Today is Thursday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2021. There are 29 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 2, 1859, militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on Harpers Ferry the previous October.

On this date:

In 1823, President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1942, an artificially created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate passed, 67-22, a resolution condemning Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., saying he had “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”

In 1970, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency opened its doors under its first director, William D. Ruckelshaus.

In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.

In 2000, Al Gore sought a recount in South Florida, while George W. Bush flatly asserted, “I’m soon to be the president” and met with GOP congressional leaders.

In 2001, in one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history, Enron filed for Chapter 11 protection.

In 2015, a couple loyal to the Islamic State group opened fire at a holiday banquet for public employees in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people and wounding 21 others before dying in a shootout with police.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III is 90. Former Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is 82. Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 77. Actor Dan Butler is 67. Broadcast journalist Stone Phillips is 67. Actor Lucy Liu is 53. International Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles is 48. Singer Nelly Furtado is 43. Pop singer Britney Spears is 40. NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 38.