Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2023. 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.

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 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.

In 2017, 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.

In 2018, Kevin Hart announced that he had stepped down as Oscars host following an outcry over anti-gay tweets and comments he had made in the past.

In 2021, 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.

In 2022, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election that ensured Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden's term.

Today's Birthdays: Comedy performer David Ossman is 87. Actor Patrick Bauchau is 85. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 82. Actor James Naughton is 78. Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is 78. R&B singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 77. Former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., is 75. Actor JoBeth Williams is 75. Actor Tom Hulce is 70. Actor Wil Shriner is 70. Actor Kin Shriner is 70. Actor Miles Chapin is 69. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam) is 68. Comedian Steven Wright is 68. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 68. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 67. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 62. Actor Janine Turner is 61. Rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) is 61. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 56. Rock musician Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 53. Writer-director Craig Brewer is 52. Actor Colleen Haskell is 47. Actor Lindsay Price is 47. Actor Ashley Madekwe is 42. Actor Nora Kirkpatrick is 39. Tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe is 32. NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo is 29.