Other Notable Events for December 16
Published in History & Quotes
On this date in history:
In 1773, about 50 American patriots, protesting the British tax on tea, dumped 342 chests of it into Boston harbor in what became known as the Boston Tea Party.
In 1835, a fire swept New York City, razing 600 buildings and causing $20 million damage.
In 1893, Anton Dvorak's New World Symphony premiered at New York's Carnegie Hall.
In 1913, British actor Charles Chaplin reported to work at Keystone Studios in Hollywood, launching a legendary film career.
In 1944, Germany launched a counteroffensive in World War II that became known as The Battle of the Bulge.
In 1953, Chuck Yeager set an airborne speed record, flying a Bell X-1A rocket-fueled plane at more than 1,600 miles an hour.
In 1960, 131 people were killed in the collision of two planes over foggy New York Harbor.
In 1991, the U.N. General Assembly repealed a resolution equating Zionism with racism. It had been a major stumbling block in achieving peace in the Middle East.
In 1998, U.S. and British jet fighters began a four-night campaign of bombing more than 100 Iraqi military targets. The long-threatened action came after the allies concluded Iraq wouldn't cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.
In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush signed legislation authorizing the creation of a museum honoring African-Americans.
In 2005, the Palestinian militant group Hamas won a sweeping victory in West Bank municipal elections.
In 2006, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman died at age 94.
In 2008, the U.N. Security Council adopted its first resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in five years, calling on both sides to step up efforts for a lasting peace and stating that U.S.-brokered talks were irreversible.
In 2012, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party scored a big win in parliamentary elections and Shinzo Abe was set to become prime minister for the second time. (Abe officially assumed the office 10 days later.)
In 2013, John Donald Cody, who operated a fake veterans charity that collected $100 million in donations, was sentenced to 28 years in prison in Ohio.
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