December in History

December 5, 1933
After the repeal of Prohibition on 5 December 1933, President Franklin D Roosevelt was heard to remark, " I think now would be a good time for a beer." Amen to that.

December 6, 1877
Thomas Alva Edison recited Mary Had A Little Lamb into his phonograph - and made the world's first recording of the human voice.

December 7, 1787
Delaware became the first of the United States.

December 7, 1941
A day that will live in infamy.

December 8, 1980
John Lennon was shot dead in New York by Mark David Chapman. He was 40.

December 8, 1991
Leaders of the three republics - Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine - formed a "commonwealth of independent states" and pronounced the Soviet Union dead.

December 15, 1791
The Bill of Rights' ten amendments became part of the US Constitution.

December 16, 1773
The Boston Tea Party took place at Griffin's Wharf in Boston harbor.

December 18, 1865
The USA officially abolished slavery with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.

December 20, 1802
The United States purchased the Louisiana territory from France.

December 21, 1620
The Pilgrim Fathers (and Mothers), aboard the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.

December 24, 1814
The War of 1812 between the USA and Britain was brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.
The news did not reach the United States until two weeks later (after Jackson's decisive American victory at New Orleans).

December 27, 1703
The Methuen Treaty was signed between Portugal and England, giving preference to the import of Portuguese wines into England, and solidifying the place of the fortified wine, port, as a tipple worthy of English gentlemen.

December 30, 1803
The US took possession of the Louisiana area from France at New Orleans with a simple ceremony, the simultaneous lowering and raising of the national flags