12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for December 16, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1707 – Japan’s Mount Fuji begins the Hōei eruption, the volcano’s last confirmed major eruption, sending heavy ash across eastern Japan.
- 1773 – The Boston Tea Party: American colonists dump East India Company tea into Boston Harbor to protest British taxation and monopoly power.
- 1893 – Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”) is premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City, becoming one of the most famous works in the orchestral canon.
- 1907 – The U.S. Navy’s “Great White Fleet” departs Hampton Roads to demonstrate American naval reach on a global cruise.
- 1914 – World War I: The Imperial German Navy raids Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby, bringing the war directly to Britain’s coastline.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins as Germany launches a surprise Ardennes offensive against Allied forces.
- 1960 – A mid-air collision over New York City kills 134 people, one of the deadliest aviation disasters of its era.
- 1965 – NASA’s Gemini 6A completes the first crewed space rendezvous, meeting up with Gemini 7 in orbit and proving a key technique for future lunar missions.
- 1991 – The UN General Assembly revokes the earlier “Zionism is racism” determination (Resolution 3379), a major diplomatic reversal at the end of the Cold War era.
- 1991 – Kazakhstan declares independence from the Soviet Union, becoming the last Soviet republic to do so as the USSR collapses.
- 2010 – CNN airs the final episode of “Larry King Live,” ending one of cable news’ most influential long-running interview shows.
- 2014 – Pakistan’s Peshawar school massacre: Taliban gunmen attack an army-run school, killing 150 people—at least 134 of them students.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1937 – Edward Ruscha – American artist associated with Pop Art and conceptual art, known for word paintings and iconic depictions of the American West. (88)
- 1938 – Liv Ullmann – Norwegian actor and director, acclaimed for her work with Ingmar Bergman and a landmark career on stage and screen. (87)
- 1941 – Lesley Stahl – American television journalist and longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent, one of the most prominent interviewers in U.S. broadcast news. (84)
- 1946 – Benny Andersson – Swedish musician and songwriter, co-founder of ABBA and a major figure in modern pop composition. (79)
- 1949 – Billy Gibbons – American guitarist and singer, frontman of ZZ Top and a signature voice in blues-rock guitar. (76)
- 1963 – Benjamin Bratt – American actor known for film and TV roles including “Law & Order,” “Miss Congeniality,” and “Traffic.” (62)
- 1963 – James Mangold – American filmmaker and director known for “Walk the Line,” “Logan,” and “Ford v Ferrari.” (62)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1921 – Camille Saint-Saëns – French composer (“The Carnival of the Animals,” “Samson and Delilah”), a major figure in Romantic-era music. (86)
- 1965 – W. Somerset Maugham – English novelist and playwright, one of the most widely read writers of the early 20th century. (91)
- 1980 – Colonel Harland Sanders – American entrepreneur, founder and face of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). (90)
- 1989 – Lee Van Cleef – American actor famed for Spaghetti Western roles, including “For a Few Dollars More” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” (64)
- 1997 – Lillian Disney – Ink artist and philanthropist, wife of Walt Disney and an influential behind-the-scenes figure in the Disney story. (98)
- 2007 – Dan Fogelberg – American singer-songwriter known for soft-rock classics including “Longer” and “Same Old Lang Syne.” (56)
- 2017 – Keely Smith – American jazz and pop vocalist, celebrated for her work with Louis Prima and her Grammy-winning performances. (89)
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