Rosa Parks
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Ralph Bunche
Napoleon Bonaparte
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
DECEMBER
T
he month of December signifies
the end of a calendar year. It
is usually one that is rich with
festivities. Each month brings
with it a series of interesting, historical
events. Let us take a quick look at the
month of December.
The Observer was first published in
Britain on December 4, 1791. It is now
the oldest newspaper in the world.
Educator Thomas Gallaudet was
born on December 10, 1787, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He cofounded the American School for the
Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1817.
On December 5, 1791, renowned
musician and composer Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart died a pauper at age
35 in Vienna, Austria. At the time of his
death, he had created over 600 musical
compositions. He is widely referred to
as one of the finest composers who
ever lived. He began composing at the
age of five.
Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned
Emperor of France in Paris on
December 2, 1804 by Pope Pius V111.
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Nov - Dec 2014
On December 6, 1865, the 13th
Amendment to the United States
Constitution was ratified, abolishing
slavery.
On December 10, 1950, Dr Ralph
Bunche became the first African
American man awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize, for his efforts in mediation
between Israel and nearby Arab
states during the previous year. He
was involved in the formation and
administration of the United Nations.
In 1963, he was awarded the Medal
of Freedom by President John F.
Kennedy.
December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks was
arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for
refusing to give up her seat to a white
man and moving to the back section of
a municipal bus. Her act of bravery is
considered to be the start of the modern
civil rights movement in America. Her
arrest led to a yearlong boycott of the
bus system by African Americans. It
also led to legal actions that resulted in
the termination of racial segregation on
municipal buses throughout the South.
December 2, 1971: The United Arab
Emirates was formed, consisting of
After The Bell
seven Arab kingdoms on the eastern
coast of the Arabian Peninsula. These
kingdoms include the former Trucial
states Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah,
Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain and Fujairah.
Ras al-Khaimah became a member in
1972.
On December 2, 1982, Dr William
Dvries implanted the first permanent
artificial heart in Barney C Clark,
who was on the verge of dying. The
operation took place at the University of
Utah Medical Centre in Salt Lake City.
Clark, who was 61 years old, survived
for 112 days after the operation.
On December 1, 1988, Benazir Bhutto
was nominated to become the prime
minister of Pakistan. She is the first
woman to govern a Muslim nation.