What Happened on December 15 in History?
Many significant events have occurred on December 15 throughout history, with the most notable being the day the U.S. Bill of Rights officially became law.
Key historical events that happened on December 15 include:
1791: The U.S. Bill of Rights was ratified by the Virginia legislature, thus becoming the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the law of the land.
1890: Lakota Sioux leader Sitting Bull was killed by Native American police during a confrontation on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota as they attempted to arrest him.
1939: The epic film Gone with the Wind, starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, had its world premiere in Atlanta, Georgia.
1944: Legendary jazz and swing bandleader Glenn Miller disappeared in a plane crash over the English Channel while traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II.
1961: Nazi SS officer Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death in Jerusalem for his central role in organizing the Holocaust.
1970: The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 became the first probe to transmit data successfully from the surface of another planet (Venus).
1973: The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its official list of mental illnesses, a major milestone for the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
1978: The United States announced it would formally recognize the People's Republic of China and sever official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, effective January 1, 1979.
2001: The Leaning Tower of Pisa officially reopened to the public after 11 years of stabilization work that secured the structure while maintaining its famous lean.
2011: The Iraq War officially ended when the United States military formally declared its mission in Iraq complete during a ceremony in Baghdad.
