On this day in ...... 1907, Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to a mother also named Katharine Hepburn, a suffragist who helped start Planned Parenthood after hearing Margaret Sanger speak. Her father was Dr. Thomas Hepburn, a urologist who worked to raise consciousness about sexually transmitted diseases. Raised in a household filled with frank discussion about such matters, young Katharine attended rallies with her mother. She followed her mother's footsteps by earning a degree at Pennsylvania's Bryn Mawr College, now site of the Katharine Houghton Hepburn Center, then turned her attention to acting. Hepburn would become a preeminent actor of her generation, known for playing strong-willed women on screen -- among them, reporter Tess in Woman of the Year (1942) and lawyer Amanda (above, far right) in Adam's Rib (1949) -- and living a strong-willed life off screen. She continued her mother's support for Planned Parenthood. Hepburn died 5 years ago in Connecticut. (photo credit)
... 1996, the Wassenaar Arrangement -- full name, The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies -- was established in the Dutch town after which it is named. The Arrangement, an arms control treaty with
40 states parties, is the successor to a Cold war-era arms export control committee. Its administrative secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria.
