December 12: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.
2. 1862 - USS Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
3. 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the second black U.S. congressman, the first being Hiram Revels.
4. 1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal (the letter "S" [***] in Morse Code), at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
5. 1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
6. 1941 - World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Bulgaria. Hungaryand Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
7. 1941 - Adolf Hitler announces extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery
8. 1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.
9. 1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
10. 2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.
11. Famous Birthdays: Erasmus Darwin (English physician and poet), John Jay (American jusrist and politician, 1st Chief Justice of the United States), Henry Wells (American businessman, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express), William Kissam Vanderbilt (American businessman and horse breeder), Harry Warner (Polish-American businessman, co-founded Warner Bros.)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: December 11

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: December 13

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.