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Famous and Fascinating Women in History The World's Greatest Composers Generals and other Noteworthy People from the Civil War The Presidents of the United States The First Ladies of the United States Homes and Monuments of and to Famous People Historical People and Events by Month for Each Day of the Year! Famous Figures in Black History The Calvert Family and the Lords Baltimore Understanding the American Revolution and its People
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Historical People and Events for December
December 1 The First Navigation Act, passed by the English Parliament to govern colonial trade, stated that all goods carried to and from England must be transported by British ships manned mostly by British sailors, 1660 The Trail of Tears occurred, whereby the 14,000 Cherokee Indians remaining in Georgia and southeastern Tennessee were forcibly removed from their lands by 7,000 soldiers, and herded into Oklahoma. This phrase of the Trail of Tears was the final tragic act in the enforcement of the fraudulent treaty of New Echota in 1835. Along the way, 4,000 Cherokees died. In the end, 7 million acres of Cherokee land had been seized by whites, 1838Midshipman Philip Spencer was hanged for mutiny for his part in an uprising aboard the naval training brigadier Somers, 1842Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, 1906 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, 1955 The United States Government held its first draft lottery since WWII, 1969 December 2 The Monroe Doctrine was announced, 1823 John Brown was hanged for his part in raiding Harpers Ferry, 1859 The Thirteenth Amendment was adopted, prohibiting slavery when Alabama became the 27th state to ratify it, ensuring the necessary two-thirds vote, 1865 First Lady Jane Pierce died in Andover, Massachusetts, 1863 The Samoan Partition Treaty was signed at Washington, D.C., with Germany and England. It partitioned the Samoan Island between the United States and Germany, with the U.S. receiving Tutuila and Pago Pago, its harbor, 1899 The first successful artificial heart transplant was completed at the University of Utah Medical Center. The recipient was Barney C. Clark, age 61, 1982 December 3 The first American flag was raised aboard the "USS Alfred," 1775Illinois was admitted to the Union, 1818 (21st) The treason trial of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, began in Richmond, Virginia. Before Circuit Court Judges Salmon P. Chase and John C. Underwood. The charges were dropped on February 15, 1869 after President Andrew Johnson's amnesty proclamation, 1868 " Camelot" opened on Broadway, 1960December 4 General Washington bade farewell to his troops, 1783 Queen Victoria prohibited exports to the United States, 1861 United States Gemini 7 was launched from Cape Kennedy on a 14-day, 206-orbit mission and rendezvous in space with Gemini 6, 1965December 5 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at the age of 35, 1791 President Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, 1782 The first depiction of the United States flag in England was the work of John Singleton Copley, who painted the Stars and Stripes flying over a ship in the background of his portrait of Elkanah Watson, who was a well-known sponsor of agricultural fairs in the U.S., 1783 President Grant, apologized before Congress, ascribing his errors while president to inexperience, saying further that his failures were "errors in Judgement, not intent," 1876 National Prohibition ended, 1933 The Medal of Honor was presented to Captain Roger H.C. Donlon, U.S. Army, for heroism in South Vietnam, the first person to receive the medal since the Korean War, 1964 December 6 Construction of Washington Monument was completed,1884 Jefferson Davis died at age 71 in New Orleans, Louisiana , 1889 The first broadcast of an official presidential address occurred when President Calvin Coolidge gave his second annual address to Congress. The transmission was so clear that technicians in St. Louis, Missouri telephoned Washington, D.C., to ask about the occasional rustling noise, which turned out to be caused by the president turning the pages of his address, 1923 Gerald Ford sworn in as vice president, following the resignation of Spiro Agnew,1973 December 7 Delaware was admitted to the Union, 1797 (1st) Japanese warplanes attacked United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 1941 United States Apollo 17 launched, 1972 December 8 A huge submarine net made of steel, that was placed underwater across the Narrows in New York harbor at the beginning of the war, was removed, 1919 United States entered World War II, 1941 A treaty was enacted which prohibited nuclear weapons in space, 1966 John Winston Yoko Lennon, former member of the Beatles, was shot and killed outside his Dakota apartment in New York by a deranged man, 1980December 9 Noah Webster established New York's first daily newspaper, 1793 The first Red Cross Christmas seals were sold for a campaign against tuberculosis, raising $135,000, 1907 China declared war on Germany, Italy, Japan, 1941 December 10 Mississippi was admitted to the Union, 1817 (20th) The first Women's Suffrage law in the U.S. was granted in Wyoming Territory, 1869 The first college basketball game was held, 1896 December 11 The University of North Carolina was chartered in Chapel Hill, N.C., as a state university, 1789 Indiana was admitted to the Union, 1816 (19th) Incandescent stage lighting was first used in the U.S. at the Bijou Theater in Boston at a performance of Iolanthe, by Gilbert and Sullivan, 1883United States & Britain declared war on Japan, 1941 United States, Germany & Italy declared war, 1941 December 12 Pennsylvania was admitted to the Union, 1787 (2nd) Joseph Rainey became the first black in the House of Representatives, 1870 The first motel opened in the United States, The Motel Inn, in San Luis Obispo, California, 1925 December 13 The first savings bank in the United States was organized in Boston as The Provident Institution for Savings, 1817 First Lady Mary Lincoln was born Mary Ann Todd in Lexington, Kentucky, 1818 Confederates won the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg, 1863 United States First Army attacked the Roer River Dam, 1944 December 14 The first military encounter of the American Revolution occurred, when on the report of news carried by Paul Revere that the British intended to station a garrison at Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Major John Sullivan led a band of militia to Fort William and Mary, broke into its arsenal, and carried off arms and ammunition, 1774 President George