December 1

December 1 is the Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "{"th day of the year Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "{" in the Gregorian calendar. There are Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "{" days remainingExpression error: unrecognised punctuation character "{".

Events

• 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican.
• 1167 - The Lombard League is formed in northern Italy.
• 1420 - Henry V of England enters Paris.
• 1640 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king.
• 1768 - The slave ship Fredensborg sinks off Tromøy in Norway.
• 1821 - The first constitution of Costa Rica is issued.
• 1822 - Peter I is crowned as Emperor of Brazil.
• 1824 - U.S. presidential election, 1824: Since no candidate received a majority of the total electoral college votes in the election, the United States House of Representatives is given the task to decide the winner (as stipulated by the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution).
• 1835 - Hans Christian Andersen publishes first book of fairy tales
• 1860 - Charles Dickens publishes the first installment of Great Expectations in his magazine All the Year Round.
• 1864 - In his State of the Union Address President Abraham Lincoln reaffirms the necessity of ending slavery as ordered ten weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation.
• 1867 - Johannes Brahms presents his Ein deutsches Requiem in Austria.
• 1884 - American Old West - Near Frisco, New Mexico, deputy sheriff Elfego Baca holds off a gang of 80 Texan cowboys who want to kill him for arresting Charles McCarthy.
• 1913 - Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line.
• 1913 - Crete, having obtained self rule from Turkey after the first Balkan war, is annexed by Greece.
• 1918 - Iceland becomes a sovereign state, yet remains a part of the Danish kingdom.
• 1918 - Transylvania unites with Romania, following the incorporation of Bessarabia (March 27) and Bukovina (November 28).
• 1918 - The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is proclaimed.
• 1919 - Lady Astor becomes first female member of the British Parliament to take her seat (she had been elected to that position on November 28). National Council of Romanians in Banat voted union with the Kingdom of Romania. National Council of Romanians in Transylvania voted union with the Kingdom of Romania.
• 1925 - World War I aftermath: - The final Locarno Treaty is signed in London, establishing post-war territorial settlements.
• 1934 - In the Soviet Union, Politburo member Sergei Kirov is shot dead at the Communist Party headquarters in Leningrad by Leonid Nikolayev.
• 1941 - World War II: Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, signed Administrative Order 9 creating the Civil Air Patrol.
• 1952 - The New York Daily News reports the first successful sexual reassignment operation.
• 1955 - American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• 1958 - Central African Republic becomes independent from France.
• 1958 - Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago, Illinois kills 92 children and three nuns.
• 1959 - Cold War: Antarctic Treaty signed , which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on that continent.
• 1961 - The independent Republic of West Papua is proclaimed in modern-day Western New Guinea.
• 1963 - Nagaland becomes the 16th state of India.
• 1964 - Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers meet to discuss plans to bomb North Vietnam.
• 1965 - The Border Security Force is formed in India as a special force to guard the borders.
• 1969 - Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II.
• 1971 - Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray.
• 1971 - Indian Army occupies part of Kashmir.
• 1973 - Papua New Guinea gains self government from Australia.
• 1974 - TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashes northwest of Dulles International Airport killing all 92 people on-board.
• 1981 - A Yugoslavian Inex Adria Aviopromet DC-9 crashes in Corsica killing 178.
• 1982 - At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
• 1982 - Michael Jackson releases his second solo album Thriller, which became the biggest selling album of all time.
• 1987 - NASA announces the names of four companies who were awarded contracts to help build Space Station Freedom.
• 1988 - Benazir Bhutto is appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• 1989 - Right-wing military rebel Reform the Armed forces Movement (RAM) attempt to oust Philippine President Corazon Aquino by a bloody coup attempt.
• 1989 - Cold War: East Germany's parliament abolishes the constitutional provision granting the communist party the leading role in the state.
• 1990 - Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 meters beneath the seabed.
• 1991 - Cold War: Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1997 – Heath High School shooting: Michael Carneal opens fire on a group of his fellow students at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, killing three and wounding five.
• 1998 - Exxon announces a US$73.7 billion deal to buy Mobil, thus creating Exxon-Mobil, the largest company on the planet.
• 2001 - Trans World Airlines flies its last flight, after being bought by American Airlines.

