Important Events From This day in History December 15th

 

1944 England -- Glenn Miller

1944 : Glenn Miller one of the best selling recording artists of his time is killed when his U.S. Army plane disappeared over the English Channel. Some of his most popular recordings include, "In the Mood", "Tuxedo Junction", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "Moonlight Serenade", "Little Brown Jug", and "Pennsylvania 6-5000".

1961 China -- United Nations

1961 : China under Chiang Kai-shek applied to become a member of the United Nations and the General Assembly was to vote on it. The discussion went on for two weeks and the U.S. was opposed to China being a part of the U.N. . The U.S. had kept the issue at bay for a decade.

1967 U.S.A. -- The Silver Bridge

The Silver Bridge across the Ohio River collapses during rush hour and a number of cars fall into the icy water killing 46 .

1791 United States -- Bill Of Rights

The first 10 ammendments to the U.S. Constitution ( Bill Of Rights ) introduced by James Madison which limit the power of the U.S. federal government are ratified by three-fourths of the States, The Bill Of Rights protect the natural rights of liberty and property including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a free press, free assembly, and free association, as well as the right to keep and bear arms.

1904 Jamaica -- Debt Ridden

1904 : Jamaica as a country was deeply in debt. It owed 5,000,000 pounds with a population of only 800,000 people. However, Britain could not help financially because the Boer War had cost 200,000,000 pounds.

1921 U.S.A. -- National Guard Called In

In Kansas the Kansas national guard was called out to subdue protesting women who were going from mine to mine attacking non-striking coal miners in the Pittsburgh coal field.

1935 France -- German Army

1935 : Leon Archibald, a French army expert, predicted that Germany under Hitler would soon have a military of 1 million soldiers by 1936, whereas France only had 654,000 soldiers. Germany's military outnumbered France's by 5 to 3.

1940 Italy -- Egypt Invasion

Benito Mussolini's soldiers had invaded Egypt and were still there after three months, however their campaign was met with many calamities. They struggled with desert sand storms, salted water holes, and blown up wells.

1939 U.S.A. -- Gone With The Wind

1939 : The Movie "Gone With The Wind" based on the Pulitzer Prize Book Winner in 1937 starring Vivien Leigh ( Scarlett O'Hara ), Clark Gable ( Rhett Butler ) Leslie Howard ( Ashley Wilkes ) and Olivia de Havilland ( Melanie Wilkes ) has its world premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. Find More What happened in 1939

1953 Canada -- US Relations

1953 : Canadian-U.S. relations were at their lowest ebb in years. The American government even refused to allow Canadian planes to land in Tampa, Florida and the U.S. was angry over the alleged Russian spy, Igor Gouzenko incident. Americans felt that the Canadian government should have done more to help in rooting out Soviet espionage.

1973 Italy -- John Paul Getty III

John Paul Getty III who had been kidnapped in July is found safe and well after his grandfather paid the kidnappers $2.8 million for his safe return. During his kidnapping his ear was cut off and sent to the family to convince them the kidnappers were serious.

1974 England -- New Speed Limits

1974 : The British Government has imposed new speed limits to help with the conservation of fuel due to the large price increase of crude oil ( from $3.00 a barrel to $10.00 a barrel ) during the oil embargo by the Arab oil-producing countries (OPEC)on countries supporting Israel during the Arab-Israeli war.

1978 U.S.A. -- China Recognized

The American President Jimmy Carter announces America recognizes the People's Republic of China and cutoff all relations with Taiwan / Formosa. This was in response to China's claim that Taiwan was under the control of the People's Republic of China ( PRC ). ( The ongoing dispute between China and Taiwan continues even now with the PRC claiming sovereignty ) Taiwan does have it's own currency and government.

1979 Saudi Arabia -- Oil Prices

Fuel prices increased as a result of Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries raising the price from $18 to $24 a barrel. OPEC was convening in Venezuela to discuss oil prices.

1982 Gibraltar -- Access To Spain

1982 : After 13 years the gates connecting Gibraltar Known as the Rock have been opened to allow pedestrian access to Spain. ( Currently Only Spanish citizens or inhabitants of Gibraltar are allowed across ) The gates were closed during General Franco's Regime in 1969 as part of the siege of Gibraltar. Both the British government and the Spanish government would like sovereignty to move to Spanish control but the 30,000 inhabitants of Gibraltar have voted to stay under British control by large majorities in local referendum .

