Good morning.

Our week ends with a high of thirty, and a small amount of snow, of about an inch or two. There wil be 9h 3m of daylight, and 10h 8m of sunlight, with a full moon.

On 12.28.1981, America’s first so-called test tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, was born:

For the first time, a ”test-tube” baby, conceived in a laboratory dish, has been born in an American hospital. Elizabeth Jordan Carr, weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces and described as ”perfectly healthy,” was delivered yesterday morning at Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Va.

The birth, which came two weeks ahead of schedule, brings to at least 15 the number of babies born in this manner. The rest were in Britain and Australia, although one was born to American parents in England. About 100 women have become pregnant through the same procedure, five of them in the United States.

At least five American clinics are treating infertile women in this way, but so far with meager success. Nevertheless, reliability seems to be improving rapidly. The time when it becomes standard treatment for several causes of infertility may be drawing near.

On this day in 1938, a moment from the long and checkered career of Joe McCarthy:

1938 – McCarthy Declares Candidacy for Judgeship
On this date future senator Joseph McCarthy announced his candidacy for the Wisconsin 10th Circuit Court judgeship, a position that had been held for 24 years by Edgar V. Werner. The 30-year-old McCarthy used Werner’s age against him, claiming that Werner was 73 while secretly knowing he was 66. In the election, held in April of the following year, McCarthy earned 15,160 votes to Werner’s 11,154. Although McCarthy’s campaign tactics and spending practices were investigated, he was cleared of wrong-doing. [Source: Legal Affairs]

Google-a-Day poses a question on history & cartography: “What famous Alexandrian was responsible for the most popular map printed from movable type in the fifteenth century?”

Good morning.

A cloudy Thursday with a high of twenty-eight awaits. We’ll have 9h 3m of sunlight and 10h 8m of daylight.

There will be two public meetings in the city today. At 8 AM, Downtown Whitewater’s Board will meet, and at 4:30 PM in the afternoon there will be a meeting of the Community Development Authority.

On this day in 1900, the property-destroying, regulation-loving anti-alcohol crusader Cary Nation smashed a bar with a hatchet:

Prohibitionist Carry Nation smashes up the bar at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas, causing several thousand dollars in damage and landing in jail. Nation, who was released shortly after the incident, became famous for carrying a hatchet and wrecking saloons as part of her anti-alcohol crusade.

She didn’t live to see Prohibition become law under the 18th Amendment, and so of course didn’t see the repeal of that failed amendment just under fourteen years later.

On this day in 1831, the thrice-elected Lucius Fairchild was born:

1831 – Lucius Fairchild Born
On this date Lucius Fairchild was born in Kent, Ohio. Soldier, diplomat, and Wisconsin Governor, Fairchild arrived in Madison with his family in 1846. After a trip to California in search of gold, Fairchild returned to Madison and studied law. He was a soldier in the “Iron Brigade” and lost an arm at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. He was elected as a Republican to the post of secretary of state and in 1865 was elected governor. He served for three terms. As governor and as a private citizen, Fairchild was active in promoting soldiers’ aid. [Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin History]

Google-a-Day aska a question of literature:  “Early in Conrad’s 1903 novella, Marlow makes a comment “one of the dark places on earth.”  About what place does he say this?”

Good morning.

Wednesday for Whitewater will be cloudy, with a high of twenty-nine and northeast winds at 10 to 15 mph.

On this day in 1776, Gen Washington won his first great victory after crossing the Delaware:

At approximately 8 a.m. on the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington‘s Continental Army reaches the outskirts of Trenton, New Jersey, and descends upon the unsuspecting Hessian force guarding the city. Trenton’s 1,400 Hessian defenders were still groggy from the previous evening’s Christmas festivities and had underestimated the Patriot threat after months of decisive British victories throughout New York. The troops of the Continental Army quickly overwhelmed the German defenses, and by 9:30 a.m.Trenton was completely surrounded.

Although several hundred Hessians escaped, nearly 1,000 were captured at the cost of only four American lives.

Google-a-Day also has a military topic today: “What notable river was close by the campaign in which Lee defeated the much larger army led by Major General Joseph Hooker?”

Good morning.

Christmas Eve brings a high of twenty-nine, and a thirty percent chance of snow in the afternoon, to Whitewater.

On this day in 1923, Pres. Coolidge lights the first national Christmas tree:

…President Calvin Coolidge touches a button and lights up the first national Christmas tree to grace the White House grounds.

Not only was this the first White House “community” Christmas tree, but it was the first to be decorated with electric lights–a strand of 2,500 red, white and green bulbs. The balsam fir came from Coolidge’s home state of Vermont and stood 48 feet tall. Several musical groups performed at the tree-lighting ceremony, including the Epiphany Church choir and the U.S. Marine Band. Later that evening, President Coolidge and first lady Grace were treated to carols sung by members of Washington D.C.’s First Congregational Church.

According to the White House Historical Association, President Benjamin Harrison was the first president to set up an indoor Christmas tree for his family and visitors to enjoy in 1889. It was decorated with ornaments and candles. In 1929, first lady Lou Henry Hoover oversaw what would become an annual tradition of decorating the indoor White House tree. Since then, each first lady’s duties have included the trimming of the official White House tree.

Coolidge’s “inauguration” of the first outdoor national Christmas tree initiated a tradition that has been repeated with every administration. In 1981, PresidentRonald Reagan began another custom by authorizing the first official White House ornament, copies of which were made available for purchase.

In Wisconsin history on 12.24.1814,

1814 – War of 1812 Ends
On this date the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the the War of 1812 which was fought between the United States and Great Britain from June 1812 to the spring of 1815 (news of the treaty took several months to reach the frontiers of No. America). The treaty provided for the cessation of hostilities, the restoration of conquests, and a commission to settle boundary disputes. John Quincy Adams served as the chief negotiator for the United States. The treaty formalized U.S. possession of land which included present-day Wisconsin. [Source: The Avalon Project at Yale Law School]

Google has out a sports question today, with a metric flavor: “What was the maximum weight (kg) in the men’s middleweight class for the 2012 Olympic Games?”