What happened on December 14? There are more than 287 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About December 14
December 14 is the 349th day of the year 2024. There are 17 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 50th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Keene, Texas 76059 sunrise will occur at 07:21 AM and sunset will occur at 05:26 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Sagittarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 46 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 20 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For December 14
- 557Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake.
- 1287St. Lucia’s flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people.
- 1542Princess Mary Stuart becomes Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 1751The Theresian Military Academy is founded as the first Military Academy in the world.
- 1782The Montgolfier brothers’ first balloon lifts off on its first test flight.
- 1812The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.
- 1814War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana.
- 1819Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state.
- 1836The Toledo War unofficially ends.
- 1896The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company.
- 1900Quantum Mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.
- 1902The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from Ocean Beach, San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii.
- 1903The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
- 1907The schooner Thomas W. Lawson runs aground and founders near the Hellweather’s Reef within the Scilly Isles in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die.
- 1909New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signed the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory.
- 1911Roald Amundsen’s team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.
- 1913Haruna, the fourth and last ship of the Sclass Kongō, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II.
- 1914Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires.
- 1918Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne.
- 1918President of Portugal Sidónio Pais is assassinated.
- 1939Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland.
- 1941World War II: Japan signs treaty of alliance with Thailand.
- 1946The United Nations General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York City.
- 1955Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sri Lanka join the United Nations.
- 1958The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first expedition to reach The Pole of Relative Inaccessibility in the Antarctic.
- 1961The United Republic of Tanzania joins the United Nations.
- 1962NASA’s Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
- 1963Baldwin Hills Reservoir wall bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles.
- 1964American Civil Rights Movement: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States – The United States Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Congress can use the Constitution’s Commerce Clause power to fight discrimination.
- 1971Over 200 of East Pakistan’s (now Bangladesh) intellectuals are massacred by the Pakistani Army and their local allies.
- 1972Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission. To date this is the last manned mission to the moon.
- 1981Arab-Israeli conflict: Israel’s Knesset passes The Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the area of the Golan Heights.
- 1983The 3rd Congress of the Communist Youth of Greece starts.
- 1988The ET3 television network is launched in Thessaloniki, Greece.
- 1992War in Abkhazia: During the Siege of Tkvarcheli, a helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli, Abkhazia, is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, 25 of which are children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia.
- 1994Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.
- 1995Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments.
- 1999Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations.
- 1999Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state’s infrastructure.
- 2003President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
- 2004Cuba and Venezuela found the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.
- 2004The Millau viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, near Millau, France is officially opened.
- 2006American spy satellite USA-193 is launched.
- 2008President George W. Bush makes his fourth and final (planned) trip to Iraq as president and is almost struck by two shoes thrown at him by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi during a news conference in Baghdad.
Who Were Born On December 14?
- 1009Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (d. 1045)
- 1503Nostradamus, French astrologer (d. 1566)
- 1546Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and alchemist (d. 1601)
- 1607János Kemény, Hungarian aristocrat, writer and prince of Transylvania (d. 1662)
- 1625Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, French orientalist (d. 1695)
- 1631Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway, English philosopher (d. 1679)
- 1640(baptism date) – Aphra Behn, English playwright and novelist (d. 1689)
