolonged search, weapons of mass destruction were never found in Iraq.
December 13, 2000
Al Gore concedes presidential election
Vice President Al Gore reluctantly concedes defeat to Texas Governor George W. Bush in his bid for the presidency, following weeks of legal battles over the recounting of votes in Florida, on this day in 2000.
In a televised speech from his ceremonial office next to the White House, Gore said that while he was deeply disappointed and sharply disagreed with the Supreme Court verdict that ended his campaign, ''partisan rancor must now be put aside.''
“I accept the finality of the outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College'' he said. “And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.''
Gore had won the national popular vote by more than 500,000 votes, but narrowly lost Florida, giving the Electoral College to Bush 271 to 266.
Gore said he had telephoned Bush to offer his congratulations, honoring him, for the first time, with the title ''president-elect.''
''I promised that I wouldn't call him back this time'' Gore said, referring to the moment on election night when he had called Bush to tell him he was going to concede, then called back a half hour later to retract that concession.
Gore only hinted at what he might do in the future. ''I've seen America in this campaign and I like what I see. It's worth fighting for -- and that's a fight I'll never stop.''
Among the friends and family beside Gore were his wife, Tipper, and his running mate, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, and his wife, Hadassah.
A little more than an hour later, Bush addressed the nation for the first time as president-elect, declaring that the “nation must rise above a house divided.” Speaking from the podium of the Texas House of Representatives, Bush devoted his speech to themes of reconciliation following one of the closest and most disputed presidential elections in U.S. history. ''I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation,'' Bush said.
Bush and his running mate, **** Cheney, took office on January 20, 2001. They were re-elected in 2004 over Democrats John Kerry and John Edwards.
December 13, 1922
Early convertible top patented
Eight years after they began offering their removable cartop on KisselKar and Kissel automobiles, William Kissel and Friedrich Werner received an American patent for their invention. Their "Convertible Automobile Body" had a removable hard top that could turn a closed car into an open touring car--one of the earliest convertibles.
December 13, 1939
Lincoln Continental is born
The first production Lincoln Continental was finished on this day (prototypes of the touring car had already been driven). The Lincoln Continentals of the 1940s are commonly considered some of the most beautiful production cars ever made. Today, the Lincoln Continental remains one of the world's most popular luxury cars.
December 13, 1957
Thunderbird makes a change
The last two-seater T-bird was produced on this day. Through 1957, Ford's Thunderbirds were jaunty, two-seater sports cars that boasted removable hard tops and powerful V-8 engines. The 1958 Thunderbird (nicknamed the "square bird") was a four-passenger car, 18 inches longer and half a ton heavier than the previous year's model. The new luxury Thunderbird packed a 300hp V-8, making it one of the most muscular cars on the road. And one of the most popular. It sold more cars in 1958 than 1957, despite a nationwide slump in auto sales. Ford discontinued the Thunderbird after the 1997 model year, by which time it bore little resemblance to the stylish early "Bird" versions. To the delight of Thunderbird aficionados, it was reintroduced in 2002, with a brand-new and noteworthy design that incorporated elements of 1955-57 and 1961-62 models, including "porthole" windows, rounded lights and a hood scoop.
December 13, 1950
James Dean appears in Pepsi ad
An undiscovered actor named James Dean appears in a Pepsi commercial, dancing with other teens around a jukebox. Dean would later personify the angry, restless youth culture in three films that made a deep impression on the American public: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), East of Eden (1955), and Giant (1956). Dean died at age 24 in a car crash in 1955, before East of Eden or Giant had opened.