This Day in History: December 1st-31st
In December, numerous important events took place around the world and the United States. We here at The Knight Watch wish to provide you with these important events that created the world we live in today and particularly for this month, consider the blessings we have been given because of these events.
December 1st:
1824-The House of Representatives begins to decide who will win the presidency between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.
1887-Sherlock Holmes first appears in print in the book “Study in Scarlet.”
December 2nd:
1823-President Monroe declared the “Monroe Doctrine.”
1804-Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France.
December 3rd:
1818-Illinois becomes the 21st state in the United States.
1994-Playstation was first released in Japan.
December 4th:
1836-The Whig party holds its first national convention.
1982-China adopts its constitution.
December 5th:
1792-George Washington is reelected as President.
1974-Final episode of Monty Python’s “Flying Circus” aired.
December 6th:
1849-Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland for the second time.
1998-Hugo Chávez is elected at Venezuela's president.
December 7th:
1808-James Madison is elected president.
1937-Alekhine, a Russian chess player, recaptures the world title from Max Euwe.
December 8th:
1863-Abraham Lincoln announces his plan for Reconstruction of the South.
1941-The U.S. enters WW II.
December 9th:
1856-A Charlie Brown Christmas debuts on CBS.
1922-The first president of Poland, Gabriel Narutowicz, is elected.
December 10th:
1817-Mississippi became the 20th state in the United States.
1968-Japan's biggest heist, the still-unsolved "300 million yen robbery", is carried out in Tokyo.
December 11th:
1816-Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state.
1941-Germany and Italy declare war on the United States during WWII.
December 12th:
1787-Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd U.S. state.
1963-Kenya gains independence from the United Kingdom.
December 13th:
1636- The founding of the US National Guard.
1949-The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem.
December 14th:
1819-Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state.
557-Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake.
December 15th:
1778-British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia in the American Revolution.
1976-Oil tanker MV Argo Merchant runs aground near Nantucket, Massachusetts, causing one of the worst marine oil spills in history.
December 16th:
1773-The Boston Tea Party occurs.
1903-Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel in Bombay first opens its doors to the guests.
December 17th:
1835-The Great Fire of New York occurs.
1790 The Aztec calendar stone is discovered.
December 18th:
1787-New Jersey becomes the 3rd state in the United States.
1956-Japan joins the United Nations.
December 19th:
1998-President Bill Clinton is impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives.
1941-Adolf Hitler becomes Supreme Commander-in-chief of the German Army.
December 20th:
1803-The Louisiana Purchase was officially completed.
1973-The Prime Minister of Spain is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.
December 21st:
1913-The first crossword puzzle is published in the New York World.
1994-Mexican volcano Popocatépetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts with gases and ash.
December 22nd:
1956-The first gorilla bred in captivity is born at Ohio's Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
1989-Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.
December 23rd:
1954-First successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.
1688-King James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, flees to France from William of Orange.
December 24th:
1968-Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so.
1818-The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.
December 25th:
1868-Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers.
2000-Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a bill for a new National Anthem of Russia.
December 26th:
1846-Trapped in the snowy Sierra Nevadas, without food, members of the Donner Party resort to cannibalism.
1991-The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union.
December 27th:
2001-China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.
1831-Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard the HMS Beagle.
December 28th:
1973-The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States.
1612-Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune.
December 29th:
1851-The first American YMCA opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
December 30th:
2006-Former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, is executed.
December 31st:
1879-Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time.
2009-Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur.