1987 Iran -- Persian Gulf

Iranian frigates were harassing and attacking ships in the southern Persian Gulf. Two Greek tankers were slightly damaged by them. Iran was patrolling the area trying to prevent any Iraqi (enemy) cargo from getting through.

1992 Haiti -- President Bush

1992 : A Haitian priest who is Roman Catholic claimed that President Bush was the victim of a voodoo hex. The priest claimed that the president could undo the curse by changing the U.S.'s foreign policy to Haiti. He said that the proof of Bush's curse was the fact that the president vomited on the Japanese prime minister.

1999 Venezuela -- Mudslides

Heavy rains cause flooding and mudslides which kill thousands in shantytowns on the outskirts of Caracas .

2001 Italy -- Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after a team of experts spent 11 years doing repairs to the tower without eliminating its famous lean.

2003 U.S.A. -- Strom Thurmond

2003 : The late Senator Strom Thurmond's family acknowledged Essie Mae Washington-Williams claim that she was Thurmond's illegitimate mixed-race daughter by an African American household servant of the Thurmond family named Carrie Butler. Senator Thurmond had met his daughter when she was 16 and helped pay to put her through college.

2005 U.S.A. -- Winter Ice Storms

Winter Ice Storms cause Trees and power lines to fall which causes power outages for nearly 3/4 million people along the Atlantic coast with the worst effected areas being South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

2006 Iran -- Shiite Soldiers

Shiite soldiers stormed the Higher Education Ministry and kidnapped 50 officials. By the end of the day 117 persons were killed and doubt was thrown on Prime Minister Nouri-al Maliki's will to control Shiite militias.

2006 U.S.A. -- Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

2006 : Lockheed Martin test flights the next generation of joint Strike Fighter aircraft the F-35 Lightning II. The aircraft when finished development will be a Multi role aircraft able to deploy as a Stealth strike fighter or tactical bomber with three different models conventional takeoff, vertical takeoff and landing and a carrier based variant.

2006 Great Britain -- Prince William passes out of Sandhurst

Prince William has been commissioned as an officer in the British Army after passing out at Sandhurst. The Queen, Prince Charles and other members of the royal family attended the Parade, which marks the end of an officer cadet's training at the Royal Military Academy. Kate Middleton was watching the Parade. The 24-year-old prince is second in line to the throne.

2007 Bali, Indonesia -- Climate control

The world’s effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions is said to have got a new lease on life when delegates from 187 countries agreed to negotiate a new accord over the next two years. Many officials and environmental campaigners have said that the American negotiators remained obstructionist until the final hour of the two-week convention, and have changed their stance only after public rebukes that included boos and hisses from the other delegates. Agreement was reached after a U-turn from the U.S., which had wanted firmer commitments from the developing countries.

America has said the climate change negotiations that it agreed to in Bali must ensure that developing states take a fair share in the emission cuts. The White House has said that the deal did not meet this principle fully, and that climate change could not be curbed by emission cuts from developed countries alone.

2009 United States -- Loud commercials to be restricted

Overly-loud television commercials have taken a closer step to being restricted when the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1084, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (C.A.L.M.) Act. The bill will prevent television advertisements from playing at a volume noticeably above the programs during which they air. Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) drafted the bipartisan bill and has shepherded it through the House. She says that 'Under the C.A.L.M. Act, consumers will no longer have to dive for the mute button.' Loud commercials have been at the top of consumer complaints to the F.C.C. for decades.

2011 Iraq -- US Flag Lowered in Baghdad to Mark Formal End of Iraq War

2011 : The formal end of the Iraq war has come after US troops lowered their flag in Baghdad. Around 4,000 US troops still remained in Iraq but left over the next two weeks. The ceremony marked the end of nearly nine years of US military operations in the country.

2011 France -- Former French President Chirac Found Guilty of Corruption

France's former president Jacques Chirac, who was in office from 1995 until 2007, was found guilty of charges of corruption for diverting public funds and abusing public trust. Chirac was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence for two years.

2012 Nigeria -- Helicopter Crash Kills Governor

A helicopter crash in Nigeria's Bayelsa state killed Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, the governor of the country's Kaduna state and former national security advisor General Owoye Azazi.

2013 Brazil -- World Cup Stadium Construction Stopped

Work on one of the stadiums intended for the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil was stopped by a court. The construction was stopped at the Manaus stadium after a worker fell from a roof and died. The court wanted a report on the site's safety conditions before work could resume.

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