EVENTS
- 1290 BC – Ramesses II becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
- 1791 – The United States Bill of Rights becomes law after being ratified by the Virginia legislature.
- 1840 – Napoleon was buried in Les Invalides in Paris. He had died in exile on the island of Saint Helena after his fall from power.
- 1890 – Sioux leader Sitting Bull (native name Tatanka-yatanka) was killed in a skirmish with U.S. soldiers along the Grand River in South Dakota as his warriors tried to prevent his arrest.
- 1891 – James Naismith introduces the first version of the sport basketball.
- 1933 – Twenty-first Amendment to U.S. Constitution comes into effect. Ratified on December 5 of the same year, the amendment repealed the prohibition on alcohol in the United States which had come into force on January 17, 1920, when the 18th amendment took effect.
- 1939 – ‘Gone with the Wind’, one of the most famous movies of all time, premiers in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1943 – The Battle of San Pietro took place during World War II as a German panzer battalion devastated American forces trying to take the 700-year-old Italian village. Hollywood director John Huston, serving as an army lieutenant, filmed the battle and left behind a graphic account.
- 1961 – Nazi SS-Colonel Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death in Jerusalem for his role in the Holocaust. Eichmann had organized the deportation of Jews from all over occupied Europe to Nazi death camps.
- 1964 – Canada adopted a new national flag featuring a red maple leaf on a white background.
- 1978 – US recognizes China. 30 years after the creation of the People’s Republic of China, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would formally recognize the communist country starting January 1, 1979. The announcement also called for the severing of relations with Taiwan, a position that was quickly reversed under protests.
- 1989 – The dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet ended in Chile. Pinochet had come to power in 1973 after a military overthrow of the democratically elected government.
- 1993 – The GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) Treaty was approved by delegations from 117 countries. The treaty was designed to reduce international tariffs, eliminate trade quotas, and protect intellectual property.
- 1995 – European Union leaders announced their new currency would be known as the Euro.
- 2009 – Maiden flight of Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Considered to be one of Boeing’s most fuel-efficient airplanes, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has suffered from problems associated with its lithium-ion batteries.
BIRTHDAYS
- 37 – Nero (Roman Emperor)
- 1832 – Gustave Eiffel (Architect of the Eiffel Tower)
- 1892 – J. Paul Getty (Billionaire and art philanthropist)
- 1907 – Oscar Niemeyer (Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters, Cathedral of Brasília)
- 1928 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Austrian/New Zealand painter, architect, designed the Kuchlbauer Tower, Waldspirale)
- 1933 – Tim Conway (Comedian)
- 1949 – Don Johnson (Actor)
- 1972 – Stuart Townsend (Actor)
- 1979 – Adam Brody (Actor)
- 1986 – Junsu (South Korean singer-songwriter, actor)
DEATHS
- 1950 – Vallabhbhai Patel (Indian activist, politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of India)
- 1966 – Walt Disney (American animator, director, screenwriter, producer, co-founded the company)
- 2010 – Bob Feller (American baseball player)
- 2011 – Christopher Hitchens (English/American journalist, author)
- 2013 – Harold Camping (American broadcaster, author)