Vintage News · Odd history for December 15

What Happened On December 15

Q: What happened on December 15?

687: Sergius was elected pope, ending the last disputed period of sede vacante during the Byzantine Papacy. 1871: Sixteen-year-old Ella Stewart sent the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory. 1796: War of the First Coalition: The French navy launched an expedition to Ireland to assist the Society of United Irishmen in a rebellion against the British. 1791: The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified. 1871: Sixteen-year-old telegraphist Ella Stewart keys and sends the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring. 1869: The short-lived Republic of Ezo is proclaimed in the Ezo area of Japan. It is the first attempt to establish a democracy in Japan. 1791: The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly. 1651: Castle Cornet in Guernsey, the last stronghold which had supported the King in the Third English Civil War, surrenders. 687: Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes Paschal and Theodore. 1970: The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 touched down on the surface of Venus, making the first successful landing of a spacecraft on another planet.

53 events and 171 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 15 December →

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10 odd things that happened on December 15

687 Oddly true
Sergius was elected pope, ending the last disputed period of sede vacante during the Byzantine Papacy.
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Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1871 First ever
Sixteen-year-old Ella Stewart sent the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1796 First ever
War of the First Coalition: The French navy launched an expedition to Ireland to assist the Society of United Irishmen in a rebellion against the British.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1791 First ever
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1871 First ever
Sixteen-year-old telegraphist Ella Stewart keys and sends the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1869 First ever
The short-lived Republic of Ezo is proclaimed in the Ezo area of Japan. It is the first attempt to establish a democracy in Japan.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1791 Oddly true
The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1651 Oddly true
Castle Cornet in Guernsey, the last stronghold which had supported the King in the Third English Civil War, surrenders.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
687 Oddly true
Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes Paschal and Theodore.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1970 First ever
The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 touched down on the surface of Venus, making the first successful landing of a spacecraft on another planet.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2017A 6.5Mwearthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Java in the city of Tasikmalaya, resulting in four deaths. Wikipedia →
2014Gunman Man Haron Monis takes 18 hostages inside a café in Martin Place for 16 hours in Sydney. Monis and two hostages are killed when police raid the café the following morning. Wikipedia →
2013The South Sudanese Civil War begins when opposition leaders Dr. Riek Machar, Pagan Amum and Rebecca Nyandeng vote to boycott the meeting of the National Liberation Council at Nyakuron. Wikipedia →
2010A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people. Wikipedia →
2005Introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor into USAF active service. Wikipedia →
2001The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to stabilize it, without fixing its famous lean. Wikipedia →
2000The third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down. Wikipedia →
1997Tajikistan Airlines Flight 3183 crashes in the desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, killing 85. Wikipedia →
1993The Troubles: The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. Wikipedia →
1989Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating the abolition of capital punishment is adopted. Wikipedia →
1981A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq's ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing. Wikipedia →
1978U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan). Wikipedia →
1973John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10. Wikipedia →
1973The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Wikipedia →
1970Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully lands on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet. Wikipedia →
1967The Silver Bridge collapses, killing 46 people. Wikipedia →
1965Project Gemini: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7. Wikipedia →
1961Eichmann trial: Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty by an Israeli court of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and membership of an outlawed organization. Wikipedia →
1960Richard Pavlick is arrested for plotting to assassinate U.S. President-Elect John F. Kennedy. Wikipedia →
1960King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country's constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule. Wikipedia →
1945Occupation of Japan/Shinto Directive: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: a single-engine UC-64A Norseman aeroplane carrying United States Army Air Forces Major Glenn Miller is lost in a flight over the English Channel. Wikipedia →
1943World War II: The Battle of Arawe begins during the New Britain campaign. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal campaign. Wikipedia →
1941The Holocaust in Ukraine: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv. Wikipedia →
1939Gone with the Wind (highest inflation adjusted grossing film) receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Wikipedia →
1933Anarchist insurrection suppressed in Zaragoza, Spain. Wikipedia →
1917World War I: An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army. Wikipedia →
1914A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687. Wikipedia →
1906The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens. Wikipedia →
1905The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin. Wikipedia →
1903Italian American food cart vendor Italo Marchiony receives a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that makes ice cream cones. Wikipedia →
1899British Army forces are defeated at the Battle of Colenso in Natal, South Africa, the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. Wikipedia →
1893Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World" a.k.a. the "New World Symphony") by Antonín Dvořák premieres in a public afternoon rehearsal at Carnegie Hall in New York City, followed by a concert premiere on the evening of December 16. Wikipedia →
1890Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre. Wikipedia →
1871Sixteen-year-old telegraphist Ella Stewart keys and sends the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring. Wikipedia →
1869The short-lived Republic of Ezo is proclaimed in the Ezo area of Japan. It is the first attempt to establish a democracy in Japan. Wikipedia →
1864American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville begins at Nashville, Tennessee, and ends the following day with the destruction of the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood as a fighting force by the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas. Wikipedia →
1862American Civil War: The Battle of Fredericksburg ends in a Union defeat as General Ambrose Burnside withdraws the Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock River. Wikipedia →
1836The U.S. Patent Office building in Washington, D.C., nearly burns to the ground, destroying all 9,957 patents issued by the federal government to that date, as well as 7,000 related patent models. Wikipedia →
1791The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly. Wikipedia →
1778American Revolutionary War: British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia. Wikipedia →
1651Castle Cornet in Guernsey, the last stronghold which had supported the King in the Third English Civil War, surrenders. Wikipedia →
1546The town of Ekenäs (Finnish: Tammisaari) is founded by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden. Wikipedia →
1467Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia. Wikipedia →
1270The Nizari Ismaili garrison of Gerdkuh, Persia surrender after 17 years to the Mongols. Wikipedia →
1256Mongol forces under Hulagu enter and dismantle the Nizari Ismaili (Assassin) stronghold at Alamut Castle (in present-day Iran) as part of their offensive on Islamic southwest Asia. Wikipedia →
1167Sicilian Chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion. Wikipedia →
1161Jin–Song wars: Military officers conspire against the emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin dynasty after a military defeat at the Battle of Caishi, and assassinate the emperor at his camp. Wikipedia →
1025Constantine VIII becomes sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor. Wikipedia →
687Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes Paschal and Theodore. Wikipedia →
533Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2016The Guardian
Inside the largest Earth science event: 'The time has never been more urgent'
With Trump set to have a ‘chilling effect’ on environmental policy, 20,000 Earth and space scientists met in Californ…
Read on The Guardian →
2014The Guardian
Australian music in 2014: the year its pop stars conquered the world
Iggy Azalea, Sia and 5 Seconds of Summer all had major chart success in US and UK this year – but were other releases…
Read on The Guardian →
1939The New York Times
THE EXPULSION OF RUSSIA
For the first time in its history the League of Nations has now expelled one of its members as no longer fit to be as…
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.