Births

• 1081 - Louis VI of France (d. 1137)
• 1083 - Anna Comnena, Byzantine historian (d. 1153)
• 1521 - Takeda Shingen, Japanese warlord (d. 1573)
• 1525 - Tadeáš Hájek, Czech physician and astronomer (d. 1600)
• 1580 - Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer (d. 1637)
• 1690 - Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor of England (d. 1764)
• 1716 - Etienne-Maurice Falconet, French sculptor (d. 1791)
• 1743 - Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist (d. 1817)
• 1761 - Marie Tussaud, French creator of wax sculptures (Madame Tussauds) (d. 1850)
• 1766 - Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, Russian writer (d. 1826)
• 1792 - Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1856)
• 1844 - Alexandra of Denmark, Danish Queen Consort of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (d. 1925)
• 1869 - Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish assassin of Gabriel Narutowicz (d. 1923)
• 1873 - Valery Bryusov, Russian poet (d. 1924)
• 1884 - Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German painter (d. 1976)
• 1886 - Rex Stout, American author (d. 1975)
• 1895 - Henry Williamson, English author (d. 1977)
• 1896 - Georgy Zhukov, Russian general & Marshal of the Soviet Union (d. 1974)
• 1901 - Ilona Feher, Hungarian-Jewish violinist (d. 1988)
• 1905 - Alexander Wilson, Canadian and Notre Dame athlete (d. 1994)
• 1908 - Georgios Kasassoglou, Greek musician (d. 1984)
• 1910 - Alicia Markova, English ballerina (d. 2004)
• 1911 - Walter Alston, American baseball manager (d. 1984)
• 1911 - Calvin Griffith, Canadian-born baseball executive (d. 1999)
• 1912 - Minoru Yamasaki, American architect (d. 1986)
• 1913 - Mary Martin, American actor and singer (d. 1990)
• 1917 - Marty Marion, American baseball player and manager
• 1922 - Vsevolod Bobrov, Soviet ice hockey player (d. 1979)
• 1922 - Paul Picerni, American actor
• 1923 - Stansfield Turner, American admiral and CIA director
• 1923 - Morris, Belgian cartoonist (Lucky Luke) (d. 2001)
• 1925 - Martin Rodbell, American scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
• 1926 - Robert Symonds, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1930 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (d. 2002)
• 1931 - Jimmy Lyons, American musician (d. 1986)
• 1931 - Jim Nesbitt, singer
• 1932 - Matt Monro, English singer (d. 1985)
• 1933 - Fujiko F. Fujio, Japanese cartoon artist (d. 1996)
• 1934 - Billy Paul, American singer
• 1935 - Woody Allen, American film director, actor, and comedian
• 1935 - Lou Rawls, American singer (d. 2006)
• 1937 - Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (d. 2005)
• 1937 - Chuck Low, American actor
• 1938 - Sandy Nelson, American drummer
• 1939 - Lee Trevino, American golfer
• 1940 - Richard Pryor, American actor, comedian (d. 2005)
• 1942 - John Crowley, American author
• 1944 - Pierre Arditi, French film and stage actor
• 1944 - Eric Bloom, American musician (Blue Öyster Cult)
• 1944 - John Densmore, American drummer (The Doors)
• 1944 - Tahar Ben Jelloun, French writer of Moroccan origin
• 1944 - Daniel Pennac, French writer born in Morocco
• 1945 - Bette Midler, American actress
• 1946 - Gilbert O'Sullivan, Irish singer
• 1947 - Alain Bashung, French singer
• 1948 - George Foster, American baseball player
• 1948 - Tom Wright, English bishop and theologian
• 1949 - Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord (d. 1993)
• 1949 - Sebastián Piñera, Chilean businessman and presidential candidate
• 1950 - Keith Thibodeaux, American actor and drummer
• 1951 - Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (d. 1987)
• 1954 - Bob Goen, American television host
• 1955 - Mark Thompson, American disc jockey and actor
• 1955 - Veronica Forqué, Spanish actress
• 1958 - Javier Aguirre, Mexican footballer and coach
• 1959 - Billy Childish, English painter, writer and musician
• 1959 - Wally Lewis, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1960 - Carol Alt, American supermodel
• 1961 - Jeremy Northam, English actor
• 1961 - Armin Meiwes, German cannibal
• 1962 - Sylvie Daigle, Canadian speed skater
• 1962 - Joe Quesada, American comic book writer and artist, and editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics
• 1963 - Marco Greco, Brazilian racing driver
• 1963 - Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1966 - Katherine LaNasa, American actress
• 1966 - Larry Walker, Canadian baseball player
• 1967 - Nestor Carbonell, American actor
• 1970 - Jouko Ahola, Finnish strongman
• 1970 - Kirk Rueter, American baseball player
• 1970 - Sarah Silverman, American actress and comedian
• 1971 - Emily Mortimer, English actress
• 1971 - Stephanie Finochio, American professional wrestler
• 1971 - Mika Pohjola, Finnish jazz pianist and composer
• 1971 - Dolgorsuren Serjbudee, Mongolian professional wrestler
• 1971 - Peter Van de Veire, Belgian radio-presenter
• 1972 - Norbert Wójtowicz, Polish historian and theologian
• 1973 - Kate Rusby, English folk singer
• 1974 - Costinha, Portuguese footballer
• 1974 - David Ludwig, American composer
• 1975 - Sophia Skou, Danish swimmer
• 1976 - Matthew Shepard, American murder victim (d. 1998)
• 1977 - Brad Delson, American guitarist (Linkin Park)
• 1977 - Jared Fogle, American Subway spokesperson
• 1980 - Mohammad Kaif, Indian cricketer
• 1982 - Lloyd Doyley, English footballer
• 2001 - Aiko, Princess Toshi of Japan

