1799 George Washington dies on his Mount Vernon estate.
1819 Alabama is admitted as the 22nd state, making 11 slave states and 11 free states.
1861 Prince Albert of England, one of the Union’s strongest advocates, dies.
1863 Confederate General James Longstreet attacks Union troops at Bean’s Station, Tenn.
1900 Max Planck presents the quantum theory at the Physics Society in Berlin.
1906 The first U1 submarine is brought into service in Germany.
1908 The first truly representative Turkish Parliament opens.
1909 The Labor Conference in Pittsburgh ends with a “declaration of war” on U.S. Steel.
1911 Ronald Amundsen and four others discover the South Pole.
1920 The League of Nations creates a credit system to aid Europe.
1939 The League of Nations drops the Soviet Union from its membership.
1941 German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel orders the construction of defensive positions along the European coastline.
1946 The United Nations adopt a disarmament resolution prohibiting the A-Bomb.
1949 Bulgarian ex-Premier Traicho Kostov is sentenced to die for treason in Sofia.
1960 A U.S. Boeing B-52 bomber sets a 10,000-mile non-stop record without refueling.
1980 NATO warns the Soviets to stay out of the internal affairs of Poland, saying that intervention would effectively destroy the détente between the East and West.
1981 Israel’s Knesset passes the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights area.
1994 Construction begins on China’s Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.
1995 The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris establishing a general framework for ending the Bosnian War between Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1999 Tens of thousands die as a result of flash floods caused by torrential rains in Vargas, Venezuela.
2003 Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
2004 The Millau Viaduct, the world’s tallest bridge, official opens near Millau, France.
2008 Iraqi broadcast journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi throws his shoes at US President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad.
2012 At Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Conn., 20 children and six adults are shot to death by a 20-year-old gunman who then commits suicide.
Born on December 14
1503 Nostradamus [Michel de Nostredame], French astrologer and physician.
1546 Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer.
1585 Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France.
1795 John Bloomfield Jarvis, civil engineer.
1822 John Christie, English patron of music.
1866 Roger Fry, English art critic.
1896 James H. Doolittle, American Air Force general who commanded the first bombing mission over Japan.
1916 Shirley Jackson, novelist and short story writer (Life Among Savages, The Lottery).
1917 June Taylor, choreographer, founder of the June Taylor Dancers featured on Jackie Gleason’s TV programs.
1918 James Thomas Aubrey Jr., TV and film executive; president of CBS television (1959–1965).
1922 Don Hewitt, TV producer; creator of 60 Minutes.
1922 Junior J. Spurrier, received Medal of Honor for his actions in capturing Achain, France.
1925 Sam Jones (“Sad Sam” “Toothpick” Jones), pro baseball player; first African-American pitcher to throw a no-hitter in integrated baseball game.
1932 Charlie Rich, crossover country singer, musician (“Behind Closed Doors”).
1935 Lee Remick, actress (Days of Wine and Roses, The Omen).
1939 Ernie Davis, first African American to win Heisman Trophy (Syracuse University); subject of The Express movie (2008).
1943 Emmett Tyrell, journalist, author, publisher; founded The American Spectator magazine.
1946 Patty Duke, actress, singer; won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker; president of Screen Actors Guild (1985-88).
1955 Spider Stacy (Peter Stacy), singer, songwriter, musician with The Pogues band.
1966 Anthony Mason, pro basketball player.
1972 Miranda Hart, comedian, actress, writer (Miranda Hart’s Joke Shop on BBC Radio 2 and its spinoff BBC sitcom TV series Miranda).