Benjamin Franklin publishes his Poor Richard's Almanack, a periodical, containing affordable information, humor, ideas, advice and the proverbial wisdom, etc. for the populace. More
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What Happened in December?
Victories, births, and treaties. Explore the significant historical events and milestones that occurred in December. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The Encyclopedia Britannica is first published and advertised for sale in Edinburgh, Scotland on December 10, 1768. It is the oldest continuously published and revised work in the English language. More
"The Boston Tea Party" Defiant colonists dump crates of tea into Boston Harbor. This was the culmination of a series of events which led the thirteen American colonies closer to independence. More
General George Washington’s 2,400 strong army crosses the Delaware on the night of December 25-26, 1776, during a treacherous storm and surprises the garrison of Hessian mercenaries at Trenton (Battle of Trenton) capturing more than 1000 of them at a cost of four American lives.
The Trenton victory was followed by the major success at Princeton a week later on January 3, 1777 boosted the morale and the momentum of the American troops. More
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George Washington voluntarily relinquished his military commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783, after winning the Revolutionary War.
The historic ceremony before the Confederation Congress in Annapolis, Maryland established civilian control over the military.
Reportedly, King George III said that George Washington would be "the greatest man in the world" if he voluntarily gave up his power after winning the American Revolutionary War.
This remark was made to the American painter Benjamin West, the King's court painter, when West informed him that Washington intended to resign his military commission and return to his farm at Mount Vernon.
Delaware ratifies the Articles of Confederation becoming the first State.
Pennsylvania ratifies the Articles of Confederation becoming the second State of the Union.
New Jersey ratifies the Articles of Confederation becoming the third State.
The United States Congress relocates to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from New York City.
The Constitutional Act (or Canada Act) dividing Canada into Upper Canada and Lower Canada takes effect on December 26, 1791. The British Parliament had passed the Act in June 1791.
The Act divided the existing Province of Quebec into two separate colonies: Upper Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (now Quebec) to accommodate United Empire Loyalists and French-speaking inhabitants.
The Great New Orleans Fire of 1794, destroys 212 structures in the area now known as the French Quarter on December 8, 1794; from Burgundy to Chartres Street, adjacent to the Mississippi River.
Just 6 years before, in 1788, 856 buildings had been destroyed in the First Great New Orleans Fire. Both of these events led to strict Spanish building codes, promoting brick construction that shaped the Quarter's iconic look. More
The French revolutionary government declares the decimal-based metric system to be the official system of weights and measures on April 7, 1795. The system was developed by the Paris Academy of Sciences as part of the Revolution's move away from old royal traditions.
The metric system was based on natural constants (like the Earth's circumference for the meter) and decimal (base-10) multiples, simplifying calculations. It defined the meter (length), gram (mass), liter (volume), etc. Although officially decreed in 1795, public resistance and the complexity of its implementation slowed down its acceptance and implementation. It was made compulsory in 1840. The metric system went on to became the global standard, evolving into the International System of Units (SI).
The Dutch East India Company is dissolved by the Netherlands government. It had been originally established on March 20, 1602 but it had been severely affected by corruption, smuggling and increasing administrative costs. It was dissolved and nationalised.
The U.S. officially takes possession of the Louisiana Territory from France in two key ceremonies: first in New Orleans on December 20, 1803, for lower Louisiana, and then in St. Louis on March 10, 1804, for upper Louisiana. The Louisiana Purchase Treaty, doubled the size of the U.S., stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.
Napoleon and Joséphine were crowned Emperor and Empress of the French at Notre-Dame in Paris on December 2, 1804. More
Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French at a lavish ceremony in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. This act established the First French Empire and marked the culmination of his rise from a military general to the leader of France, a position he held from 1804 to 1814 and again briefly in 1815.
On December 22, 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven gave an extraordinary and unusually long public concert in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien. At this single event, he premiered four major works: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”), Piano Concerto No. 4, and Choral Fantasy.
That concert, which lasted nearly 4 hours, is remembered as one of the most ambitious single-evening premieres in classical music history.
Beethoven's portrait painted by Joseph Karl Stieler.
Painting of Theater an der Wien circa 1815.
An earthquake in the U.S Midwest, centered near New Madrid, Missouri, known as the first New Madrid earthquake (M 6,7-8.1), shakes the central United States on December 16, 1811. It was followed by a second large earthquakes on January 23, 1812 of M 7.5 and the third one on February 7, 1812 also of M 7.5. The earthquakes, caused massive ground fissures, landslides, and even reversed the flow of the Mississippi River.
The Treaty of Ghent is signed, on December 24 1814, officially ending the "War of 1812" between the United States and the United Kingdom. More
Indiana is admitted into the United States Union becoming the 19th State.