1878 The first telephone is installed in the White House
1913 The first drive-in gasoline station opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1955 Rosa Parks, an African American, is arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a public bus@
December 2
1823 The Monroe Doctrine is set forth proclaiming that the Americas will no longer be the subject of European colonization
1859 Abolitionist John Brown is hanged for treason
1982 Surgeons remove the heart of a 61-year-old man and replace it with a permanent artificial one in Salt Lake City, Utah@
December 3
1833 The first co-educational college in America, Oberlin College, opens in Ohio
1923 The first Congressional open session is broadcast via radio on WRC in Washington, D.C.
1948 The first female Army officer is M.A. Hallaren@
December 4
1783 George Washington bids farewell to troops as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
1918 President Wilson sails for France and becomes the first U.S. President to visit a foreign country
1965 U.S. astronauts Frank Borman and J. A. Lovell, Jr. set a duration record by orbiting the earth for fourteen days in "Gemini 7Ó@
December 5
1776 Phi Betta Kappa, an honorary scholastic fraternity, is founded at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
1868 A velocipede riding school opens in New York to teach the art of riding bicycles
1933 The 21st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution legalizes alcohol in the U.S. after 22 years of prohibition@
December 6
1847 Abraham Lincoln becomes a member of the House of Representatives
1923 President Coolidge broadcasts the first Presidential message over radio
1973 Gerald Ford is sworn in as Vice President to replace Spiro Agnew who resigned from office on October 10th@
December 7
1787 Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the new Constitution
1917 The U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary
1941 The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii@
December 8
1776 George Washington and the American troops cross the Delaware River
1941 U.S. and Great Britain declare war on Japan
1980 Former Beatle John Lennon is shot and killed in New York City@
December 9
1502 A patent is granted by Henry VII of England that results in a series of transatlantic voyages
1813 President Madison calls for an embargo on all trade with the British
1884 The ball-bearing skate is patented by Levant Richardson of Chicago, Illinois@
December 10
1607 Captain John Smith leaves Jamestown on the trip that would involve him with Pocahontas
1906 President Theodore Roosevelt is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
1958 National Airlines begins jet passenger service@
December 11
1844 The first dental anesthetic is used for a tooth extraction on Horace Wells
1919 The first monument to an insect is dedicated at Enterprise, Alaska in profound appreciation of the boll weevil
1941 Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S.@
December 12
1787 Pennsylvania is admitted to the Union as the 2nd state
1822 Mexico is officially recognized as an independent nation by the U.S.
1958 A Jupiter missile, with a nose-cone containing a monkey, is lost at sea@
December 13
1621 The first furs are exported from the U.S. to Great Britain
1816 The Provident Institution for Savings is chartered as the first U.S. savings bank
1873 Women in Fredonia, New York form a society to visit saloons in a Christian spirit and later became the Women's Christian Temperance Union@
December 14
1774 Warned by Paul Revere of a British plan to station troops at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a group of Massachusetts militiamen successfully attack the arsenal of Fort William and Mary
1814 The Treaty of Ghent between the U.S. and Great Britain ends the War of 1812
1962 "Mariner 2" flies close to Venus and discovers that the planet has a heavy atmosphere consisting mostly of carbon dioxide@
December 15
1791 The U.S. Bill of Rights goes into effect
1854 The first street cleaning machine is used in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1989 General Manuel Noriega is declared head of the Panamanian government and proclaims that a state of war exists between the U.S. and Panama@
December 16
1773 The Boston Tea Party occurs when Samuel Adams and his followers empty 343 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor
1915 Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
1953 The first White House Press Conference, which allows direct quotations to be used, is held with President Eisenhower and is attended by 161 reporters@
December 17
1777 George Washington's Army enters winter headquarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
1903 Wilbur and Orville Wright successfully fly an engine-powered plane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
1947 A blizzard in New York City leaves 27 inches of snow@
December 18
1787 New Jersey is admitted to the Union as the 3rd state
1865 The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified completely abolishing slavery in the U.S.
1936 The first giant panda, Su-Lin, arrives in the U.S.@
December 19
1732 Benjamin Franklin begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanac"
1950 General Eisenhower is named Supreme Commander of Western European defense forces
1974 Nelson Rockefeller takes the oath of Vice President of the U.S.@
December 20
1849 The U.S. and the Hawaiian Islands sign a treaty of friendship, navigation and trade
1941 The Draft Act is signed by President Roosevelt
1989 12,000 U.S. troops are sent to Panama to capture General Manuel Noriega and keep the Panama Canal safe@
December 21
1708 The French and the Native Americans capture the English settlement at St. Johns in Newfoundland, giving the French control over the North Atlantic coastline
1790 The first American cotton mill begins production in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
1987 100 workers at the Okonite cable plant in New Brunswick, New Jersey are suspended for wearing Santa hats to work@
December 22
1620 The Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts
1894 The U.S. Golf Association is formed in New York City
1987 U.S. scientists say a single gene may decide the sex of a baby@
December 23
1617 The English Crown institutes a penal colony in Virginia
1913 The Federal Reserve Banking System is put into effect
1943 The "Corvina" becomes the first U.S. submarine sunk by an enemy submarine@
December 24
1832 The first U.S. hospital and asylum for African Americans is the Georgia Infirmary
1865 The Ku Klux Klan is formed in Tennessee
1948 The first house to be completely solar heated is occupied in Dover, Massachusetts@
December 25 - Christmas Day
1659 The General Court of Massachusetts passes a law making the observance of Christmas a penal offense, but it was later repealed
1776 General Washington stages a surprise attack against the British at Trenton, New Jersey and wins
1868 President Johnson proclaims general amnesty to all parties of the Civil War@
December 26
1783 American manufactured goods are allowed to be imported into England by British order
1865 James Nason of Franklin, Massachusetts is granted a patent for the coffee percolator
1990 The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the U.S. population is 249,632,692@
December 27
1934 The first U.S. youth hostel is opened in Northfield, Massachusetts
1968 The first U.S. astronauts to land at night are Frank Borman, J. A. Lovell, Jr. and W.A. Anders in "Apollo 8"
1985 Palestinian terrorists open fire at airports in Rome and Vienna, killing 18 people, including 5 Americans@
December 28
1832 The first U.S. Vice President to resign is J. C. Calhoun
1869 William Semple of Mt. Vernon, Ohio receives a patent for chewing gum
1967 Muriel Siebert is the first women to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange@
December 29
1778 The British capture Savannah, Georgia from American General Robert Howe
1845 Texas is admitted to the Union as the 28th state
1952 The first transistorized hearing aid is offered for sale in Elmsford, New York@
December 30
1731 The first music concert in the U.S. is held at Peter Pelham's great room in Boston, Massachusetts
1854 The Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company is the first oil company to be incorporated in the U.S.
1959 The first ballistic missile submarine, George Washington, is commissioned in Groton, Connecticut@
December 31
1775 American forces led by Benedict Arnold lose the Battle of Quebec to the British
1862 President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill admitting West Virginia to the Union
1972 Baseball player Roberto Clemente is killed in an airplane crash while attempting to deliver supplies to Puerto Rican earthquake victims@