Important Events From This day in History December 14th

  

1962 Space -- Venus

1962 : The Mariner 2 space probe becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus ( the probe itself is just over 3ft wide and 12ft long with 16 1/2 feet x 2 1/2 feet solar panels.

1905 U.S.A. -- 1 in 10 Illiterate in US

1905 : Illiteracy in the U.S. was 106.6 per 1,000 persons. In 1900 statistics showed that 6,180,063 persons were illiterate in America. The Arizona Republican observed, "Illiteracy is more common in the country than in the city. This is due to the superior schools in the towns and the more general attendance of children."

1911 The South Pole -- Roald Amundsen

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first man to reach the South Pole, beating Robert F. Scott.

1972 Space -- Last Men To Walk On The Moon

Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan become the last men to walk on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission.

The full list of the 12 men who have walked on the moon

1. Neil Armstrong Apollo 11 July 21, 1969

2. Buzz Aldrin Apollo 11 July 21st, 1969

3. Pete Conrad Apollo 12 November 19-20, 1969

4. Alan Bean Apollo 12 November 19-20, 1969

5. Alan Shepard Apollo 14 February 5-6, 1971

6. Edgar Mitchell Apollo 14 February 5-6, 1971

7. David Scott Apollo 15 July 31 August 2, 1971

8. James Irwin Apollo 15 July 31 August 2, 1971

9. John W. Young Apollo 16 April 21st to 23rd, 1972

10. Charles Duke Apollo 16 April 21-23, 1972

11. Harrison Schmitt Apollo 17 December 11-14, 1972

12. Eugene Cernan Apollo 17 December 11-14, 1972

1924 France -- Ladies Fashion

The most recent trend in women's fashion is to make clothes out of the hides of African animals. The latest find in Paris is to weave into women's costumes just as many trophies of the jungle as the ingenious dress designers, milliners, and shoe and glove makers can find ways of doing.

1931 Great Britain -- Rolls-Royce buys Bentley

1931 : The worlds most recognized luxury car makers combine when Rolls-Royce buys Bentley

1932 Great Britain -- Debt to US

Great Britain was to pay its debt borrowed in World War I to the U.S. of $95,550,000 in gold. The payment was going to be brought to New York as promised by Neville Chamberlain.

1944 Canada -- Conscription

Prime Minister Mackenzie King called for the conscription of 16,000 more men and this stirred up resentment and opposition in Quebec. However, in World War II there were more French Canadian soldiers than in World War I.

1947 U.S.A. -- NASCAR

1947 : NASCAR is formed and it's headquarters are located in Daytona Beach, Florida

1955 Great Britain -- Hugh Gaitskell

The British Labour party elects Hugh Gaitskell as its new leader following the resignation of Clement Attlee.

1962 Yemin -- Yemen Budget

In the past oil-rich countries of the Middle East have had leaders who were into conspicuous consumption and waste. However, Yemen had started a policy of fiscal responsibility and was making a budget for the government. Saudi Arabia had taken note of this and was considering implementing a budget for its leaders.

1976 India -- Uranium to India

President Jimmy Carter refuses to ship India twelve tons of uranium. India claimed that the nuclear fuel was for peaceful purposes - only to generate electricity. However, the U.S. was concerned that India was stockpiling spent nuclear fuel to make plutonium which could be used in nuclear bombs. India tested a nuclear bomb in 1974.

1984 Great Britain -- Arthur Scargill

1984 : Arthur Scargill is found guilty of two charges of obstruction during a picket at a Yorkshire coal works and was fined £250 and ordered to pay £750 in costs following a scuffle outside Orgreave Coal Works, near Sheffield, Yorkshire, on 30 May.

1986 Cuba -- Armando Valladares

1986 : Armando Valladares, who was imprisoned by Fidel Castro, has written a very unflattering book about the dictator. His prison memoirs titled, "Against All Hope" describe Castro's extensive system of prisons and torture that Cuban political dissidents are subjected to.

1995 Bosnia -- Dayton Accord

Leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia sign the Dayton Accord in Paris to end more than three years of bitter conflict.

1997 Cuba -- Christmas Holiday

Pope John Paul II is due to visit Cuba and the Cuban President Fidel Castro declares Christmas 1997 an official holiday, the first time since his takeover Christmas will be a public holiday.

1999 Chechnya -- Russian Soldiers

Russian soldiers planted their flag in the second biggest city in Chechnya. The Russian military executed 180 bombing raids from the air since Friday and ground troops were trying to capture the capital of Grozny.

2000 U.S.A. -- AOL / Time Warner

The FTC approves the $111 billion merger of America Online and Time Warner.

2004 France -- Millau Viaduct

The worlds tallest vehicular bridge in the world Millau Viaduct spanning the Tarn River valley near Millauis and part of the A75-A71 is formally dedicated. The bridge which is a toll bridge opens to traffic two days later on the 16th.

2005 China -- Protesters

2005 : Twenty Chinese died after protesters demonstrated against the building of a power plant. However, Beijing worked hard to suppress the news in newspapers and even on the Internet, so the Chinese public did not know about it. The official government version that came out four days later was that 300 armed villagers attacked the police in Dongzhou.

2006 United States -- John McCain calls for more troops to be sent to Iraq

John McCain has called for more American troops to be deployed in Iraq to control the growing sectarian violence. Senator McCain was in Baghdad when he said that up to thirty thousand more troops should be sent to stabilize the country. McCain, a 2008 Republican presidential hopeful, said he agreed with a recent U.S. Iraq Study Group report that the situation in Iraq was serious. On 13th, President Bush said he would not be rushed into deciding how to change his Iraq policy..

2006 United Nations -- Ban Ki-moon becomes the UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon is sworn in as the U.N. secretary general at a ceremony in New York. He will be taking up his post as the eighth secretary general on January 1st, 2007. He told ambassadors he would be a 'bridge-builder,' leading by example as he sought to restore trust in a U.N. that needed to be "dynamic and courageous." .

2008 Iraq -- Shoes thrown at George Bush

Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, threw shoes at President Bush during a news conference on Sunday evening in Baghdad, where Bush was making a farewell visit. Al-Zaidi missed the President, screamed in Arabic: "This is a farewell ... you dog!" and "You killed the Iraqis!" He was pinned on the ground by security personnel and dragged away.

2009 United States -- Hillary Clinton urges Iran to release the American hikers

The Secretary of State has called on Iran to free the three U.S. citizens who crossed into Iran while hiking in Iraq. She was speaking after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that the three will stand trial, although he did not specify the charges. Mrs Clinton said that any charges would be unfounded. Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal were detained in July and have since been accused of illegal entry.

2011 China -- China Will Tax US Car Imports

2011 : China has announced it will levy taxes on some US-made cars in the country. China stated that the imports damage the domestic industry and certain models of GM, Chrysler, Mercedes Benz, and BMW cars that were made in the US will be affected by the duties. The move was just the latest in a series of conflicts over trade between China and the US.

2012 United States -- Mass Shooting at Elementary School

A gunman attacks Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut killing twenty-six people, most of the victims were children.

2013 Iran -- Iran Claims to Have Captured British Intelligence Agent

Iran claimed that it captured a spy who had been working for Britain's MI6. It was reported that the alleged spy had confessed and was facing trial.