1882 – First string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison.
1894 – United States Golf Association forms in New York.
1910 – United States postal savings stamps first issued.
1915 – Organized baseball and Federal League sign a peace treaty at Cincinnati. Federal Baseball League dissolves.
1931 – Retrospective show of Mexican artist Diego Rivera opens at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
1936 – First common carrier license issued by Interstate Commerce Commission in Scranton, Pa.
1941 – Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C. for a wartime conference.
1943 – Manufacturers get permission to use synthetic rubber for baseball core.
1956 – Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Columbus, Ohio.
1958 – Christmas novelty single “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t be Late)” by David Seville and the Chipmunks reaches #1 – the only holiday chart-topper until Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You” in 2019.
1963 – Official 30-day mourning period for President John F. Kennedy ends. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22.
1969 – Pete Maravich sets an NCAA record of hitting 30 of 31 foul shots.
1975 – President Gerald Ford signs the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) which establishes the National Petroleum Reserve.
1983 – Indiana Pacers win 133-132 in Denver to end a 28-game losing streak on the road.
1995 – David Cone signs a $19.5-million 3-year contract with the New York Yankees.
2000 – On This Day launched as HistoryOrb.com.
2010 – Repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. It was a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals from serving in the US military. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama.
2022 – American life expectancy is now at its lowest in nearly two decades – 76.4 years, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control. The biggest factors in the fall, among many, was COVID-19 and drug overdoses.
2022 – US Drug Enforcement Administration says it seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill every American, more than 379 million doses.
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