Today in History

Today in History

Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as well as targets in Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines and Wake Island; the United States declared war against Japan the next day. On this date: In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1909, chemist Leo H. Baekeland received a U.S. patent for Bakelite (BAY'-kuh-lyt), the first synthetic plastic.