
1897 – First submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated.
1907 – As a gesture of the United States’ new presence as a world power, President Theodore Roosevelt sends the “Great White Fleet,” a squadron of 16 battleships painted white, on world tour, visiting ports internationally.
1912 – First United States postage stamp picturing an airplane, a 20 cent parcel post, is issued.
1926 – Major League Baseball owners renew the contract with Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for a second 7-year term.
1930 – Golfer Bobby Jones is the first to win the James E. Sullivan Award that recognized the best United States amateur athlete.
1938 – State of California executes at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County 38-year-old Ed Davis, leader of the Folsom Prison escape attempt that resulted in the murder of the warden and a guard.
1950 – Child star Shirley Temple announces her retirement from films at age 22.
1950 – President Harry Truman proclaims state of emergency against “Communist Imperialism.”
1960 – TWA 266 and United 820 collide over Staten Island, killing 134 people.
1962 – “Lawrence of Arabia” film directed by David Lean and starring Peter O’Toole is released in the United States.
1967 – Wilt Chamberlain of NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers scores 68 points against Chicago.
1972 – The Miami Dolphins become the first NFL team to finish the regular season unbeaten (14-0-0). record.
1975 – The first broadcast of “One Day at a Time” on CBS-TV.
1982 – The Federal Reserve announces that the operating capacity of factories has gone down to 67.8%.
1985 – John Gotti assumes leadership of New York’s Gambino crime family after ordering the executions of Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti.
1997 – President Bill Clinton names his Labrador Retriever “Buddy.”
2009 – Ben Bernanke, chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, is named Time’s Person of the Year for rescuing the global economy from the Great Recession.
2013 – 79th Heisman Trophy Award: Jameis Winston, Florida State quarterback.
2015 – United States Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25% for the first time since 2006.
2019 – Mariah Carey’s single “All I Want For Christmas Is You” reaches No. 1, 25 years after release.