12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for December 15, 2025
Today’s History:
1791 – The United States Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, takes effect after Virginia’s ratification, guaranteeing core civil liberties such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
1890 – Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed during an arrest attempt by Indian agency police at Standing Rock, an event that further destabilizes Native resistance on the Northern Plains.
1891 – James Naismith introduces the first version of basketball to his students at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, nailing up peach baskets and drafting 13 basic rules.
1933 – The Twenty-First Amendment formally takes effect, repealing national Prohibition in the United States and ending a 13-year experiment in banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol.
1939 – The film “Gone with the Wind” premieres at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, launching what becomes one of Hollywood’s most commercially successful and controversial epics.
1941 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims December 15 as Bill of Rights Day, calling on Americans to rededicate themselves to the principles outlined in the 1791 amendments.
1944 – U.S. Army Air Forces bandleader Glenn Miller disappears when his small aircraft vanishes over the English Channel en route to France, becoming one of World War II’s enduring mysteries.
1967 – The Silver Bridge connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, suddenly collapses during rush hour, killing 46 people and prompting major changes in U.S. bridge inspection standards.
1978 – President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will formally recognize the People’s Republic of China and shift diplomatic relations away from Taiwan effective January 1, 1979.
2009 – Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner completes its maiden flight from Everett, Washington, showcasing a new generation of fuel-efficient, composite-built commercial aircraft.
2011 – The United States formally ends its military mission in Iraq, with a flag-lowering ceremony in Baghdad marking the conclusion of nearly nine years of war.
2013 – South Africa buries former president Nelson Mandela in his hometown of Qunu following a state funeral, closing a 10-day period of global mourning for the anti-apartheid leader.
Today’s Birthdays:
1939 – Cindy Birdsong – American singer who rose to fame as a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles and later The Supremes, helping carry the group’s legacy into its late-1960s era. (86)
1939 – Dave Clark – English musician, bandleader, and producer best known as the drummer and driving force behind the British Invasion group The Dave Clark Five. (86)
1944 – Jim Leyland – American baseball manager and 2024 Hall of Fame inductee, who led the Florida Marlins to a World Series title and later managed the Detroit Tigers to multiple pennants. (81)
1949 – Don Johnson – American actor and producer best known for defining 1980s TV cool as Sonny Crockett on “Miami Vice” and later starring in series like “Nash Bridges.” (76)
1952 – Julie Taymor – American theater and film director whose visually inventive work includes Broadway’s “The Lion King” and the Frida Kahlo biopic “Frida.” (73)
1954 – Mark Warner – American businessman and Democratic politician serving as U.S. senator from Virginia and a key figure on technology, intelligence, and fiscal policy issues. (71)
1979 – Adam Brody – American actor and producer best known for his breakout role as Seth Cohen on “The O.C.” and for a steady career in film and television ensemble casts. (46)
Today’s Deaths:
1890 – Sitting Bull – Hunkpapa Lakota holy man and resistance leader whose spiritual and political influence made him a central figure in the Northern Plains wars and the memory of Little Bighorn. (59)
1943 – Fats Waller – American jazz pianist, composer, and entertainer whose stride piano style and songs like “Ain’t Misbehavin’” helped define Harlem’s swing era. (39)
1944 – Glenn Miller – American trombonist, bandleader, and arranger whose swing orchestra dominated the World War II home-front soundtrack before his disappearance over the English Channel. (40)
1966 – Walt Disney – American animator, producer, and entrepreneur, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company and creator of Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, and a global entertainment empire. (65)
2009 – Oral Roberts – American Pentecostal televangelist and faith-healing pioneer whose ministry helped shape the rise of modern Christian broadcasting and megachurch culture. (91)
2010 – Bob Feller – American Hall of Fame pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, renowned for his blazing fastball and wartime service in the U.S. Navy. (92)
2021 – bell hooks – American author, feminist theorist, and cultural critic whose work on race, gender, love, and education profoundly influenced contemporary social thought. (69)
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