On December 14, 1542, the crown of Scotland passed to an infant scarcely a week old. Mary Stuart—known to history as Mary, Queen of Scots—became monarch upon the death of her father, James V, a king not yet 31, worn down by military defeat,…
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On December 14, 1903, at the windswept dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first attempt at history. The brothers had dedicated years of meticulous research and experimentation to achieve controlled, sustained flight, and this moment marked the culmination…
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On December 14, 1836, the long-running Toledo War—a peculiar and bloodless boundary conflict between Michigan Territory and Ohio—reached its unofficial end when Michigan delegates convened at the so-called “Frostbitten Convention.” They voted to accept Congress’ proposed terms for statehood, closing a contentious chapter in…
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On December 13, 1623, the small and precarious Plymouth Colony took a step whose significance far exceeded its population or power. That winter, the colony formally established trial by a jury of twelve men, marking the first known adoption of the English common-law jury…
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The National Guard, a vital component of American defense and community service, traces its origins to December 13, 1636. On that day, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony took the decisive step of organizing its militia into three regiments. This move, aimed…
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The capture of Saddam Hussein was a pivotal moment in modern history, marking a significant turning point in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On December 13, 2003, American forces, acting on intelligence information, located and apprehended the former Iraqi president near…
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The winter of 627 opened with an army that should not have existed. After years of catastrophic defeats, territorial losses stretching from Egypt to Syria, and a Persian occupation that once reached the very gates of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire was expected—by friends and…
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On December 12, 2000, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Bush v. Gore, a pivotal case that effectively determined the winner of the 2000 presidential election. The case emerged from the extraordinarily close vote in Florida, a state with 25 critical…
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During the late 1910s, while ministering to the homeless of Omaha, Nebraska, Father Edward Joseph Flanagan became interested in young people and their struggle to grow into responsible, productive adults. He wanted to help them improve their lives and soon founded Boys Town on…
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The Root and Branch Petition, presented to the Long Parliament on December 11, 1640, stands as one of the most provocative and destabilizing petitions of the English Reformation era. Signed by an estimated 15,000 Londoners—an extraordinary number for the period—it demanded nothing less than…
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