- 1678Daniel Neal, English historian (d. 1743)
- 1720Justus Möser, German statesman (d. 1794)
- 1775Philander Chase, American founder of Kenyon College (d. 1852)
- 1775Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, British admiral (d. 1860)
- 1784Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, Princess of Asturias (d. 1806)
- 1787Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Empress of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (d. 1816)
- 1791Charles Wolfe, Irish poet (d. 1823)
- 1794Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (d. 1872)
- 1824Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter (d. 1898)
- 1852Daniel De Leon, South American socialist (d. 1914)
- 1853Errico Malatesta, Italian anarcho-communist (d. 1932)
- 1866Roger Fry, English artist and art critic (d. 1934)
- 1870Karl Renner, President of Austria (d. 1950)
- 1881Katherine MacDonald, American actress and film producer (d. 1956)
- 1883Manolis Kalomiris, Greek classical composer (d. 1962)
- 1884Jane Cowl, American actress and playwright (d. 1950)
- 1895King George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 1952)
- 1895Paul Eluard, French poet (d. 1952)
- 1896Jimmy Doolittle, American General (d. 1993)
- 1897Kurt Schuschnigg, Austrian politician (d. 1977)
- 1897Margaret Chase Smith, American politician (d. 1995)
- 1901Paul, king of Greece (d. 1964)
- 1902Frances Bavier, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1908Claude Davey, Welsh rugby union footballer (d. 2001)
- 1908Mária Szepes, Hungarian authoress (d. 2007)
- 1908Morey Amsterdam, American comedian and actor (d. 1996)
- 1909Edward Tatum, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (d. 1975)
- 1911Hans von Ohain, German/American aerospace engineer (d. 1998)
- 1911Spike Jones, American comedian and musician (d. 1965)
- 1913Dan Dailey, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1914Attila Petschauer, Hungarian fencer (d. 1943)
- 1914Karl Carstens, President of Germany (d. 1992)
- 1914Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (d. 2003)
- 1916Shirley Jackson, American writer (d. 1965)
- 1917C.-H. Hermansson, Swedish communist leader
- 1917Elyse Knox, American actress
- 1917June Taylor, American choreographer (d. 2004)
- 1918B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga advocate
- 1918James T. Aubrey, American television executive (d. 1994)
- 1918Radu Beligan, Romanian actor
- 1920Clark Terry, American trumpeter
- 1922Don Hewitt, American creator of 60 Minutes (d. 2009)
- 1922Junior J. Spurrier, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1984)
- 1922Nikolay Basov, Soviet physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2001)
- 1923Gerard Reve, Dutch writer (d. 2006)
- 1924Raj Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 1988)
- 1925Sam Jones, American baseball player (d. 1971)
- 1927Richard Cassilly, American tenor (d. 1998)
- 1931Jon Elia, Pakistani scholar, poet and philosopher (d. 2002)
- 1932Abbe Lane, American singer and actress
- 1932Charlie Rich, American musician (d. 1995)
- 1935Lee Remick, American actress (d. 1991)
- 1935Lewis Arquette, American film actor, writer and producer (d. 2001)
- 1938Hal Williams, American actor
- 1938Leonardo Boff, Brazilian theologian
- 1939Ernie Davis, American football player (d. 1963)
- 1940Lex Gold, Scottish football administrator
- 1941Ellen Willis, American journalist (d. 2006)
- 1941Karan Armstrong, American soprano
- 1942Zoe Laskari, Greek actress
- 1943R. Emmett Tyrrell, American magazine publisher
- 1946Jane Birkin, English-born French actress and singer
- 1946Joyce Vincent Wilson, American singer (Tony Orlando and Dawn)
- 1946Michael Ovitz, American film producer
- 1946Patty Duke, American actress
- 1946Ruth Fuchs, East German athlete
- 1946Stan Smith, American tennis player
- 1947Christopher Parkening, American guitarist
- 1947Dilma Rousseff, current President of Brazil
- 1947Linda Sutton, English artist
- 1948Dee Wallace, American actress
- 1948Kim Beazley, Australian politician
- 1949Bill Buckner, American baseball player
- 1949Cliff Williams, English bassist (AC/DC)
- 1951Jan Timman, Dutch chess grandmaster
- 1951Paul Zaloom, American actor and puppeteer
- 1952Germain Houde, French Canadian actor
- 1953Mikael Odenberg, Swedish politician
- 1953René Eespere, Soviet-born Estonian composer
- 1953Vangelis Meimarakis, Greek lawyer and politician
- 1953Vijay Amritraj, Indian tennis player
- 1954Alan Kulwicki, American NASCAR driver (d. 1993)
- 1954James Horan, American actor
- 1954Steven MacLean, Canadian astronaut
- 1956Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein skier
- 1958François Zocchetto, French politician
- 1958Mike Scott, Scottish singer-songwriter (The Waterboys)
- 1958Spider Stacy, English musician (The Pogues)
- 1959Bob Paris, American bodybuilder and gay rights advocate
- 1959Jorge Vaca, Mexican boxer
- 1960Chris Waddle, English footballer
- 1960Don Franklin, American actor
- 1961Patrik Sundstrom, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1962Ginger Lynn (Ginger Lynn Allen), American adult film actress
- 1963Alice Ripley American actress
- 1963Cynthia Gibb, American actress
- 1963Greg Abbott, English former football player
- 1963Mario Yamasaki, Mixed martial arts referee
- 1963Michael Moloney, American television personality and interior designer
- 1963Vytautas Juozapaitis, Lithuanian baritone, pedagogue (professor) and TV host
