December 4
Black Panthers Fred Hampton, 21, and Mark Clark, 22, are gunned down by 14 police officers when asleep in their Chicago apartment. Approximately 100 bullets had been fired in what police described as a fierce gun battle with members of the Black Panther Party. However, ballistics experts later determined that only one of those bullets came from the Panthers. In addition, the so-called bullet holes in the front door of the apartment, which police pointed to as evidence that the Panthers had been shooting from within the apartment, actually were nail holes created by police in an attempt to cover up the attack. – 1969.
Islamic militants in Lebanon release kidnapped American journalist Terry Anderson after 2,454 days in captivity. – 1991.
December 5
A fire at the Brooklyn Theater in New York City kills nearly 300 individuals and injures hundreds more. Some victims perished from a combination of burns and smoke inhalation; others were trampled to death in the general panic that ensued. – 1876.
Unionists John T. McNamara and James B. McNamara were sentenced to 15 years and life, respectively, after confessing to dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building during a drive to unionize the metal trades in the city. Twenty died in the bombing. The newspaper was strongly conservative and anti-union. – 1911.
The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified to repeal the 18th Amendment and bring an end to the era of National prohibition of alcohol in The U.S.. – 1933.
December 6
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, officially ending the institution of slavery, is ratified: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” – 1865.
In Washington, D.C., workers place a nine-inch aluminum pyramid on top of a tower of white marble to complete the construction of an impressive monument to the city’s namesake and the Nation’s first president, George Washington. – 1884.
As many as 361 coal miners die at Monongah, W.V., in the Nation’s worst mining disaster. – 1907.
A Belgian steamer and French freighter, both loaded with ammunition, explode in Canada’s Halifax Harbor to level part of the town and kill nearly 1,600 persons and injure approximately 8,000. The eight million tons of TNT carried by the ships was intended for use in World War I. – 1917.
December 7
At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings, appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes follow and descends on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II. – 1941.
December 8
A fire at the Ring Theater in Vienna, Austria, kills between 620 and 850 individuals and injures hundreds more when a stagehand lighted a row of gas lights, but inadvertently ignited some prop clouds over the stage. The stage managers panicked and shut off the gas which turned off the lights in the theater and the situation dissolved into chaos. – 1881.
The Chicago Bears trounce the Washington Redskins in the National Football League championship game by a score of 73-0, the largest margin in NFL history. – 1940.
As America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, president Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war from the U.S. Congress against Japan. – 1941.
John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles, is shot and killed by an obsessed fan in New York City. – 1980.
President Bill Clinton signs The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA, a trade pact among the United States, Canada, and Mexico, eliminates virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions among the three nations. – 1993.
December 9
On this day, 1,800 United States Marines arrive in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead a multinational force aimed at restoring order in the conflict-ridden country. – 1992.
December 10
The first Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. – 1901.
International Human Rights Day, commemorating the signing at the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, in part: “Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.” – 1948.