December OTDIH
12/1
1835 - Hans Christian Andersenpublishes his 1st book of fairy tales
1955 - Rosa Parksarrested
1887 - Sherlock Holmes 1st appears in print: "Study in Scarlet"
1959 – Antarctica is made a military-free continent
1913 - 1st drive-up gasoline station opens
12/2
1993 - Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death
1990 - Composer Aaron Copland died at age 90.
1982 - Doctors performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart in a human.
1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned emperor of France in Paris
1927 - First Model A Ford sold for $385
12/3
1989 - Soviet Pres. Gorbachev and US Pres. George H. W. Bush, declare that the Cold War over
1979 - 11 people were killed at a concert by the Who
1965 - The album "Rubber Soul" by the Beatles was released.
1586 - Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England from Colombia
1950 - Cleveland Browns last NFL team with no-pass game (beat Phila 13-7)
12/4
1920 - 1st Pro football playoff game
1980 - The rock group Led Zeppelin disbanded
1978 - Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first woman mayor
1997 - NBA suspends Latrell Sprewell for 1 year for attacking his coach
1942 - U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time in World War II.
12/5
2008 - O.J. Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison for an armed robbery.
2006 - New York ban artery-clogging trans fats in restaurants
1901 - Movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago.
1791 - Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna at age 35.
1848 - President James K. Polk triggered the Gold Rush of '49
12/6
2003 - Army became the first team to finish 0-13 in college football history
1973 - House minority leader Gerald R. Ford became vice president
1957 - America's 1st attempt at putting a satellite into orbit blew up on the launch pad
1907 - The worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 died W.Va.
1923 - A presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time
12/7
1941 – Pearl Harbor
1787 - Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution
1972 - America's last moon mission was launched
2011 - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years
1963 – Instant replay was used for the first time in a live sports telecast (Army/Navy game)
12/8
1941 - The United States entered World War
1995 - The Grateful Dead announced they were breaking up
1966 - US & USSR sign treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in outer space
1967 - The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" album is released
1987 - Flyers' Ron Hextall becomes 1st goalie to actually score a goal
12/9
1992 - Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation.
1950 - Harry Gold sent to prison for his role in atomic espionage
2002 - United Airlines filed the biggest bankruptcy in aviation history
1941 - China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy.
1907 - Christmas seals went on sale for the first time
12/10
2009 - President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize
2007 - Cristina Fernandez became Argentina's first elected female president.
2001 - "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," premiered in London.
1965 - The Grateful Dead played their first concert.
1818 - Mississippi was admitted to the union as the 20th state.
12/11
1941 - Germany and Italy declared war on the US
2009 - Tiger Woods announced he was taking a leave from golf
1998 – Congress approved 3 articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton.
1997 - More than 150 countries signed the Kyoto treaty, the U.S. was not one of them.
1972 - Man landed on the moon for the last time during the Apollo 17 mission.
12/12
1915 - Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, N.J.
2003 - Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, died.
1925 - The first motel opened in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
1745 - John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City.
1963 - Kenya gained its independence from Britain.
12/13
2007 - The Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball was released.
2003 – Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured
1862 - The Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia took place.
1769 - Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received its charter.
1642 - Dutch navigator Abel Tasman arrived in present-day New Zealand.
12/14
1799 – George Washington Died
1911 - Explorer Roald Amundsen became the first man to reach the South Pole.
1979 - "London Calling" by the Clash was released.
1985 - Wilma Mankiller became the 1st woman to lead a major American Indian tribe; the Cherokee Nation
2008 - An Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President George W. Bush
12/15
1854 - 1st street-cleaning machine in US 1st used in Philadelphia
1792 - 1st life insurance policy issued in US
1791 - 1st US law school established at University of Pennsylvania
1939 - 1st commercial manufacture of nylon
2011 - Barry Bonds is sentenced to 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation and 250 hours of community service, for obstruction of justice
12/16
2010 - Larry King concluded his CNN talk show after 25 years.
2000 - Colin Powell selected to become the first African-American secretary of state.
1985 - Paul Castellano was shot to death outside a New York City restaurant.
1944 - The Battle of the Bulge began.
1916 - Gregory Rasputin was murdered by a group of noblemen.
12/17
1989 - "The Simpsons" premiered
1957 - The U.S successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile
2010 – Start of the Arab Spring.
1969 - The U.S. Air Force closed its Project "Blue Book"
1975 - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was sentenced to life in prison
12/18
1892 - Peter Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.
2009 - Reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin divorced.
1972 - The United States began the heaviest bombing of the Vietnam War.
1957 - The first nuclear facility in the United States to generate electricity went online.
1886 – Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb was born
12/19
1773 - Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."
1776 - Thomas Paine published his first "American Crisis" essay
1843 - Charles Dickens' Yuletide tale, "A Christmas Carol," was first published in Britain.
1777 - Gen. George Washington led his army to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.
2005 - Afghanistan's first democratically elected parliament in more than three decades convened.
12/20
1790 - The first successful cotton mill in the U.S. began operating
1803 - The Louisiana Purchase was completed
1946 - "It's A Wonderful Life" had a preview showing for charity
1989 - The U.S. sent troops into Panama to topple the government of Manuel Noriega.
1963 - The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners
12/21
1879 – Joseph Stalin was born
1620 - Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time
1898 - Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium
1913 - The first crossword puzzle was published
1937 – The premiere of the film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
12/22
1858 - Opera composer Puccini was born
1864 – General Sherman sent a message to Pres. Lincoln saying, "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah."
2001 - Richard C. Reid tried to ignite explosives in his shoes
1941 - Churchill and Roosevelt discuss war and peace
1956 - First gorilla born in captivity
12/23
2009 - "balloon boy" hoax
2003 - first suspected case of mad cow disease in United States.
1997 - Denver convicted Terry Nichols
1823 - "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore