Today's 2 December Major Events in History

Photo for the article Today's 2 December Major Events

1409 The University of Leipzig opens
1620 English language newspaper "Namloos" begins publishing in Amsterdam

Earl of Shaftesbury Fleesbill

1682 Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury flees to Amsterdam following the failure of his plots to prevent a Catholic succession should King Charles II die

St Paul's Cathedral

1697 St Paul's Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren is consecrated for use (previous building destroyed in the Great Fire of London)

1755 The second Eddystone Lighthouse on Eddystone Rocks off English southern coast is destroyed by fire
1763 Touro shul of Newport, Rhode Island dedicated (oldest existing US synagogue)
1777 British General Howe plots attack on Washington's army for Dec 4
1790 Austrian army occupies Brussels
1802 Britain sells Suriname to the Netherlands

1804 Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Emperor of the French at Notre Dame de Paris in a ceremony officiated by Pope Pius VII

1805 Napoleon defeats Russians & Austrians at Austerlitz

James Madison Re-elected

1812 James Madison re-elected President of the US, Elbridge Gerry Vice-President

1816 The first savings bank in the US, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, opens
1822 In San Salvador, a congress proposes incorporation into the United States

Monroe Doctrine

1823 US President James Monroe declares the "Monroe Doctrine" opposing European colonialism in the Americas, arguing any European political intervention in the New World would be a hostile act against the United States

1840 Gaetano Donizetti's opera "La Favorita" premieres in Paris

US Westward Expansion

1845 US President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West, a widely held belief termed "manifest destiny" by newspaper editor John O'Sullivan

Emperor Franz Joseph I

1848 Franz Joseph I proclaimed Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia at Olmütz after the abdication of his uncle Ferdinand I

1851 French President Charles Louis Bonaparte in a Coup d'etat overthrows the Second Republic establishing himself as Emperor.

John Brown Pays the Ultimate Price

1859 Abolitionist John Brown hanged for murder, treason, and conspiring slaves to revolt at Charles Town, Virginia

1864 Skirmish at Rocky Creek Church, Georgia

Dickens In the US

1867 In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the US

Samson and Delilah

1877 Camille Saint-Saëns' opera "Samson et Dalila" (Samson and Delilah) premieres at the Ducal Theatre, Weimar

1882 Amsterdam Artis Zoo opens its aquarium

Brahms 3rd Symphony in F

1883 Johannes Brahms' "Symphony No. 3 in F major" premieres with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

1885 Opera "Regina di Saba" premieres in Vienna
1887 Amsterdam's Oscar Carrés Circus Theater opens
1887 French president Jules Grévy resigns
1887 International Baseball League disbands; teams in Syracuse, Toronto, Hamilton, and Buffalo form the International Association; those in Newark, Jersey City, Wilkes-Barre, and Scranton become the Central League
1891 52nd US Congress (1891-93) convenes
1895 54th US Congress (1895-97) convenes
1896 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Die versunkene Glocke" (The Sunken Bell) premieres in Berlin
1899 Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.
1899 US & Germany agree to divide Samoa between them
1900 Exiled South African President of Transvaal Paul Kruger arrives in Germany, though the Kaiser refuses to meet him

Gillette Sells First Razor Blades

1901 American businessman King C. Gillette begins selling safety razor blades

1902 Dutch soccer club Be Quick - later Go Ahead, forms in Deventer; suffix 'Eagles' added in 1971
1907 Association of Football Players' and Trainers' Union (English Professional Football Players' Association) is formed by Charlie Roberts and Billy Meredith in Manchester, England

Burns vs. Moir

1907 Canadian world heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Burns retains his title; KOs Englishman Gunner Moir in 10th round at the National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London

1908 Child Emperor Pu Yi ascends the Chinese throne at the age of 2
1909 National Hockey Association (NHA) is formed in Montreal; original members include Montreal Wanderers and Montreal Canadiens; becomes NHL after some NHA teams leave due to ownership disagreements, and create their own league
1913 French Government of Louis Barthou falls due to overtime conscription
1913 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Managua created in Nicaragua

Vladimir Mayakovsky

1913 Vladimir Mayakovsky's self titled tragedy "Vladimir Mayakovsky" premieres at Saint Petersburg's Luna Park theatre

1914 Austria army occupies Belgrade, Serbia
1916 National Baseball Commission orders that injured players get full pay for duration of their contracts; injury clause previously let clubs suspend players after 15 days' pay
1917 Han Yong-woon, finds Zen awakening at Osean Monastery, Korea
1924 British-German trade agreement signed

Peking Man

1927 Paleoanthropologist Davidson Black announces to the Geological Society of China that ancient human fossils from Zhoukoudian, China, are a new species, which he names "Sinanthropus Pekinensis" (Peking Man), now known as Homo Erectus

1927 The first Model A Ford sells for $385
1929 The first skull of Peking Man is found in the caves of Zhoukoudian, 50 km outside of Peking, China, and is later dated to be roughly 750,000 years old [1]
1932 "Adventures of Charlie Chan" 1st heard on NBC-Blue radio network
1932 Australia ends Day 1 of controversial 'Bodyline' cricket series v England at 290/6 in Sydney; Stan McCabe 127no (finishes at 187no); notorious England fast bowler Harold Larwood takes 4 wickets; England wins by 10 wickets
1934 A 5.08-meter (200-inch) mirror for the Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory is successfully cast
1938 The first 'Kindertransport' carrying Jewish refugee children from Nazi Germany arrives in Britain
1939 British Imperial Airways & British Airways merge to form BOAC
1939 NY's La Guardia Airport began operations as an airliner from Chicago lands, 1 minute after midnight

Buchalter's Sentenced to Death

1941 American mobster Louis Buchalter is sentenced to death along with his lieutenants Emanuel Weiss and Louis Capone

1941 Japanese Marshal Admiral Yamamoto sends his fleet to Pearl Harbor

1941 New York Giants name Mel Ott as player-manager; replaces another future Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Terry, who heads Giants' farm system
1941 The largest roller skating rink opens in Peekskill, New York
1941 US Naval Intelligence ceases bugging Japanese consul

1943 First RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt - Nazi Reich Security Head Office) transport out of Vienna reaches Birkenau camp
1944 10th Heisman Trophy Award: Les Horvath, Ohio State (QB)

1944 German troops seize dikles in Betuwse, Netherland
1944 US 95th Infantry division occupies bridge at Saar, Germany
1947 13th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Lujack, Notre Dame (QB)
1947 Anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo, Syria, erupt after the UN votes to partition Palestine, resulting in the loss of 75 lives and the disappearance of the medieval manuscript, the Aleppo Codex

I Robot

1950 "I Robot" collection of sci-fi short stories by Isaac Asimov published by Gnome Press in the US

1950 South African world bantamweight boxing champion Vic Toweel sets a record for knockdowns in a title fight against Englishman Danny Sullivan in Johannesburg; Sullivan floored 14 times in 10 rounds before fight stopped

Packers Retire #14

1951 Future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Hutson has his #14 jersey retired by the Green Bay Packers; first number retired in franchise history

1951 Philadelphia Eagles set NFL record of 25 1st-downs rushing in 35-21 win over Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium
1952 18th Heisman Trophy Award: Billy Vessels, Oklahoma (HB)
1952 The first human birth is televised to the public on KOA-TV Denver, Colorado
1954 Milwaukee Hawks shooting guard Frank Selvey sets then NBA record of 24 of 26 free throws as he scores 42 points in 117-108 win over the Minneapolis Lakers at Milwaukee Arena
1954 Taiwan (ROC) & US sign the Mutual Defense Treaty, preventing Mainland China (PRC) from taking Taiwan between 1955-1979
1954 US Senate censures Joeseph McCarthy (Sen-R-Wisc) for "conduct that tends to bring Senate into dishonor & disrepute"

