What Happened in December?

The Intifada begins in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip twenty years after Israeli conquered the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem.  Expand +

Benazir Bhutto becomes the first female leader of a Muslim nation in modern history. She served two terms as prime minister of Pakistan, in 1988–90 and 1993–96.  Expand +

The Armenian earthquake. A 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia kills an estimated 60,000 people and leaves 130,000 injured. and up to 500,000 homeless. More

Pan Am Flight 103 is destroyed by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland. The Boeing 747, took off from London, bound for New York City. As it was climbing on its northerly flight path, it exploded over the town of Lockerbie , Scotland. All 259 passengers and crewmembers were killed plus 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie. More

The Cold War officially ends with a summit meeting between U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.1991 CE, December 26 - The dissolution of the Soviet Union is officially declared, ending the existence of the USSR.

A terrorist bomb mailed to his home, kills Federal Judge Robert Vance in Alabama. Two days later a second bomb killed civil rights Attorney Robert Robertson in Georgia. Two other bombs were discovered before they exploded. A massive investigation ensued involving the FBI and several other law enforcement agencies. In June 1991, a federal jury convicted Walter LeRoy Moody, Jr. on charges related to the bombings. He was executed in 2018. More Expand +

The United States invades Panama under orders from President George H. W. Bush. The primary purpose of the invasion was to depose the de facto ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega who had longstanding ties to United States intelligence agencies but the relations had deteriorated.  Expand +

Nicolae Ceaușescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and president of Romania was ousted on December 22, 1989, during the Romanian Revolution.  Expand +

The Brandenburg Gate in Germany, was reopened on December 22, 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, The gate had been closed for 28 years after the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.  Expand +

The Chunnel Breakthrough made history on December 1, 1990 when British miner Graham Fagg and his French counterpart Philippe Cozette0 when broke through the last piece of rock separating the French and British side of the Chunnel. Expand +

Lech Walesa, founder of the Solidarity movement and Polish anti-communist leader is elected Poland's first democratically elected President on December 9, 1990. He won a landslide victory in the first free presidential election in Poland marking a key moment in Eastern Europe's shift from communism.  Expand +

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is officially established on December 8, 1991, when leaders from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine signed the Belovezha Accords in Belarus, declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and forming the CIS in its place.  Expand +

The Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR approved the Law of the RSFSR "On renaming of the state of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic", which took effect immediately. The new name of the state was the Russian Federation (Russia) Effective dissolving the USSR. The Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin and then replaced by the tricolor Russian Federation flag. More

The first text message is sent from a computer by Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old software programmer from the UK working for Vodaphone to his colleague Richard Jarvis. The message was “Merry Christmas.” Expand +

U.S. President George H.W. Bush, orders about 25.000 U.S. troops to Somalia as part of an agreement with the UN to protect aid workers. The military operation encounter difficulties from the start due to the absence of a national Somali leadership and the daily fighting in the streets of the capital city of Mogadishu.  Expand +

The Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India, is demolished by Hindu nationalists, leading to communal violence.

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is killed in a shootout with authorities.

Russian troops enter Chechnya on December 11,1994 (First Chechen War) to restore Russian rule after Chechnya declared independence following the Soviet collapse. It was a devastating operation, particularly the siege of Grozny with massive civilian casualties.   Russian control was regained but the insurgency continued. 

The Dayton Agreement is signed, ending the Bosnian War with the goal of achieving peace in the Balkans.

The NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) is deployed to Bosnia to insure compliance to the Dayton Agreement as NATO assumes peacekeeping duties. More