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What happened in history on this day: December 15?
On December 15 in ...
- 1791 - First US law school established at University of Pennsylvania.
- 1791 - US Bill of Rights (first 10 Amendments to Constitution) is ratified as Virginia gives its approval.
- 1792 - First life insurance policy issued in US (Philadelphia).
- 1795 - US Senate confirms Elias Boudinot as US Mint director.
- 1810 - First Irish magazine in US, The Shamrock, is published.
- 1826 - William Browser, revolting slave, is executed in New York City, New York.
- 1836 - Patent Office burns in Washington DC.
- 1851 - US Senate passes legislation to establish a Branch Mint in San Francisco.
- 1854 - First street-cleaning machine in US first used in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1863 - Skirmish at Bean's Station, Tennessee (Knoxville Campaign).
- 1864 - Battle of Nashville, Tennessee.
- 1864 - Raid on Stoneman: Abingdon and Glade Springs, Virginia.
- 1872 - Near Lake Chelan, Washington, USA, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurs.
- 1874 - First reigning king to visit US (of Hawaii) is received by President Ulysses Grant.
- 1877 - Thomas Edison patents phonograph.
- 1890 - In South Dakota, Pine Ridge reservation police kill Sioux chief Sitting Bull Hunkpapa, while trying to arrest him.
- 1914 - American Radio Relay League (organization for ham radio operators) founded by Hiram Percy Maxim.
- 1918 - American Jewish Congress holds its first meeting.
- 1925 - First road with a depressed trough (Texas) opens to traffic.
- 1938 - Groundbreaking begins for Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC.
- 1939 - First commercial manufacture of nylon yarn, Seaford, Deleware.
- 1939 - World premiere of film Gone With the Wind in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1941 - USS Swordfish becomes first US submarine to sink a Japanese ship.
- 1942 - Massachusetts issues first US vehicular license plate tabs.
- 1944 - US Congress gives General Dwight Eisenhower his fifth star.
- 1944 - US troops lands on Mindoro.
- 1948 - Former state department official Alger Hiss indicted in New York City for perjury.
- 1950 - New York City's Port Authority opens.
- 1961 - Equal access rule in US, political parties get TV broadcasting time.
- 1964 - American Radio Relay League (organization for hams) founded.
- 1965 - Gemini 6 launched; will make first rendezvous in space (with Gemini 7).
- 1966 - At 9:30 AM in St. Joseph's Hospital, Walt Disney dies of acute circulatory collapse, caused by lung cancer, at age 65. He had won more than 950 honors and citations worldwide, including 31 Oscars and seven Emmys.
- 1967 - Silver Bay bridge (Ohio-West Virginia) collapses during afternoon rush hour, 34 die.
- 1973 - American Psychiatric Association declares homosexuality is not mental illness.
- 1973 - Pirates of the Caribbean ride opens at Disneyland, Anaheim, California.
- 1976 - Liberian oil tanker Argo Merchant runs aground off Massachusetts' Nantucket coast, spilling 28 million litres of crude oil, causing a 160km by 97km oil slick.
- 1978 - Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American city to go into default since the Great Depression, under Mayor Dennis Kucinich.
- 1979 - Deposed Shah of Iran leaves US for Panamá.
- 1979 - World Court in Hague rules Iran should release all US hostages.
- 1982 - Roy Williams, Teamsters' president, and four others convicted of bribery.
- 1983 - Last 80 US combat soldiers in Grenada withdraw.
- 1986 - US Central Intelligence Agency director William Casey suffers a cerebral seizure.
- 1986 - Carnegie Hall reopens after a US$50 million facelift.
- 1995 - Because of the "quadruple-witching" option expiration, volume on the New York Stock Exchange hits 638 million shares, the highest single-day volume since October 20, 1987.
- 2006 - Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter successfully flies for the first time.
- 2006 - US Treasury imposes a ban on melting 1-cent and 5-cent coins.
- 2011 - The United States formally declares an end to the Iraq War.
