It’s December. While most teachers and students are excited about the last day of school for the calendar year (and a nice little break), here is a list of other important historical dates! Happy December!
- December 1st, 1955: Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and move to the back in Montgomery, Alabama. This sparked the modern Civil Rights movement.
- December 3rd, 1857: Novelist Joseph Conrad was born in Ukraine. He would one day write The Heart of Darkness.
- December 5th, 1933: The 18th Amendment (Prohibition Amendment) to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. It had outlawed the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the U.S.
- December 6th, 1865: The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, abolishing slavery.
- December 7th, 1941: The U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by Japanese warplanes, killing 3000 Americans. This event prompted the U.S. to declare war on Japan and join World War II.
- December 8th, 1980: Former Beatles musician John Lennon was murdered in New York City.
- December 9th, 1608: British poet John Milton was born in London. Considered one of the greatest poets of all time, he wrote the masterpiece Paradise Lost, amongst many others.
- December 10th, 1830: Poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She wrote over 2000 poems that weren’t known until her sister discovered them after Emily died.
- December 12th, 1821: French author Gustave Flaubert was born. He wrote the famed novel Madame Bovary.
- December 14th, 1799: The first U.S. President, George Washington, died at Mount Vernon.
- December 15th, 1939: Gone With The Wind had its premiere in Atlanta, Georgia.
- December 16th, 1775: British author Jane Austen was born in Hampshire, England. She wrote many novels: Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, to name a few.
- December 19th, 1732: Benjamin Franklin first published Poor Richard’s Almanac, which contained weather predictions, humor, proverbs, and epigrams.
- December 21st: Winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the start of Summer.
- December 24th: Christmas Eve
- December 25th: Christmas Day
- December 26th: Boxing Day in the United Kingdom, Canada, and many other countries; a day of gift giving when boxes of food, clothing, and other gifts are traditionally given to employees and service providers.
- December 28th, 1856: 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia. He served from 1921 to 1928.
- December 29th, 1808: 18th U.S. President Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He succeeded Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865. Johnson became the first president to be impeached.
- December 31st: New Years Eve. Happy New Year!