Today in History 12/11

1282: Llywelyn the Last, the last native-born Prince of Wales is killed in battle with the forces of King Edward I. That was pretty much it for an independent Wales.
1792: During the French Revolution, King Louis XVI is put on trial for treason.
1803: Hector Berlioz, French composer is born
1816: Indiana becomes the 19th state.
1838: John Labatt is born. He's the founder of Labatt's Brewing. I like their beer!
1882: Fiorella LaGuardia "The Little Flower" is born. He was the mayor of New York City for eleven years from 1934-1945.
1918: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Soviet dissident, is born. I recommend everything he wrote, but especially "The First Circle."
1927: Comic book artist John Buscema is born. He drew for Marvel during it's heyday of the 1970's, mostly on The Avengers and Silver Surfer.
1941: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
1943: Senator John Kerry is born.
1944: Teri Garr is born. What knockers!
1958: Nikki Sixx, rocker in Motley Crue, is born. This is their cover of Brownsville Station's Smokin' in the Boys' Room.

1971: The Libertarian Party is formed.
1980: Superfund, aka The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act is formed.