1865 – The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It was ratified by the necessary number of states on December 6, 1865. The amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
1504 – Under the Treaty of Lyon, French King Louis XII cedes Naples to Ferdinand II of Aragon after defeat in the Italian War of 1499–1504
1578 – Battle of Gembloux (Gembloers); Spanish forces win decisive victor over coalition rebel forces
1596 – Catholic League disbanded
1606 – Guy Fawkes was executed after being convicted for his role in the “Gunpowder Plot” against the English Parliament and King James I.
1627 – Spanish government goes bankrupt
1696 – Revolt by undertakers after funeral reforms (Amsterdam)
1747 – The first clinic specializing in the treatment of venereal diseases was opened at London Dock Hospital.
1779 – Charles Messier adds M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog
1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1855 – The government of Lord Aberdeen in the United Kingdom falls following heavy scrutiny of the Crimean War
1855 – Treaty of Neah Bay: Makah Reservation established in US Territory of Washington for Makah nation, preserving tribal rights but ceding over 300,000 acres to the US government
1862 – Astronomer Alvan Graham Clark makes first observation of Sirius B (first known white dwarf star) in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts while testing his new telescope
1865 – In America, General Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate armies.
1865 – The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It was ratified by the necessary number of states on December 6, 1865. The amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
1871 – Millions of birds fly over western San Francisco, darkening the sky
1876 – All Native American Indians were ordered to move into reservations.
1893 – The trademark “Coca-Cola” was first registered in the United States Patent Office.
1900 – The final report of the USA’s Philippine Commission is released, favouring territorial government for the islands with home rule in local affairs, but with US assumptions of ultimate responsibility for the government.
1915 – 1st (German) poison gas attack, against Russians
1917 – Germany announced its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
1917 – Mexican President Carranza announces a new constitution with many liberal elements; most of which his regime will not implement
1929 – The USSR exiled Leon Trotsky. He found asylum in Mexico.
1932 – US railway unions accept 10% wage reduction
1934 – FDR devalues US dollar in relation to gold at $35 per ounce
1936 – The radio show “The Green Hornet” debuted.
1940 – The first Social Security check was issued by the U.S. Government.
1943 – Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad
1944 – During World War II, U.S. forces invaded Kwajalein Atoll and other areas of the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
1945 – Private Eddie Slovik became the only U.S. soldier since the U.S. Civil War to be executed for desertion.
1946 – A new constitution in Yugoslavia created six constituent republics (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia) subordinated to a central authority, on the model of the USSR.
1950 – U.S. President Truman announced that he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.
1953 – New York, Cleveland, & Boston retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues
1958 – Explorer I was put into orbit around the earth. It was the first U.S. earth satellite.
1961 – Ham the Chimp travels into outer space, The chimpanzee survived the US Mercury Program test flight with just a bruised nose.
1964 – A rigged constitutional referendum in Ghana sees 99.91% vote in favor, turning the country into a one-party state and making Kwame Nkrumah president for life
1971 – Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.
1971 – Telephone service between East and West Berlin was re-established after 19 years.
1978 – Israel turns 3 milt outposts in West Bank into civilian settlements
1980 – Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41
1983 – In an effort to reduce driving deaths, a new law in UK requires drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seatbelts
1983 – JCPenney announced plans to spend in excess of $1 billion over the next five years to modernize stores and to accelerate a repositioning program.
1985 – The final Jeep rolled off the assembly line at the AMC plant in Toledo, OH.
1987 – United Steel workers union ratified a concessionary with USX Corp
1988 – Barge sinks near Anacortes, WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil
1990 – McDonald’s Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow, Russia.
1995 – U.S. President Clinton invoked presidential emergency authority to provide a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
1996 – In Columbo, Sri Lanka, a truck was rammed into the gates of the Central Bank. The truck filled with explosives killed at least 86 and injured 1,400.
2000 – Family GP Dr Harold Shipman is jailed for life for murdering 15 of his patients, making him Britain’s most prolific convicted serial killer
2000 – John Rocker (Atlanta Braves) was suspended from major league baseball for disparaging foreigners, homosexuals and minorities in an interview published by Sports Illustrated.
2001 – A Scottish court in the Netherlands convicted one Libyan and acquitted a second in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that occurred in 1988.
2006 – US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor retires and is replaced by Samuel Alito
2007 – Suspects are arrested in Birmingham in the UK, accused of plotting the kidnap, holding and eventual beheading of a serving Muslim British soldier in Iraq
2009 – In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
2011 – Myanmar’s first elected parliament in half a century convenes
2017 – Romanian government passes emergency decree to release prisoners and decriminalise corruption charges, triggering huge protests in Bucharest
2017 – US President Donald Trump announces he is nominating 49 year old Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court
2018 – Trump administration formally suspends the Clean Water Act
2019 – Catholic leaders in Texas name 286 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children, dating back to 1940
2019 – Colonization of the America’s in the late 1500s killed so many people it cooled the planet and led to a “Little Ice Age”, according to a scientific report published in “Quaternary Science Reviews”
2020 – United Kingdom formally withdraws from the European Union (Brexit)
2021 – Widespread protests in Russia against detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the government with 5,000 people arrested
2022 – British government report finds “a failure of leadership” led to parties taking place in Downing Street when UK under strict lockdown, amid a police investigation
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
