December 9: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1793 - New York City's first daily newspaper, the American Minerva, is established by Noah Webster.
2. 1851 - The first YMCA in North America is established in Montreal, Quebec.
3. 1872 - In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first serving African-American governor of a U.S. state.
4. 1962 - The Petrified Forest National Park is established in Arizona.
5. 1979 - The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first and to date only human disease driven to extinction.
6. Famous Birthdays: John Milton (English poet), Peter Pelham (English-American organist and composer), Fritz Haber (German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate), James Rainwater (American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate), McKayla Maroney (American gymnast)

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

Click Here for Yesterday in History: December 8

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: December 10

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.