1957 1st US large scale nuclear power plant for peacetime use opens, Shippingport, Pennsylvania
1957 NFL Draft: Rice quarterback King Hill #1 pick by Chicago Cardinals
1957 Pacific Coast League franchises forced to relocate when Dodgers and Giants confirm their move to California for 1958 MLB season; Hollywood Stars move from LA to Salt Lake City; LA Angels move to Spokane, and San Francisco Seals transfer to Phoenix

1958 1959 NFL Draft: Randy Duncan QB University of Iowa #1 pick by Green Bay Packers
1958 24th Heisman Trophy Award: Pete Dawkins, Army (HB)
1958 Benelux treaty signed by Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg
1958 KNOP TV channel 2 in North Platte, NB (NBC) begins broadcasting
1959 Malpasset dam collapses destroying French Riviera town of Frejus

Olduvai Hominid 9

1960 Paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey discovers 1.4 million year old Homo erectus (Olduvai Hominid 9) in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

1961 Fidel Castro declares he's a Marxist and will lead Cuba to Communism
1961 Wind Bell, journal of San Francisco Zen Center, begins publishing
1963 1964 NFL Draft: Dave Parks from Texas Tech first pick by San Francisco 49ers
1963 First Dutch rocket launched, reaches height of 10 km
1963 MLB Rules Committee bans oversized catcher's mitts; rule effective only in 1965
1964 Ringo Starr's tonsils are removed at University College Hospital, London, England

1969 Boeing 747 jumbo jet 1st public preview (Seattle to NYC)
1969 Two years after doubling its size from six to 12, the NHL announces 2 new teams would be joining the League the following year; Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks
1970 British composer Michael Tippett's opera "The Knot Garden" premieres at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, England
1970 Environmental Protection Agency begins in the US under Director William Ruckelshaus
1971 Frank Robinson is traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers
1971 Soviet space probe Mars 3 is first to soft land on Mars
1971 Trucial States Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain form the United Arab Emirates and declare independence from the United Kingdom

1972 "December Giant" largest sinkhole in US collapses (Alabama)
1972 USC tailback Anthony Davis becomes first to score 6 touchdowns against Notre Dame; in a 45-23 victory over the Fighting Irish Davis at the LA Coliseum he scores on runs of 1, 4, 5 & 8 yards and 2 kickoff returns
1973 Capital Centre (USAir Arena) opens in Landover Maryland; NBA's Washington Bullets beat Seattle SuperSonics, 98-96 in opening game; arena demolished 2002
1974 MLB Rules Committee changes long time philosophy to permit the use of cowhide, rather than just horsehide in the manufacture of baseballs
1974 Soyuz 16 launched into Earth orbit for 6 days
1975 7 South Moluccans hijack train at Wijster, Drente (NL), 3 killed
1975 Greg Chappell in his debut as Australian cricket captain completes a fine double in 8 wicket win in 1st Test v West Indies in Brisbane; scores 109no in 2nd innings to follow his 1st innings 123
1975 Laos king Sisavang Vatthana resigns, Lao People's Democratic Republic founded (National Day)
1976 Communist revolutionary Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado

1978 Protesters chant "Allah is great" at an Anti-Shah protest in Tehran, Iran
1978 The Sporting News announces Baltimore Orioles shortstop Mark Belanger winner of his 8th (and final) MLB Gold Glove Award
1979 Crowds attack US embassy in Tripoli, Libya
1979 Foots Walker becomes 1st Cleveland Cavalier to score a triple-double
1979 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1980 4 American Maryknoll nuns killed by death squads in El Salvador
1981 Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, opens at 11:30 AM
1981 Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela becomes 3rd consecutive Los Angeles Dodgers player to be named National League Rookie of the Year, after Rick Sutcliffe (1979), and Steve Howe (1980)
1981 Spanish government requests membership of NATO
1982 American track and field record holder Steve Scott sets record for fastest round of golf played on a regulation course; posts a 95, completing 18 holes in 29:33.05s at Miller Golf Club in Anaheim, California; he used only two clubs, and ran between holes
1982 Doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implant a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lives for 112 days with the device [1]

