TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON DEC 12
1753 George Washington, the adjutant of Virginia, delivers an ultimatum to the French forces at Fort Le Boeuf, south of Lake Erie, reiterating Britain’s claim to the entire Ohio River valley.
1770 The British soldiers responsible for the “Boston Massacre” are acquitted on murder charges.
1787 Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1800 Washington DC established as capital of US
1870 Joseph Rainey took his seat as the first African American in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1899 George F Grant of Boston )first black graduate of Harvard College, and a dentist) patents the wooden golf tee
1917 Major Vivian Gilbert of the British army revealed the inside story of how Jerusalem fell during the First World War. He said that an army cook was out looking for eggs and was presented with the keys to the city by the mayor. The British won the Holy Land back from the Turks.
1925 The first Motel opens the Milestone Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California as the midpoint stop between Los Angeles to San Francisco and costing $1.25 per night per room
1931 Under pressure from the Communists in Canton, Chiang Kai-shek resigns as president of the Nanking Government but remains the head of the Nationalist government that holds nominal rule over most of China.
1946 UN accepts 6 Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr
1956 The United Nations calls for immediate Soviet withdrawal from Hungary.
1964 Kenya becomes a republic.
1966 US Supreme Courts votes 4-3 allowing Braves to move to Atlanta
1979 South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan, acting without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa, alleging that the chief of staff was involved in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.
1985 Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff at Gander, Newfoundland; among the 256 dead are 236 members of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
1988 PLO leader Yasser Arafat accepts Israel’s right to exist
1991 The Russian Federation becomes independent from the USSR.
1995 Amendment to make it illegal to physically desecrate the flag turned down by senate 63-36 (need 2/3 vote)
2000 The US Supreme Court announces its decision in Bush v. Gore, effectively ending legal changes to the results of that year’s Presidential election.
2011 Occupy Wall Street protesters along the US West coast blocked three ports in California, Oregon, and Washington, disrupting work in the ports.
2012 North Korea successfully launched the Unha-3 long-range rocket defying international warnings.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
