Today in History: Saturday, December 01, 2012

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, defied the law by refusing to give up her seat to a white man aboard a Montgomery, Ala., city bus. Parks was arrested, sparking a year-long boycott of the buses by blacks.

1824 The House of Representatives convened to decide the presidential election because no candidate had received a majority in the Electoral College. (John Quincy Adams was eventually chosen the winner over Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay.)

1862 President Abraham Lincoln sent his Second Annual Message to Congress, which was read aloud by the Secretary of the Senate. In it, Lincoln called for the abolition of slavery, saying that "in giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free,"

1913 The first drive-in automobile service station opened, in Pittsburgh.

1919 Lady Astor was sworn in as the first female member of the British Parliament.

1934 Sergei M. Kirov, the head of the Communist Party in Leningrad, was assassinated as Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a massive purge that would claim tens of millions of lives.

1963 The Beatles' first single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," was released in the United States.

1969 The U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.

1991 Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union.

2000 Vicente Fox was sworn in as president of Mexico, ending 71 years of ruling-party domination.

2004 Tom Brokaw signed off for the last time as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News."

2009 President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops into the war in Afghanistan but promised to begin withdrawal in 18 months.