12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for December 14, 2025
Today’s History:
1287 – The St. Lucia’s flood devastates coastal regions of the Netherlands and northern Germany, killing tens of thousands and reshaping the shoreline of the North Sea.
1542 – Six-day-old Mary, Queen of Scots, becomes queen after the death of her father, James V of Scotland, setting up a lifetime of dynastic conflict with England.
1819 – Alabama is admitted as the 22nd U.S. state, further extending American expansion into the Deep South.
1911 – Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team become the first humans to reach the South Pole, beating Robert Falcon Scott’s British expedition.
1939 – The League of Nations expels the Soviet Union for its invasion of Finland, a rare and symbolic rebuke of a major power on the eve of World War II.
1940 – A research team led by Glenn T. Seaborg first produces and isolates plutonium, a man-made element that will become central to nuclear weapons and reactors.
1955 – The United Nations admits 16 new member states in a single day, dramatically broadening its global representation during the Cold War era.
1962 – NASA’s Mariner 2 spacecraft flies by Venus, the first successful robotic mission to another planet and a milestone in interplanetary exploration.
1964 – In Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upholds the Civil Rights Act’s ban on racial discrimination in public accommodations under the Commerce Clause.
1995 – The Dayton Peace Accords formally are signed in Paris, cementing the agreement that ends the Bosnian War and reshapes the Balkans’ post-Yugoslav borders.
2012 – A gunman kills 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, a massacre that galvanizes renewed debate over gun laws and school safety in the United States.
2020 – Critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay in New York receives the first FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine dose in the United States, marking the start of the national vaccination campaign.
Today’s Birthdays:
1946 – Stan Smith – American former world No. 1 tennis player, two-time Grand Slam singles champion, and namesake of the iconic Adidas sneaker. (79)
1949 – Cliff Williams – English bassist best known for his decades as the rock-solid low end of AC/DC, anchoring the band’s classic hard-rock sound. (76)
1972 – Miranda Hart – English actor, comedian, and writer celebrated for her self-titled sitcom “Miranda” and roles in series such as “Call the Midwife.” (53)
1984 – Jackson Rathbone – American actor and musician best known for playing Jasper Hale in the Twilight film series and for his work in music projects like 100 Monkeys. (41)
1988 – Vanessa Hudgens – American actor and singer who broke out as Gabriella Montez in High School Musical and has since built a broad film, TV, and musical theater career. (37)
1991 – Offset – American rapper and songwriter, a former member of Migos and successful solo artist known for his influential role in 2010s trap and hip-hop. (34)
1992 – Tori Kelly – American singer-songwriter whose powerhouse vocals took her from YouTube and American Idol to Grammy-winning success in pop, R&B, and gospel. (33)
Today’s Deaths:
1799 – George Washington – American general, presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention, and first President of the United States, whose death at Mount Vernon was mourned across the young republic. (67)
1861 – Prince Albert – Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, a driving force behind educational and scientific reform and patron of the 1851 Great Exhibition, whose early death profoundly affected the queen. (42)
1963 – Dinah Washington – American jazz, blues, and R&B singer known as the “Queen of the Blues,” famed for her emotive delivery and a string of crossover hits in the 1950s. (39)
1974 – Walter Lippmann – American journalist, political commentator, and influential public intellectual whose writings on media, public opinion, and democracy shaped U.S. political discourse. (85)
1985 – Roger Maris – American baseball right fielder for the Yankees and Cardinals, forever remembered for hitting 61 home runs in 1961 to break Babe Ruth’s single-season record. (51)
1989 – Andrei Sakharov – Soviet nuclear physicist turned human-rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a central moral voice of the late Soviet dissident movement. (68)
1993 – Myrna Loy – American film star nicknamed the “Queen of Hollywood,” renowned for her sophisticated screen presence and later honored with an Academy Award for lifetime achievement. (88)
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