Moments in Time: Temptations
The History Channel
On Dec. 2, 1972, the Temptations earned the last of their four chart-topping hits when “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone” made it to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.
On Dec. 3, 1984, an explosion at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, marked the worst industrial accident in history. At least 5,000 people died immediately, according to official estimates, while approximately 20,000 died over time and another half-million were injured when toxic gas enveloped the city.
On Dec. 4, 1917, psychiatrist W.H.R. Rivers presented a report titled "The Repression of War Experience" to the Royal School of Medicine. The report was based on his work at the Craiglockhart War Hospital for Neurasthenic Officers, near Edinburgh, which was one of the most famous hospitals used to treat soldiers suffering psychological trauma after serving on the battlefield.
On Dec. 5, 1776, five students at Williamsburg, Virginia's College of William & Mary gathered at Raleigh's Tavern to found a new fraternity they called Phi Beta Kappa, which was intended to follow strictly American principles rather than those espoused by England or Germany and in which members engaged in the kind of fervent political debate characteristic of the school's student life.
On Dec. 6, 1961, Syracuse running back Ernie Davis became the first African American player to win the Heisman Trophy, beating out Ohio State fullback Bob Ferguson. Earlier that day Davis had met John F. Kennedy at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, remarking that he'd "never thought I'd ever be shaking the hand of the president of the United States."
On Dec. 7, 2001, the blockbuster remake of the 1960 film "Ocean's Eleven" opened in theaters. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it spawned the profitable sequels "Ocean's Twelve" in 2004 and "Ocean's Thirteen" in 2007.
On Dec. 8, 1942, Jeannette Rankin, a committed pacifist and the first woman elected to Congress, cast the sole congressional vote against America's declaration of war on Japan.
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