Vintage News · Odd history for December 2

What Happened On December 2

Q: What happened on December 2?

1244: Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon. 1899: Philippine–American War: A 60-man Filipino rearguard was defeated at the Battle of Tirad Pass, but delayed the American advance long enough to ensure President Emilio Aguinaldo's escape. 1867: At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States. 1804: At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French. 1766: Swedish parliament approves the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implements it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech. 1763: Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States. 1697: St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London, is consecrated. 2001: Less than two months after disclosing accounting violations, the Texas-based energy firm Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, evaporating nearly $11 billion in shareholder wealth. 1988: Benazir Bhutto (pictured) took office as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state. 1962: Returning from a fact-finding mission, U.S. senator Mike Mansfield became the first American official to comment adversely on the progress of the Vietnam War.

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10 odd things that happened on December 2

1244 First ever
Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1899 Oddly true
Philippine–American War: A 60-man Filipino rearguard was defeated at the Battle of Tirad Pass, but delayed the American advance long enough to ensure President Emilio Aguinaldo's escape.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1867 First ever
At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1804 Oddly true
At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1766 First ever
Swedish parliament approves the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implements it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1763 First ever
Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1697 Oddly true
St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London, is consecrated.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2001 Oddly true
Less than two months after disclosing accounting violations, the Texas-based energy firm Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, evaporating nearly $11 billion in shareholder wealth.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1988 First ever
Benazir Bhutto (pictured) took office as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1962 First ever
Returning from a fact-finding mission, U.S. senator Mike Mansfield became the first American official to comment adversely on the progress of the Vietnam War.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2020Cannabis is removed from the list of most dangerous drugs of the international drug control treaty by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Wikipedia →
2016Thirty-six people die in a fire at a converted Oakland, California, warehouse serving as an artist collective. Wikipedia →
2015San Bernardino attack: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik kill 14 people and wound 22 at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. Wikipedia →
2001Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Wikipedia →
1999The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive following the Good Friday Agreement. Wikipedia →
1993Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed by police in Medellín. Wikipedia →
1993Space Shuttle program: STS-61: NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Wikipedia →
1992Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-53 for the United States Department of Defense. Wikipedia →
1991Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union. Wikipedia →
1990Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-35, carrying the ASTRO-1 spacelab observatory. Wikipedia →
1989The Peace Agreement of Hat Yai is signed and ratified by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand, ending the over two-decade-long communist insurgency in Malaysia. Wikipedia →
1988Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state. Wikipedia →
1988Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-27, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense. Wikipedia →
1982At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. Wikipedia →
1980Salvadoran Civil War: Four American missionaries are raped and murdered by a death squad. Wikipedia →
1977A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Benghazi, Libya, killing 59. Wikipedia →
1976Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado. Wikipedia →
1975Laotian Civil War: The Pathet Lao seizes the Laotian capital of Vientiane, forces the abdication of King Sisavang Vatthana, and proclaims the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Wikipedia →
1972Gough Whitlam is elected the 21st Prime Minister of Australia in the 1972 Australian federal election, defeating William McMahon and leading the Australian Labor Party back into office after 23 years in Opposition. Wikipedia →
1971Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates. Wikipedia →
1970The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations. Wikipedia →
1968Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 crashes into Pedro Bay, Alaska, killing all 39 people on board. Wikipedia →
1962Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to comment adversely on the war's progress. Wikipedia →
1961In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba will adopt Communism. Wikipedia →
1957United Nations Security Council Resolution 126 relating to the Kashmir conflict is adopted. Wikipedia →
1956The Granma reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente Province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution. Wikipedia →
1954Cold War: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to censure Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute". Wikipedia →
1954The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Taiwan, is signed in Washington, D.C. Wikipedia →
1950Korean War: The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ends with a decisive Chinese victory and UN forces are completely expelled from North Korea. Wikipedia →
1949Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others is adopted. Wikipedia →
1947Jerusalem Riots of 1947: Arabs riot in Jerusalem in response to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. Wikipedia →
1943World War II: A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo and transport ships, including the American SS John Harvey, which is carrying a stockpile of mustard gas. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. Wikipedia →
1939New York City's LaGuardia Airport opens. Wikipedia →
1930Great Depression: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a $150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy. Wikipedia →
1927Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile. Wikipedia →
1919Ukrainian War of Independence: Ukrainian Bolsheviks attempt to assassinate Nestor Makhno as part of the Polonsky conspiracy. Wikipedia →
1917World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk begin. Wikipedia →
1908Puyi becomes Emperor of China at the age of two. Wikipedia →
1899Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, known as the "Filipino Thermopylae", is fought. Wikipedia →
1867At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States. Wikipedia →
1865Alabama ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, followed by North Carolina, then Georgia; U.S. slaves were legally free within two weeks. Wikipedia →
1859Origins of the American Civil War: Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). Wikipedia →
1852Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French as Napoleon III. Wikipedia →
1851French President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic. Wikipedia →
1848Franz Joseph I becomes Emperor of Austria. Wikipedia →
1845Manifest Destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West. Wikipedia →
1823Monroe Doctrine: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas. Wikipedia →
1805War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Austerlitz: French troops under Napoleon decisively defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force. Wikipedia →
1804At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French. Wikipedia →
1766Swedish parliament approves the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implements it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech. Wikipedia →
1763Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States. Wikipedia →
1697St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London, is consecrated. Wikipedia →
1409The University of Leipzig opens. Wikipedia →
1244Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon. Wikipedia →

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