Marino Breaks Passes Record

1984 Miami quarterback Dan Marino breaks NFL single-season touchdown pass record when he throws his 37th in the Dolphins' 45-34 loss to the Raiders; finishes season with 48 TD passes

1984 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1985 Chicago Bears' head coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan almost come to blows at halftime in a 38-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl, Miami; Chicago's only loss of the NFL season
1985 NFL quarterback legends Dan Marino and John Elway (Denver Broncos) face each other for the first time, a 30-26 win for Marino's Miami Dolphins (390 yards and 3 TDs)
1985 Philipine Chief of Staff General Fabian speaks of Benigno Aquino's murder
1986 Dow Jones Industrial Average hits record 1,955.57
1987 "334" club forms as 334 brave Devil fans journey through 20" of snow to attend New Jersey Devils 7-5 NHL victory over Calgary at Meadowlands
1987 Chicago City Council elects Eugene Sawyer acting mayor
1987 Jennifer Steele, 17, of Colorado becomes Miss Teen of America [Approx]
1987 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1988 "Naked Gun" movie based on TV's "Police Squad" premieres
1988 5 gunmen who hijacked Soviet Aeroflot jet surrender in Israel

1st Female Leader of a Muslim Country

1988 Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister of Pakistan, the first female leader of a Muslim country

1988 ESPN airs its 10,000th edition of "Sports Center," making it the most televised cable program in history
1988 STS-27 Atlantis launched (Secret military mission)
1988 UN votes 151-2 (Israel and US) to move PLO debate to Geneva, Great Britain abstains
1989 55th Heisman Trophy Award: Andre Ware, Houston (QB)
1989 KHJ-TV in Los Angeles CA changes call letters to KCAL-TV
1989 V. P. Singh sworn in as the 8th Prime Minister of India
1990 First parliamentary election in newly reunified Germany
1990 First time 12 people in space at the same time
1990 US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) launches into orbit
1991 Australia routs India by 10 wickets in the 1st cricket Test in Brisbane; first Test to be officiated by a match referee; former England captain MJK Smith does the honours
1991 Former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bobby Bonilla becomes highest paid player in MLB when he agrees to record $29 million-5 year deal with New York Mets
1991 Muslim Shi'ites release American hostage Joseph Cicippio held in Lebanon
1992 Kiwi opening batsman John Wright becomes first New Zealander to make 5,000 runs in Test cricket when he scores 14 in the 2nd innings of the drawn 1st Test against Sri Lanka in Moratuwa
1992 WQEW-AM radio replaces WQXR on 1560 in NYC
1993 Dow Jones Industrial Average hits record 3702.11

Houston Rockets' Streak

1993 Houston Rockets score a 94-85 win over the Knicks at New York’s Madison Square Garden, recording their 15th straight win to start the season; tie Washington Capitols' all-time NBA record 1948-49; streak ends next game

1993 Space shuttle STS-61 (Endeavour 5) launches

1994 Andrew Lloyd Webber admitted to hospital for ulcer treatment
1994 Cruise liner Achille Lauro (Willem Ruys) sinks off the coast of Somalia
1994 Jury finds Heidi Fleiss guilty of running a call girl ring
1995 Montreal Canadiens coach Mario Tremblay leaves goaltender Patrick Roy in the game too long, allowing an embarrassing 9 goals in 11-1 rout by Detroit Red Wings; Roy demands trade; moves to Colorado Avalanche and wins Stanley Cup that season
1997 For only the second time in English Football League history, 5 players are sent from the field; 4 Bristol Rovers players and 1 from Wigan are dismissed in the Division 2 match at JJB Stadium; four of the red cards come in 45th minute
1997 MCI Center opens in Washington, D.C., Wizards vs SuperSonics
1999 The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive
2000 England holds off a determined comeback by South Africa to notch up their 3rd Southern Hemisphere rugby scalp of the autumn with a 25-17 win at Twickenham; previously beat Australia, 22-19 and Argentina, 19-0
2001 Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York

