On This Day in History, December 15

Do you love history? Do you often engage in history trivia questions to test your knowledge? We have compiled some historical events that happened on December 15.

Check them out!

  • 1791  – In the U.S., the first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, went into effect following ratification by the state of Virginia.
  • 1854 – The first street cleaning machine was put into use, in Philadelphia.
  • 1902 – German agricultural tariffs were increased.
  • 1933 – The twenty-first Amendment to U.S. Constitution came into effect.
  • 1938 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt presided over the ground-breaking ceremonies for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.
  • 1944 – American forces invaded Mindoro Island in the Philippines.
  • 1950 – Vallabhbhai Patel, the 1st Deputy prime minister of India, died.
  • 1961 – The U.N. General Assembly voted against a Soviet proposal to admit Communist China as a member.
  • 1964 – Canada’s House of Commons approved a newly designed flag, thereby dropping the Canadian “Red Ensign” flag.
  • 1966 – Walter Elias “Walt” Disney died in Los Angeles at the age of 65.
  • 1970 – The Soviet probe Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to land softly on the surface of Venus.
  • 1973 – American Psychiatric Association declared that homosexuality is not a mental illness.
  • 1981 – The U.S. Congress passed a $200 billion spending bill.
  • 1992 – IBM announced it would eliminate 25-thousand employees in the coming year.
  • 1993 – British Prime Minister John Major and Irish premier Reynolds signed the Downing Street Declaration concerning Northern Ireland’s self-determination.
  • 1994 – Palau became a member of the UN.
  • 1995 – The U.N. Security Council authorized NATO to take over the peacekeeping operations in Bosnia.
  • 1999 – Syria reopened peace talks with Israel in Washington, DC, with the mediation of U.S. President Clinton.
  • 2013 – Michelle Bachelet was re-elected President of Chile.
  • 2015 – The fifth Republican presidential candidates debate was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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