Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2022. There are 25 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified as Georgia became the 27th state to endorse it.

On this date:

In 1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York.

In 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia.

In 1917, some 2,000 people were killed when an explosives-laden French cargo ship, the Mont Blanc, collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo at the harbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off a blast that devastated the Canadian city. Finland declared its independence from Russia.

In 1922, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which established the Irish Free State, came into force one year to the day after it was signed in London.

In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Calvin Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.

In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman.

In 1957, America's first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding.

In 1962, 37 coal miners were killed in an explosion at the Robena No. 3 Mine operated by U.S. Steel in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.

In 1969, a free concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Alameda County, California, was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a Hell's Angel.

In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.

In 1989, 14 women were shot to death at the University of Montreal's school of engineering by a man who then took his own life.

In 1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president.

Ten years ago: Shocking some of his closest Republican colleagues, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina announced he would resign his seat to head Washington's conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. Marijuana possession became legal in Washington state, the day a measure approved by voters to regulate marijuana like alcohol took effect.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be Israel's capital, defying warnings from the Palestinians and others around the world that he would be destroying hopes for Mideast peace. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would seek reelection, putting him on track to become Russia's longest-serving ruler since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

One year ago: The Justice Department said it was ending its investigation into the 1955 lynching of the Black teenager Emmett Till, who was killed after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman in Mississippi. The White House said the U.S. would stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest Chinese human rights abuses; U.S. athletes would compete, but no U.S. dignitaries would be sent to attend the games. The Biden administration reinstated a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. Medina Spirit, a 3-year-old colt whose Kentucky Derby victory in May came under scrutiny because of a positive drug test, collapsed and died after a workout at Santa Anita in Southern California.

Today's Birthdays: Comedy performer David Ossman is 86. Actor Patrick Bauchau is 84. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 81. Actor James Naughton is 77. Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is 77. R&B singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 76. Former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., is 74. Actor JoBeth Williams is 74. Actor Tom Hulce is 69. Actor Wil Shriner is 69. Actor Kin Shriner is 69. Actor Miles Chapin is 68. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam) is 67. Comedian Steven Wright is 67. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 67. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 66. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 61. Actor Janine Turner is 60. Rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) is 60. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 55. Rock musician Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 52. Writer-director Craig Brewer is 51. Actor Colleen Haskell is 46. Actor Lindsay Price is 46. Actor Ashley Madekwe is 41. Actor Nora Kirkpatrick is 38. Christian rock musician Jacob Chesnut (Rush of Fools) is 33. Tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe is 31. NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo is 28.