This Week in History

HISTORY, 12 Dec 2016

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

TWH logo history

Dec 12-18

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“So you think that money is the root of all evil.  Have you ever asked what is the root of all money?” – Ayn Rand

 

DECEMBER 12

2012  12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief took place at Madison Square Garden and was broadcast on 20 international television networks to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

2012  North Korea successfully launches its first satellite, Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2, using an Unha-3 carrier rocket.

2001  Prime Minister of Vietnam Phan Văn Khải announces the decision on upgrading Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng to the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, providing information on projects for the conservation and development of the park and revised maps.

2000  The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.

1991  The Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR.

1985  Arrow Air Flight 1285, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8, crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing all 256 people on board, including 236 members of the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division.

1984  Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya becomes the third president of Mauritania after a coup d’état against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the latter is attending a summit.

1979  The unrecognized state of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia returns to British control and resumes using the name Southern Rhodesia.

History of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe:

Economy of Zimbabwe:

1979  President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.

1979  Coup d’état of December Twelfth: South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung-hee.

1970  USSR performs underground nuclear test at Mangystau, Kazakhstan.

1970 Soviet nuclear tests:

Mangystau:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

1969  Years of Lead: Piazza Fontana bombing – The offices of Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.

1968  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1964  Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta becomes the first President of the Republic of Kenya.

1963  Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

History of Kenya:

Kenya:

Foreign Relations of Kenya:

Economy of Kenya:

1962  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1958  Guinea joins the United Nations.

1956  Beginning of the Irish Republican Army‘s “Border Campaign“.

Border Campaign of 1956:

Irish Republican Army (IRA)/Provisional Republican Army (PIRA):

IRA’s Terrorism:

History of the IRA:

1950  Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.

1948  Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali massacre – 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaya allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.

Batang Kali Massacre of 1948:

1942  World War II: German troops begin Operation Winter Storm, an attempt to relieve encircled Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad.

1941  Adolf Hitler declares the imminent extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery

1941  World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.

1941  World War II: USMC F4F “Wildcats” sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island.

1941  World War II: Fifty-four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesús Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; César Basa is killed.

1940 World War II: Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield, as a result of a German air raid.

1939  Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi – Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.

Battle of Tolvajärvi:

Winter War:

Timelines of the Winter War:

1937  Second Sino-Japanese War: USS Panay incident – Japanese aircraft bomb and sink U.S. gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze river in China.

Second Sino-Japanese War:

1935  Lebensborn Project, a Nazi reproduction program, is founded by Heinrich Himmler.

1925  The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Iran, starting the Pahlavi dynasty.

1917  In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.

1915  President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai, announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China.

1911  King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck are enthroned as Emperor and Empress of India.

1911  Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.

1901  Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal (the letter “S” [***] in Morse Code), at Signal Hill in St John’s, Newfoundland.

1897  Belo Horizonte, the first planned city in Brazil, is founded.

 

 

DECEMBER 13

2011  A murder–suicide in Liège, Belgium, kills six and wounds 125 people at a Christmas market.

2006  Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is adopted.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:

2003  Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn – Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.

Operation Red Dawn:

Timelines of the Iraq War:

2002  European Union enlargement: The EU announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004.

European Integration and Its History:

Hague Congress of 1948:

Council of Europe:

Treaty of London of 1949:

Robert Schuman:

Schuman Declaration:

2001  Sansad Bhavan, the building housing the Indian Parliament, is attacked by terrorists. Twelve people are killed, including the terrorists.

1989  The Troubles: Attack on Derryard checkpoint – The Provisional Irish Republican Army launches an attack on a British Army temporary vehicle checkpoint near Rosslea, Northern Ireland. Two British soldiers are killed and one badly wounded.

1988  PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat gives a speech at a UN General Assembly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, after United States authorities refused to grant him a visa to visit UN headquarters in New York.

Yasser Arafat’s Speech at the UN General Assembly of 1988:

Yasser Arafat and the PLO:

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO):

1987  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1987:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1975  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1974  Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.

History of Malta:

Malta:

Economy of Malta:

1972  Apollo program: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.

1968  Brazilian President Artur da Costa e Silva issues AI-5 (Institutional Act No. 5), enabling government by decree and suspending habeas corpus.

1967  Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful counter-coup against the Regime of the Colonels.

Modern History of Greece:

Greek Monarchy:

1966  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1962  NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.

1960  While Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, Emperor.

1959  Archbishop Makarios III becomes the first President of Cyprus.

1949  The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem.

1943  World War II: The Massacre of Kalavryta by German occupying forces in Greece.

Massacre of Kalavryta:

1941  World War II: The Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of Romania declare war on the United States.

1939  World War II: Battle of the River Plate – Captain Hans Langsdorff of the German Deutschland-class cruiser (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee engages with Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles.

1938  The Holocaust: The Neuengamme concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany.

Neuengamme Concentration Camp:

1937  Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking – The city of Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. This is followed by the Nanking Massacre, in which Japanese troops rape and murder hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Battle of Nanking (Nanjing) and the Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre:

Nanjing Massacre Denial:

1867  A Fenian bomb explodes in Clerkenwell, London, killing six.

 

 

DECEMBER 14

2013  A reported coup attempt in South Sudan leads to continued fighting and hundreds of casualties.

A Coup Attempt in South Sudan of 2013:

Some Analytical Reports on the South Sudan Crisis:

2004  The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France.

2003  Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.

Assassination Attempts against Musharraf:

1999  Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state’s infrastructure.

1998  Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav Army ambushes a group of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 36.

Timeline of the December 14, Ambushes:

Kosovo Liberation Army:

Kosovo Conflict:

The United States, NATO and the Kosovo Conflict:

History of Kosovo:

1995  Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dayton Peace Agreement:

Background and Analysis of the Dayton Peace Agreement:

War in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Bosnian War on the Ground:

Timeline of the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

1992  War in Abkhazia: Siege of Tkvarcheli – A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalysis more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia.

War in Abkhazia:

Abkhazia:

History of Abkhazia:

1983  The third Congress of the Communist Youth of Greece starts.

1981  Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel’s Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the occupied Golan Heights.

1980  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1980:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1979  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1978  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1978:

1972  Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission.

1971  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

1971  Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan’s intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies. (The date is commemorated in Bangladesh as Martyred Intellectuals Day.)

Bangladesh Liberation War:

History of Bangladesh:

1964  American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States – The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Congress can use the Constitution’s Commerce Clause to fight discrimination.

1962  NASA‘s Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.

1962  US performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Nevada Test Site.

1961  Tanganyika joins the United Nations.

Tanganyika (Tanzania):

Foreign Relations of Tanzania:

Tanzania and the United Nations:

History of Tanzania:

Economy of Tanzania:

1958  The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility.

1955  Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations.

Admission of New Members to the UN of 1955:

1946  The United Nations General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York, New York.

Establishing the UN Headquarters in New York City:

1941  World War II: Thailand formally allies herself with Japan.

Thailand in World War II:

1939  Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland.

Winter War:

Timelines of the Winter War:

From Winter War to the Continuation War:

Continuation War:

1918  Portuguese President Sidónio Pais is assassinated.

1909  New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory.

1903  The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

1902 The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu.02       

1900  Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.

Black-Body Radiation:

1836  The Toledo War unofficially ends.

1814  War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana.

1812  The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.

1782  The Montgolfier brothers‘ first balloon lifts off on its first test flight.

1751  The Theresian Military Academy is founded as the first military academy in the world.

 

 

DECEMBER 15

2010  A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people.

2009  Boeing‘s 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington.

2006  First flight of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

2005  Introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.

2001  The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean.

Leaning Tower of Pisa:

History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

2000  The third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down.

Chernobyl Third Reactor Shut-down:

1994  Palau becomes a member of the United Nations.

Palau:

Foreign Relations of Palau:

Palau and the United Nations:

History of Palau:

Economy of Palau:

1993  The Troubles: The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.

1981  A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.

1978  US President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People’s Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan

1976  The oil tanker MV Argo Merchant runs aground near Nantucket, Massachusetts, causing one of the worst marine oil spills in history.

1976  Western Samoa (“Samoa” since July 1997; officially the “Independent State of Samoa”) becomes a member of the United Nations.

Samoa:

Foreign Relations of Samoa:

Western Samoa and the United Nations:

History of Samoa:

Economy of Samoa:

1973  The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.

1973  John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10.

1971  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1971:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1970  The South Korean ferry Namyong Ho capsizes in the Korea Strait, killing over 300 people.

1970  Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully land on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet

1965  Project Gemini: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.

1961  Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty by an Israeli court of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and membership of an outlawed organization.

Adolf Eichmann:

Trial of Adolf Eichmann:

1960  King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country’s constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule.

1954  The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands is signed.

1946  The first election to the Representative Assembly of French India was held.

1946  US-backed Iranian troops evict the leadership of the breakaway Republic of Mahabad, putting an end to the Iran crisis of 1946.

1945  Occupation of Japan: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan.

Shinto, State Religion, and Nationalism:

Douglas MacArthur and the Occupation of Japan:

Research Guide on the Occupation of Japan:

A Few Selected Books:

1943  World War II: The Battle of Arawe begins during the New Britain Campaign.

1942  World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign.

1941  The Holocaust: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Soviet Union.

1939  Gone with the Wind receives its premiere at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

1933  The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution officially becomes effective, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.

1917  World War I: An armistice is reached between the new Bolshevik government and the Central Powers.

1914  World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.

Belgrade, Serbia in World War I:

1913  Nicaragua becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention.

Buenos Aires Convention and Some Other Pertinent International Treaties:

History of Nicaragua:

 

 

DECEMBER 16

2014  Militants belonging to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacked an Army Public School in the Pakistani city of Peshawar killing 145 people.

1995  Official adoption of the name of “Euro“.

Euro:

Problems of Euro:

1991  Kazakhstan declares independence from the Soviet Union.

Kazakhstan:

Foreign Relations of Kazakhstan:

Human Rights in Kazakhstan:

History of Kazakhstan:

Economy of Kazakhstan:

1989  Romanian Revolution: Protests break out in Timișoara, Romania, in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés.

Romanian Revolution of 1989:

1986  Gennady Kolbin replaces Dinmukhamed Konayev as First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party, prompting the Jeltoqsan protests which began the next day.

1979  Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices, which has an immediate, dramatic effect on the United States.

OPEC:

History of OPEC:

History of Libya:

Economy of Libya:

1978  Cleveland, Ohio, becomes the first major American city to default on its financial obligations since the Great Depression.

1974  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1974:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1971  The United Kingdom recognizes Bahrain‘s independence. This is commemorated annually as Bahrain’s National Day.

Bahrain:

Foreign Relations of Bahrain:

Human Rights in Bahrain:

History of Bahrain:

Economy of Bahrain:

1971  Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: The surrender of the Pakistan Army brings an end to both conflicts. This is commemorated annually as Victory Day in Bangladesh, and as Vijay Diwas in India.

Bangladesh Liberation War:

History of Bangladesh:

1970  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

1968  Second Vatican Council: Official revocation of the Edict of Expulsion of Jews from Spain.

Spanish Expulsion (Alhambra Decree) of 1492:

Second Vatican Council:

1965  Vietnam War: General William Westmoreland sends U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara a request for 243,000 more men by the end of 1966.

1965 in the Vietnam War:

Viet Nam War and Some Pertinent Events:

1964  US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Pacific Ocean.

Nuclear Tests by the United States:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1960  A United Airlines Douglas DC-8 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation collide over Staten Island, New York and crash, killing all 128 people aboard both aircraft and 6 more on the ground.

1957  Sir Feroz Khan Noon replaces Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

1950  Korean War: US President Harry S Truman declares a state of emergency, after Chinese troops enter the fight in support of communist North Korea.

Korean War and the Chinese Intervention:

Korean War in 1950:

1947  William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor.

1946  Thailand joins the United Nations.

Thailand Joins the United Nations:

Thailand and the United Nations:

Thailand:

Foreign Relations of Thailand:

History of Thailand:

Economy of Thailand:

1944  World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.

1942  The Holocaust: Schutzstaffel chief Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination be deported to Auschwitz.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp:

Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti:

Some Relevant Resources:

1941  World War II: Japanese forces occupy Miri, Sarawak.

1938  Adolf Hitler institutes the Cross of Honor of the German Mother.

Cross of Honor of the German Mother:

1922  President of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw.

1920  The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000.

1918  Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas declares the formation of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.

1914  World War I: German battleships under Franz von Hipper bombard the English ports of Hartlepool and Scarborough.

1912  First Balkan War: The Royal Hellenic Navy defeats the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Elli.

Naval Battle of Elli:

First Balkan War:

1838  Great Trek: Battle of Blood River – Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers defeat Zulu impis, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

1761  Seven Years’ War: After a four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg.

1707  Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.

1707 Eruption of Mt Fuji:

Warning of a Possible Re-eruption of Mt Fuji:

 

 

DECEMBER 17

2014  The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them 55 years ago.

US-Cuba Relations:

2013  The anti-corruption operation in Turkey begins with high profile detainments.

2010  Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.