Washington died at his home, Mount Vernon, 1799 Alabama was admitted to the Union, 1819 (22nd) First Lady Julia Grant died in Washington, D.C., 1902 December 15 The Bill of Rights went into effect, 1791 Sitting Bull, chief of the Sioux Indians, was killed in a skirmish with U.S. soldiers along the Grand River in South Dakota, 1890 The movie, " Gone With The Wind" premiered, 1939The plane carrying Bandleader Glenn Miller was lost, 1944 December 16 The Boston Tea Party occurred, 1773 The first patent for a process of shaping brass into bowls was issued to Hiram Hayden of Waterbury, Connecticut. Dishes of brass, fastened to spinning dies, were pressed to the shape of the die, 1852 " Variety" magazine was first printed, 1905World War II Battle of the Bulge, which was the last major German offensive of the war began, when German forces broke through Allied defenses in the Ardennes. The German drive was intended to seize Antwerp and split the Allies in the west. Bad weather hampered the Allied air and supply operations. U.S. forces, located at Bastogne, although surrounded, did not surrender. The American resistance stiffened after the massacre of U.S. prisoners at Malmedy on December 17. When the weather improved, the Allied air operations resumed and the German Tiger tank columns halted for lack of fuel, and were destroyed, 1944 December 17 France recognized American independence, 1777 The first one-way street was created in New York City, 1791 Orville and Wilbur Wright's first successful manned powered flight occurred near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 1903 December 18 New Jersey was admitted to the Union, 1787 (3rd) The first celestial photograph was taken, 1839 The Crittenden Compromise, a last minute attempt to persuade the southern states to remain in the union, was proposed by Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, 1860 Japan was allowed to join the United Nations, 1956 December 19 Benjamin Franklin first published his " Poor Richard's Almanac" 1732The first issue of "The Crisis," by Thomas Paine, which was a series of pamphlets written to bolster the morale of the Continental Army, was issued, 1776George Washington and the Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 First Lady Emily Donelson died at her home at Tulip Grove Plantation, 1836 The University of Oklahoma was opened at Norman, Oklahoma, 1893 Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president of the United States, 1974 December 20 Louisiana Purchase was formally completed, 1803 " Dreamgirls" opened on Broadway, 1981United States troops invaded Panama, 1989 December 21 Bluebeard was executed, 1440 Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1620 General George S. Patton died in Heidelberg of injuries from a car accident, 1945 The first gorilla was born in captivity, 1956 Reduction of the voting age in national elections to 18 years was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court, 1970 A bill authorizing a federal bailout for Chrysler Corporation by providing $1,500,000,000 in federal loan guarantees was passed by Congress, 1980. (Signed into law on January 7, 1980 by President James Carter). December 22 The Embargo Act that barred foreign trade went into effect, 1807 First Lady, "Lady Bird" Johnson was born Claudia Alta Taylor in Karnack, Texas , 1912 Wake Island fell to the Japanese after a heroic fifteen-day stand by 400 U.S. marines, 1941 The crew of the " USS Pueblo" was released, 1968December 23 Washington resigned as commander-in-chief, at Old Senate Chamber, State House, Annapolis, MD., 1783 " A Visit From St. Nicholas" (The Night Before Christmas) by Clement C. Moore, was published in New York, 1823The state of Maryland gave ten square miles for the District of Columbia, 1788 December 24 The Methodist Church was organized in America at a conference in Baltimore, Maryland, 1784 The Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the War of 1812, 1814 The Ku Klux Klan was established, 1865 Henry Ford completed his first successful gasoline engine, 1894 General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named Supreme Commander of Allied forces for the invasions of Europe, 1943 December 25 The first recorded Christmas was celebrated in Rome, A.D. 336 " Silent Night" was performed for the first time at the Church of St. Nikolaus, Oberndorff, Austria, 1818George Washington crossed the Delaware River, 1776 December 26 Stephen Girard, one of the wealthiest men in the U.S. died, leaving his fortune to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the founding of Girard College, and elementary and secondary school for poor, male white orphans, 1831 Wake Forest College was chartered in Wake Forest, N.C. It had been founded under Baptist auspices in 1834, 1838 New York City was blanketed with 25.8 inches of snow, 1947 President Harry S. Truman died in Kansas City, Missouri, 1972 The end of the Soviet Union began, 1991 December 27 " Show Boat" opened on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre, 1927Radio City Music Hall opened in New York, 1932 The World War II Battle of the Bulge ended, 1944 "Howdy Doody" with host Bob Smith, made its TV debut on NBC, 1947 December 28 John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the U.S. to resign, 1832 Iowa was admitted to the Union, 1846 (29th) President Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, 1856 First Lady Edith Wilson died at her home in Washington, D.C., 1961 December 29 President Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, 1808 Texas was admitted to the Union, 1845 (28th) First Lady Angelica Van Buren died, 1877 December 30 The Gadsden Purchase, negotiated by James Gadsden, U.S. Minister to Mexico, was signed. It provided that the U.S. acquire 29,644 sq. miles of territory, comprising the southernmost portions of present-day Arizona, and New Mexico, 1853 The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, the first oil company in the United States was formed in New Haven, Connecticut, 1855 The "USS Monitor" was lost off Cape Hatteras, 1862Vladimir I. Lenin established the U.S.S.R., 1922 " Kiss Me Kate" opened on Broadway, 1948December 31 The Battle of Murfreesboro began during the Civil War, 1862 Thomas Edison gave his first public demonstration of the incandescent lamp, 1879 The Manhattan Bridge, the third span across the East River in New York City was opened to traffic, 1910
Copyright © 1993-2022 by John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. This article and their accompanying pictures, photographs, and line art, may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author. |
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