Fernandes Buys AirAsia

2001 Tony Fernandes' company Tune Air Sdn Bhd buys the heavily indebted AirAsia for 1 MYR (about USD 0.26 at the time)

2002 New climate-controlled vault to conserve and display the Sarajevo Haggadah illuminated manuscript (c. 1350) dedicated in Sarajevo’s National Museum

The Simple Life

2003 US reality TV show "The Simple Life" with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie premieres on Fox-TV

2005 Van Tuong Nguyen is executed in Singapore for drug trafficking.

2008 Ballon d'Or: Manchester United's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins his first award as best football player in the world; Barcelona forward Lionel Messi 2nd, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres 3rd

2008 Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigns after the 2008 Thailand political crisis
2012 9 people are killed after 30 cars are trapped in Sasago Tunnel, Japan
2012 Borut Pahor is elected President of Slovenia
2012 Pier Luigi Bersani is elected Italian Prime Minister

2013 China launches its first moon rover mission
2014 After featuring in a magazine article with long-time life partner, veteran MLB umpire and crew chief Dale Scott openly acknowledges his homosexuality; overwhelmingly positive reaction from baseball circles
2014 Comedian Bill Cosby resigns from the board of trustees of an American university following renewed sexual assault allegations

Elizabeth Lauten Resigns

2014 Elizabeth Lauten, an aide to a Republican congressman resigns after her online criticism of President Barack Obama's teenage daughters

2014 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists clash with police as they try to surround the government's headquarters in some of the worst violence since the protests began

Hawking on AI

2014 Stephen Hawking claims that artificial intelligence could be a "threat to mankind" and spell the end of the human race

2014 The World Food Programme suspends critical food aid to more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt because of a lack of funds
2014 Vanuatu police arrest at least 20 people over the deaths by hanging of two men accused of sorcery
2015 Attack on a social services centre in San Bernardino, California kills 14 and wounds 17

Trump Breaks "One China" Policy

2016 Donald Trump takes a call with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, in a break from America's long standing "One China" policy

2016 Fire during a dance party at an illegally re=purposed warehouse in Oakland< California kills 36
2016 For 6th time in 7 years, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto wins Tip O'Neill Award as best Canadian MLB player; hit .326 with NL-leading .434 OBP, 29 HRs & 97 RBIs in an outstanding all-around season for last-place club
2017 Egyptian lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh sentenced to 3 years in prison for saying women wearing ripped jeans should be raped

Charges for Netanyahu

2018 Israeli police recommend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife be charged with fraud and bribery

Buhari Denies Death

2018 Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari denies he has died and been replaced by a Sudanese impostor after ill health

Trade War Truce

2018 Trade war truce agreed between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at G-20 meeting in Argentina

Model of the Year

2019 Adut Akech, Sudanese-Australian model and activist, wins "Model of the Year" award at the British Fashion Awards in London

2019 FIFA Ballon d'Or: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins his record 6th award from Liverpool's Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk; American midfielder Megan Rapinoe is Women's World Player of the Year

2019 Hawaiian Carissa Moore earns her 4th World Surf League Women’s Championship Tour title with a third placing at the season-ending Maui Pro event at Honolua Bay
2019 Steve Bullock and Joe Sestak drop out of the US Presidential race
2020 The UK becomes the first western country to authorize a vaccine for COVID-19, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine
2020 US Attorney General William Barr says there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, despite claims by President Donald Trump
2020 US records its largest daily death toll for COVID-19 at 2,885 and for the first time patient numbers in hospital exceed 100,000
2023 American rock band KISS concludes farewell "End of the Road" tour at Madison Square Garden, NYC; the encore is performed by the premiere of digital avatars of the group
2023 Flooding and landslides in Northern Tanzania result in 63 deaths, amid ongoing massive El Nino flooding throughout East Africa [1]

Biden Visits Angola

2024 US President Joe Biden lands in Luanda, Angola, on his only trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the first US president to visit since 2015