Deaths

• 1135 - Henry I of England
• 1241 - Isabella of England, wife of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1214)
• 1377 - King Magnus II of Sweden (b. 1316)
• 1433 - Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan (b. 1377)
• 1455 - Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian artist and metal smith (b. 1378)
• 1521 - Pope Leo X (b. 1475)
• 1530 - Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands (b. 1480)
• 1580 - Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (b. 1509)
• 1581 - Edmund Campion, English Jesuit (martyred) (b. 1540)
• 1581 - Ralph Sherwin, English Catholic saint (b. 1550)
• 1581 - Alexander Briant, English saint (b. around 1556)
• 1602 - Kobayakawa Hideaki, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1582)
• 1633 - Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (b. 1566)
• 1660 - Pierre d'Hozier, French historian (b. 1592)
• 1707 - Jeremiah Clarke, English composer (b. 1674)
• 1709 - Abraham a Sancta Clara, Austrian preacher (b. 1644)
• 1723 - Susanna Centlivre, English dramatist and actress
• 1729 - Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer (b. 1665)
• 1750 - Johan Gabriel Doppelmayr, German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (b. 1671)
• 1755 - Maurice Greene, English composer (b. 1696)
• 1767 - Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, British Freemason (b. 1710)
• 1825 - Tsar Alexander I of Russia (b. 1777)
• 1830 - Pope Pius VIII (b. 1761)
• 1865 - Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss poet (b. 1796)
• 1866 - George Everest, Welsh surveyor and namesake of Mt. Everest (d. 1790)
• 1923 - Virginie Loveling, Belgian writer and poet (b. 1836)
• 1928 - José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian writer (b. 1888)
• 1934 - Sergei Kirov, Russian revolutionary (b. 1886)
• 1943 - Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai prince and historian (b. 1862)
• 1947 - Aleister Crowley, English occultist (b. 1875)
• 1947 - G. H. Hardy, English mathematician (b. 1877)
• 1950 - E. J. Moeran, English composer (b. 1894)
• 1954 - Fred Rose, American songwriter and music publishing executive (b. 1897)
• 1964 - J. B. S. Haldane, Scottish geneticist (b. 1892)
• 1968 - Nicolae Bretan, Romanian opera singer (baryton) and composer born in Transylvania (b. 1887)
• 1968 - Dario Moreno, Turkish-Jewish singer (b. 1921)
• 1969 - Magic Sam, American blues guitarist and singer (b. 1937)
• 1973 - David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1886)
• 1975 - Nellie Fox, American baseball player (b. 1927)
• 1975 - Anna E. Roosevelt, American radio personality (b. 1906)
• 1986 - Lee Dorsey, American R&B singer (b. 1924)
• 1987 - James Baldwin, American writer (b. 1924)
• 1987 - Punch Imlach, Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager (b. 1918)
• 1989 - Alvin Ailey, American dancer, choreographer (b. 1931)
• 1991 - George Joseph Stigler, American economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (b. 1911)
• 1996 - Peter Bronfman, Canadian businessman (b. 1928)
• 1997 - Stéphane Grappelli, French jazz violinist (b. 1908)
• 1997 - Michel Bélanger, French Canadian businessman and banker (b. 1929)
• 1998 - Freddie Young, British cinematographer (b. 1902)
• 2001 - George Harrison, musician (The Beatles, Traveling Wilburys, et. al.) (b. 1943)
• 2002 - Dave McNally, American baseball player (b. 1942)
• 2003 - Clark Kerr, first Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley (b. 1911)
• 2004 - Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (b. 1911)
• 2006 - Claude Jade, French actress (b. 1948)
• 2006 - Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist (McGill University) (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• World AIDS Day
• Portugal - Restoration of Independence Day
• Costa Rica - Military Abolition Day
• Ancient Latvia - Barbes Diena observed
• Feast day of St Eligius
• Romania - The National Day of Romania, Union of Transylvania with Romania
• Angola's Pioneers' Day
• Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia
• Australia - First day of Summer

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada