On December 31, 1695 – The window tax was imposed in Britain, which resulted in many windows being bricked up. On December 31, 1841 – The State of Alabama enacted the first dental legislation in the U.S. On December 31, 1857 – Britain’s Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital of Canada. On...
Read more »
On December 30, 1853 – The United States bought about 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase. On December 30, 1887 – A petition to Queen Victoria with over one million names of women appealing for public houses to be closed on Sundays was handed to...
Read more »
On December 29, 1812 – The USS Constitution won a battle with the British ship HMS Java about 30 miles off the coast of Brazil. Before Commodore William Bainbridge ordered the sinking of the Java he had her wheel removed to replace the one the Constitution had lost during the battle. On December 29,...
Read more »
On December 28, 1832 – John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down over differences with President Jackson. On December 28, 1836 – Mexico’s independence was recognized by Spain. On December 28, 1846 – Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union. On...
Read more »
On December 27, 1831 – Charles Darwin set out on a voyage to the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin’s discoveries during the voyage helped him form the basis of his theories on evolution. On December 27, 1845 – Dr. Crawford Williamson Long used anesthesia for childbirth for the first time. The event was...
Read more »
On December 26, 1620 – The Pilgrim Fathers landed at New Plymouth, MA, to found Plymouth Colony, with John Carver as Governor. On December 26, 1865 – The coffee percolator was patented by James H. Mason. On December 26, 1898 – Marie and Pierre Curie announced their discovery of radium to French Academy of...
Read more »
On December 25, 0800 – Charlemagne was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III. On December 25, 1776 – Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ. On December 25, 1868 – U.S. President Andrew Johnson granted an...
Read more »
As a kid, our artificial (fake, for those fond of four letter words) Christmas tree, along with all the ornaments and other related paraphernalia rested patiently in a large, bright red trunk; dormant until the holiday season. Inside that trunk also was a cassette tape. A cassette tape that has been, at least, in...
Read more »
On December 24, 1814 – The War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium. On December 24, 1828 – William Burke who, with his partner William Hare, dug up the dead and murdered to sell the corpses for dissection, went on trial...
Read more »
On December 23, 1783 – George Washington returned home to Mount Vernon, after the disbanding of his army following the Revolutionary War. On December 23, 1788 – Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the seat of the national government. About two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia. On December 23,...
Read more »