On December 26, 1991, the world changed when the Soviet Union officially came to an end, marking the official end of the Cold War, which had gripped the world for nearly five decades. The dissolution of the Soviet Union was a complex process, culminating…
Read More
Washington Crossing the Delaware is an iconic moment in American history that took place during the American Revolutionary War on the night of December 25-26, 1776. Leading the Continental Army, General George Washington orchestrated a daring and strategic crossing of the ice-filled Delaware River…
Read More
On the cold evening of December 24, 1800, an explosion shattered the Rue Saint-Nicaise in Paris, sending shock waves through a nation already rife with political tension. The target of this assassination attempt was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of the…
Read More
One day near the end of the Revolutionary War, the King of England and his royal painter, Benjamin West, born in Pennsylvania, were discussing what was happening in America. The King asked West what George Washington would do were America to be declared independent.…
Read More
The Red Guards were a paramilitary youth movement that emerged during the Cultural Revolution in China, starting around 1966. The movement was inspired by Chairman Mao Zedong’s vision of revitalizing the revolutionary spirit and purging perceived enemies of communism. Composed primarily of students and…
Read More
In the winter of 1970, an American legend was born that shaped the future of air combat forever. The prototype of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat soared into the skies on December 21, 1970. This inaugural flight marked the genesis of a game-changing chapter in…
Read More
On December 20, 1860, a secession convention in South Carolina voted unanimously to secede from the Union. Fearing that Republican Abraham Lincoln’s administration would appoint antislavery officials who would undermine slavery, slaveholders chose to abandon the Constitution and form their own nation. To justify…
Read More
On December 19, 1967, authorities declared Harold Holt, the 17th Prime Minister of Australia, “presumed dead” after he mysteriously disappeared two days before, forming one of the most enduring puzzles in Australian political history. On that fateful day, Holt went for a swim at…
Read More
December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William Seward officially proclaimed the Thirteenth Amendment ratified, officially ending slavery in the United States. Seward’s announcement was especially fulfilling to the New Yorker, who had spent much of his adult life fighting for the end of slavery.…
Read More
Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor born on March 29, 1984, became an unwitting symbol of resistance and change when he set himself on fire on December 17, 2010. His tragic act was a desperate response to the constant harassment and corruption he faced…
Read More