Births on December 15
- 1793 - Birth of Henry Charles Carey in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; economist (Principles of Poli Economy).
- 1881 - Birth of James Schneider in New York, USA; actor (Keystone Kops).
- 1892 - Birth of J Paul Getty in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; oil magnate (Getty Oil).
- 1918 - Birth of Ira Grossel AKA Jeff Chandler in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Broken Arrow, Away All Boats).
- 1922 - Birth of Alan Freed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA; disc jockey, likely coined the phrase "rock 'n' roll" largely responsible for the wide-scale acceptance of the music through his radio shows in Cleveland and New York.
- 1928 - Birth of Jimmy Nelson in Chicago, Illinois, USA; ventriloquist (Nestles, Farfel).
- 1933 - Birth of Jesse Belvin in Texarkana, Arkansas, USA; rock vocalist (Mr Easy).
- 1933 - Birth of Tim Conway in Willoughby, Ohio, USA; comic (McHale's Navy, Carol Burnett Show).
- 1937 - Birth of Karen Morrow in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actress (Aunt Minerva - Tabitha, Jim Nabors Hour).
- 1939 - Birth of Cindy Birdsong in Camden, New Jersey, USA; rock vocalist (Labelle - "Rainbow", Supremes).
- 1946 - Birth of Harry Ray in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA; rock vocalist (Ray, Goodman, Brown).
- 1949 - Birth of Don Johnson in Flatt Creek, Missouri, USA; actor (Miami Vice, The Harrad Experiment).
- 1954 - Birth of Felicity LaFortune in Oak Park, Illinois, USA; actress (Ryan's Hope).
- 1954 - Birth of Justin Ross in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Sinatra, Chorus Line, Fan, Quick Change).
- 1955 - Birth of Melanie Chartoff in West Haven, Connecticut, USA; actress (Fridays, Parker Lewis).
- 1959 - Birth of Heidi Bohay in Somerset, New Jersey, USA; actress (Megan - Hotel).
- 1960 - Birth of Don Franklin in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actor (Seaquest 2032, Noah Dixon - The Young Riders).
- 1960 - Birth of Doug Phelps in Leachville, Arkansas, USA; singer (Kentucky Headhunters - "Davy Crockett").
- 1963 - Birth of Helen Slater in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Supergirl, Billie Jean, Ruthless People).
- 1967 - Birth of Missouri Vaughn in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA; infielder (Boston Red Sox, Most Valuable Player-1995).
- 1969 - Birth of Sean Briscombe in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; diver (Olympics-1996).
- 1973 - Birth of Tammy Melinda Pearman in Brooklyn, New York; soccer forward/defender (Olympics-1996).
- 1977 - Birth of Larissa Fontaine in Chicago, Illinois; gymnast (alternate-Olympics-1996).
Deaths on December 15
- 1826 - William Browser, revolting slave, is executed in New York City, New York.
- 1890 - In South Dakota, Pine Ridge reservation police kill Sioux chief Sitting Bull Hunkpapa, while trying to arrest him.
- 1943 - Death of Thomas (Fats) Waller at age 39 of natural causes while travelling aboard the Santa Fe Express train in Kansas City, Missouri, USA; pianist and songwriter ("Honeysuckle Rose", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Blue Turning Grey Over You", "Hot Chocolate").
- 1944 - Death of bandleader/composer Glenn Miller ("Chattanooga Choo-Choo"), at age 40, in a plane crash between London and Paris.
- 1966 - At 9:30 AM in St. Joseph's Hospital, Walt Disney dies of acute circulatory collapse, caused by lung cancer, at age 65. He had won more than 950 honors and citations worldwide, including 31 Oscars and seven Emmys.
- 1978 - Death of Chill Wills at age 75, American actor (Frontier Circus, Rounders) (born 1902).
- 2007 - Death of Julia Carson, American politician (born 1938).
- 2009 - US television evangelist Oral Roberts dies in Newport Beach, California at age 91 from complications from pneumonia.
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