2009  MV Danny F II sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.

2005  Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.

2005  Anti-World Trade Organization protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

2003  SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.

2002  Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.

Second Congo War:

Background, Origins and/or Causes of the Second Congo War:

First Congo War:

History and the Timeline of Congo Wars:

1997  The British Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 comes into force, banning all handguns with the exception of antique and show weapons.

1989  Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.

1989  Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party‘s District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.

1988  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1988:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1983  Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London, England, United Kingdom. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.

1981  American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy.

1973  Thirty passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists on Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport.

1970  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1970  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1970  Polish 1970 protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.

1969  Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.

Project Blue Book:

1960  Troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.

1957  The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1951  The American Civil Rights Congress delivers “We Charge Genocide” to the United Nations.

1950  The F-86 Sabre‘s first mission over Korea.

F-86-Sabre:

Korean War (Overview):

Korean War Timelines:

1944  World War II: Battle of the Bulge – Malmedy massacre – American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs are shot by Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe Peiper.

Battle of the Bulge:

Malmedy Massacre:

Historical Background:

Malmedy Massacre Investigation:

Malmedy Massacre Trial:

1943  All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States with the repealing of the Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act.

1941  World War II: Japanese forces land in Northern Borneo.

1939  World War II: Battle of the River Plate – The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo.

1938  Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.

Discovery of Nuclear Fission:

1927  Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.

1926  Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d’état is successful.

1919  Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1918  Darwin Rebellion: Up to 1,000 demonstrators march on Government House in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

1907  Ugyen Wangchuck is crowned first King of Bhutan

1903  The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

1892  First issue of Vogue is published

1865  First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert.

Unfinished Symphony:

1819  Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).

1807  Napoleonic Wars: France issues the Milan Decree, which confirms the Continental System.

1718  War of the Quadruple Alliance: Great Britain declares war on Spain.

 

 

DECEMBER 18

Today is the INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY:

2006  United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections.

2006  The first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia. The death toll of all flooding is at least 118, with over 400,000 people displaced.

2005  The Chadian Civil War begins when rebel groups, allegedly backed by neighboring Sudan, launch an attack in Adré.

Chadian Civil War:

1999  NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT.

1997  HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium.

1989  The European Economic Community and the Soviet Union sign an agreement on trade and commercial and economic cooperation.

1978  Larry Wall releases the first version of the Perl programming language.

1978  USSR performs underground nuclear test in Atyrau (Kazakhstan), Russia.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1978:

Atyrau Test Site:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

1978  Dominica joins the United Nations.

UN General Assembly Resolution 33/107:

Dominica:

Foreign Relations of Dominica:

Dominica and the United Nations:

History of Dominica:

Economy of Dominica:

1973  The Islamic Development Bank is founded.

Islamic Development Bank:

1973  Soviet Soyuz Programme: Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.

1972  Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th.

Vietnam War in 1972:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

Anti-Viet Nam War Movement or Opposition to United States Involvement in the Vietnam War:

1971  Capitol Reef National Park is established in Utah.

1970  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:      

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1969  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1969  Capital punishment in the United Kingdom: Home Secretary James Callaghan‘s motion to make permanent the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, which had temporarily suspended capital punishment in England, Wales and Scotland for murder (but not for all crimes) for a period of five years.

1968  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1968:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1966  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1966:

1966  Saturn‘s moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.

1964  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1958  Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched.

1956  Japan joins the United Nations.

Japan:

Japan and the United Nations:

1944  World War II: Seventy-seven B-29 Superfortress and 200 other aircraft of US Fourteenth Air Force bomb Hankow, China, a Japanese supply base.

1939  World War II: The Battle of the Heligoland Bight, the first major air battle of the war, takes place.

1935  The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is founded in Ceylon.

1916  World War I: The Battle of Verdun ends when German forces under Chief of staff Erich von Falkenhayn are defeated by the French, and suffer 337,000 casualties.

1892  Premiere performance of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

1888  Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde.

1878  The Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar

________________________________

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/december_12   december_18; http://www.onthisday.com/events/december/12   to december/18;   http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/december_12.html.   to december_18.html; and other pertinent web sites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

  1. The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
  2. One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace”.

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace.  His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, science and technology, visual/audio documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History on TMS.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 12 Dec 2016.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.

Share this article:

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Click here to go to the current weekly digest or pick another article:

HISTORY: