Mississippi is admitted into the United States Union becoming the 20th State.
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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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Illinois is admitted into the United States becoming the 21st State
Alabama is admitted into the United States Union becoming the 22nd State of the Union.
Moses Austin asks the Spanish government for approval to establish an American Colony in Texas. Approval was granted but Moses Austin died a short time later and the project was taken over by his son Stephen Austin who continued his fathers project and by 1830 there were over 15,000 American settlers. More
President James Monroe proclaims a new U.S. foreign policy initiative during his annual address to Congress. The U.S. policy, which has become known as the “Monroe Doctrine.” forbade European interference in the American hemisphere but also asserted U.S. neutrality in regard to future European conflicts. More
The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" often called "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" is first published on December 23, 1823.
It was first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel, a semi-weekly newspaper which served Rensselaer County, New York under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas", The poem is attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed authorship in 1837; but it has also been suggested that Henry Livingston Jr. wrote it.
British naturalist Charles Darwin sets out from Plymouth, England, aboard the HMS Beagle on a five-year voyage to the Pacific Ocean, including the Galapagos Island in South America and New Zealand. He was 22 years old.
Darwin's discoveries while visiting such diverse places gave him the basis to develop his theory of evolution which was published in 1859, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection." More
Spain finally accepts Mexico’s permanent independence with the Santa Maria-Calatrava Treaty on December 28, 1836. Spain had previously attempted to re-invade Mexico in 1829, leading to the Battle of Tampico where Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, defeated the Spanish and became a war hero.
Charles Dickens' classic novella "A Christmas Carol" is first published in London by Chapman & Hall and sold out by Christmas Eve.
It was first published in America in 1844 by Carey & Hart in Philadelphia. Charles Dickens' beloved ghost story. was inspired by Dickens' childhood and his desire to address social issues. It continues to be a robust seller more than 180 years later. More
Texas is admitted into the United States Union becoming the 28th State.
Iowa is admitted into the United States Union becoming the 29th State of the Union.
An accidental fire in the Library of Congress on Christmas Eve destroys approximately 35,000 volumes, including nearly two-thirds of Jefferson's library.
During the war of 1812, British troops set fire to government buildings in Washington, D.C. The Library’s 3,000 or so reference books, then housed in an unfinished U.S. Capitol, provided ready fuel for the fire. In 1815, after the war of 1812, Congress had purchased the 6,487-volume personal library of former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson to replace the lost collection. Most of which were lost in the 1825 fire.
President Abraham Lincoln announces a grant of amnesty for Emilie Todd Helm, his wife Mary Lincoln’s half sister, widow of a Confederate general.
The pardon was one of the first given under Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, announced the week before as part of the president’s plan for the reintegration of the South into the Union. Amnesty was available to be granted to former Confederates, except the highest officials of the Confederacy if they took an oath to the United States. Lincoln's sister-in-law received the pardon, but never took the required oath.
Union General William T. Sherman captures Savannah, Georgia, on December 21, 1864,. The campaign was aimed at crippling the Confederacy by destroying infrastructure and demoralizing its populace. The capture of the vital Confederate port, hastened the war's end.
The 13th amendment, abolishing Slavery becomes part of the U.S. Constitution as the State of Georgia became the 27th State to ratify it. More
The KKK is founded in Pulaski, Tennessee, More
The Patrons of Husbandry, or the Grange, was founded on December 4, 1867, in Washington, D.C. It was the first successful national farm organization. It was established by Oliver Kelley, Caroline Hall and five others to advance the social, economic, and educational needs of farmers and their families.
The organization experienced a significant surge in membership after the financial crisis of 1873. The Grange became a powerful force in politics, supporting reform movements like the Populist Party and playing a role in achieving initiatives such as the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and Rural Free Delivery. More
The Patrons of Husbandry, better known as the Grange is founded by Oliver Hudson Kelley. The Grange went on to become and influential political force in the western U. S. States. More
The Mary Celeste, an American ship that mysteriously disappeared, is discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. Neither the Captain, his family, or the crew of the vessel were ever found and the reason for the abandonment of the Mary Celeste remains a mystery. More
A catastrophic fire at the Brooklyn theater in Brooklyn, New York breaks out on the evening of December 5, 1876. The fire started when a piece of scenery caught fire, fell on the stage and quickly got out of control.
As the fire continued to spread, the people panicked and clogged the stairwells trampling others as they attempted to flee the spreading flames. It is estimated that at least 285 perished. More