Vintage News · Odd history for December 14

What Happened On December 14

Q: What happened on December 14?

1948: American physicists Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann were awarded a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the first interactive electronic game. 1782: The Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2.5 km (1.6 mi). 1960: Australian cricketer Ian Meckiff was run out on the last day of the first Test match between Australia and the West Indies, resulting in the first tied Test in cricket history. 1948: Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game. 1992: War in Abkhazia: A helicopter carrying evacuees was shot down during the siege of Tkvarcheli, resulting in at least 52 deaths and catalysing more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia. 1972: Upon completing the third extra-vehicular activity of Apollo 17, American astronaut Gene Cernan became the last person to date to walk on the Moon. 1925: Wozzeck (poster pictured) by composer Alban Berg, described as the first atonal opera, premiered at the Berlin State Opera. 1913: Haruna (pictured), the fourth and last Japanese battlecruiser of the Kongō class, was launched and went on to serve in both world wars. 1911: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole. 2020: A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

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10 odd things that happened on December 14

1948 First ever
American physicists Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann were awarded a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the first interactive electronic game.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1782 First ever
The Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2.5 km (1.6 mi).
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1960 First ever
Australian cricketer Ian Meckiff was run out on the last day of the first Test match between Australia and the West Indies, resulting in the first tied Test in cricket history.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1948 Oddly true
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1992 Oddly true
War in Abkhazia: A helicopter carrying evacuees was shot down during the siege of Tkvarcheli, resulting in at least 52 deaths and catalysing more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1972 Oddly true
Upon completing the third extra-vehicular activity of Apollo 17, American astronaut Gene Cernan became the last person to date to walk on the Moon.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1925 First ever
Wozzeck (poster pictured) by composer Alban Berg, described as the first atonal opera, premiered at the Berlin State Opera.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1913 Oddly true
Haruna (pictured), the fourth and last Japanese battlecruiser of the Kongō class, was launched and went on to serve in both world wars.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1911 First ever
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2020 Oddly true
A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2025At least 16 people are killed, including one gunman, and 43 injured in a mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in the deadliest terror incident in Australia. Wikipedia →
2020A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean. Wikipedia →
2017The Walt Disney Company announces that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion. Wikipedia →
2013A reported coup attempt in South Sudan leads to continued fighting and hundreds of casualties. Wikipedia →
2012Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Wikipedia →
2004The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France. Wikipedia →
2003Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. Wikipedia →
1999Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure. Wikipedia →
1998Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav Army ambushes a group of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 36. Wikipedia →
1995Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the same day, NATO began ground peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Wikipedia →
1994Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river. Wikipedia →
1992War in Abkhazia: Siege of Tkvarcheli: A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia. Wikipedia →
1986Qasba Aligarh massacre: Over 400 Muhajirs killed in revenge killings in Qasba colony after a raid on Pashtun heroin processing and distribution center in Sohrab Goth by the security forces. Wikipedia →
1985Wilma Mankiller takes office as the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Wikipedia →
1981Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights. Wikipedia →
1972Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the most recent person to walk on the Moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission. Wikipedia →
1971Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. (The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.) Wikipedia →
1964American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Congress can use the Constitution's Commerce Clause to fight discrimination. Wikipedia →
1963The dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles, California. Wikipedia →
1962NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus. Wikipedia →
1960Convention against Discrimination in Education of UNESCO is adopted. Wikipedia →
1958The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility. Wikipedia →
1955Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations through United Nations Security Council Resolution 109. Wikipedia →
1948Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game. Wikipedia →
1942An Aeroflot Tupolev ANT-20 crashes near Tashkent, killing all 36 people on board. Wikipedia →
1940Plutonium (specifically Pu-238) is first isolated at Berkeley, California. Wikipedia →
1939Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland. Wikipedia →
1925Wozzeck, Alban Berg's first opera, is premiered at the Berlin State Opera conducted by Erich Kleiber. Wikipedia →
1918Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King of Finland, renounces the throne. Wikipedia →
1918Portuguese President Sidónio Pais is assassinated. Wikipedia →
1918The 1918 United Kingdom general election occurs, the first where women were permitted to vote. In Ireland the Irish republican political party Sinn Féin wins a landslide victory with nearly 47% of the popular vote. Wikipedia →
1918Giacomo Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi premieres at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Wikipedia →
1914Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Wikipedia →
1913Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II. Wikipedia →
1911Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole. Wikipedia →
1909New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory. Wikipedia →
1907The Thomas W. Lawson, the largest ever ship without a heat engine, runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die. Wikipedia →
1903The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Wikipedia →
1902The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu. Wikipedia →
1900Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law (quantum theory) at the Physic Society in Berlin. Wikipedia →
1896The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company. Wikipedia →
1863American Civil War: The Confederate victory under General James Longstreet at the Battle of Bean's Station in East Tennessee ends the Knoxville Campaign, but achieves very little as Longstreet returns to Virginia next spring. Wikipedia →
1836The Toledo War unofficially ends as the "Frostbitten Convention" votes to accept Congress' terms for admitting Michigan as a U.S. state. Wikipedia →
1819Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state. Wikipedia →
1814War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana. Wikipedia →
1812The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia. Wikipedia →
1782The Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2.5 km (1.6 mi). Wikipedia →
1780Founding Father Alexander Hamilton marries Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. Wikipedia →
1751The Theresian Military Academy is founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Wikipedia →
1542Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen of Scots at the age of one week on the death of her father, King James V. Wikipedia →
1287St. Lucia's flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people. Wikipedia →
872Pope John VIII is elected following the death of Hadrian II. Wikipedia →
835Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled. Wikipedia →
557Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake, which cracks the dome of Hagia Sophia. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2019The Guardian
British tourist fatally shot in robbery outside Buenos Aires hotel
Matthew Gibbard was killed and his stepson injured in Argentina after being targeted by robbers
Read on The Guardian →
2017The Guardian
The Fall: Singles 1978-2016 review – from angular post-punk oddities to alt national treasures

Read on The Guardian →
1984The New York Times
WHEN LOSING ISN'T BAD
Not all rewards come from winning. In fact, the Buffalo Bills are confronted by a situation in which they would be re…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.