- 1965Craig Biggio, American baseball player
- 1965Ken Hill, American baseball player
- 1965Ted Raimi, an American actor
- 1966Anthony Mason, American basketball player
- 1966Bill Ranford, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966Fabrizio Giovanardi, Italian racecar driver
- 1966Tim Sköld, Swedish/American musician
- 1967Ewa Białołęcka, Polish writer
- 1968Noelle Beck, American actress
- 1969Natascha McElhone, English actress
- 1969Scott Hatteberg, American baseball player
- 1970Anna Maria Jopek, Polish singer
- 1970Beth Orton, English singer-songwriter
- 1970Nadine Garner, Australian actress
- 1971Brian Gay, professional golfer; three-time winner on the PGA Tour
- 1971Michaela Watkins, American comic actress (Saturday Night Live)
- 1971Tia Texada, American actress and singer
- 1972Eric Anderson, American musical theatre actor
- 1972Marcus Jensen, American baseball player
- 1972Miranda Hart, British comedienne
- 1973Amanda Byram, Irish television presenter
- 1973Pat Burke, Irish basketball player
- 1973Thuy Trang, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1973Tomasz Radzinski, Polish-born Canadian soccer player
- 1974Billy Koch, American baseball player
- 1975Justin Furstenfeld, American rock singer
- 1975KaDee Strickland, American actress
- 1976André Couto, Portuguese racing driver
- 1976Leland Chapman, American bounty hunter
- 1976Santiago Ezquerro, Spanish footballer
- 1976Sebastien Chaule, French-born German rugby player
- 1976Tammy Blanchard, American actress
- 1977Jamie Peacock, English rugby league footballer
- 1978Dean Brogan, Australian rules footballer
- 1978Kim St-Pierre, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player
- 1978Radu Sârbu, Moldovan-born Romanian singer (O-Zone)
- 1979Jean-Alain Boumsong, French footballer
- 1979Michael Owen, English footballer
- 1979Sophie Monk, Australian actress, singer, and model
- 1980Didier Zokora, Ivorian footballer
- 1980Tata Young, Thai-American singer
- 1981Émilie Heymans, Canadian diver
- 1981Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress
- 1981Johnny Jeter, American professional wrestler
- 1981Liam Lawrence, Irish footballer
- 1981Shaun Marcum, American baseball player
- 1982Anthony Way, English singer and actor
- 1982Josh Fields, American baseball player
- 1982Steve Sidwell, English footballer
- 1984Chris Brunt, Northern Irish footballer
- 1984Edward Rainsford, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1984Jackson Rathbone, American actor and musician
- 1985Jakub Błaszczykowski, Polish footballer
- 1985Julio Pimentel, Dominican baseball player
- 1985Nonami Takizawa, Japanese actress
- 1985Paul Rabil, Professional lacrosse player
- 1985Tom Smith, Welsh rugby union footballer
- 1987Alexander Gaskarth, American singer (All Time Low)
- 1988Hayato Sakamoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1988Nicolas Batum, French basketball player
- 1988Vanessa Hudgens, American singer and actress
- 1989Onew, South Korean singer (Shinee), musical actor and TV host
- 1989Pedro Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1992Ryo Miyaichi, Japanese footballer
- 1994Joshua Dionisio, Filipino actor
Who Died On December 14?
- 1460Guarino da Verona (b. 1370)
- 1476Vlad III the Impaler (b. 1431)
- 1510Friedrich of Saxony (b. 1473)
- 1542King James V of Scotland (b. 1512)
- 1553Hanibal Lucić, Croatian writer (b. 1485)
- 1591Saint John of the Cross, Spanish friar and poet (b. 1542)
- 1624Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, English statesman (b. 1536)
- 1651Pierre Dupuy, French scholar (b. 1582)
- 1713Thomas Rymer, English historian (b. 1641)
- 1715Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1636)
- 1735Thomas Tanner, English bishop and antiquarian (b. 1674)
- 1741Charles Rollin, French historian (b. 1661)
- 1788Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (b. 1714)
- 1788King Charles III of Spain (b. 1716)
- 1799George Washington, First President of the United States (b. 1732)
- 1831Martin Baum, American businessman and politician (b. 1765)
- 1838Jean-Olivier Chénier, French Canadian physician (b. 1806)
- 1860George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, British statesman (b. 1784)
- 1861Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria (b. 1819)
- 1865Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish geologist (b. 1794)
- 1873Louis Agassiz, Swiss-born American zoologist and geologist (b. 1807)
- 1878Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse (b. 1843)
- 1902Julia Dent-Grant, wife of Ulysses S. Grant (b. 1826)
- 1912Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis, British Army lieutenant (b. 1887)
- 1920George Gipp, American football player (b. 1895)
- 1927Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (b. 1842)
- 1935Stanley G. Weinbaum, American science-fiction author (b. 1902)
- 1943John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon and breakfast food manufacturer (b. 1852)
- 1947Edward Higgins, American evangelical (b. 1864)
- 1947Stanley Baldwin, British statesman (b. 1867)
- 1956Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Finnish politician (b. 1870)
- 1957Fred Chapman, American baseball player (b. 1872)
- 1963Dinah Washington, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1964William Bendix, American actor (b. 1906)
- 1966Shailendra, Indian lyricist (b. 1923)
- 1970Franz Schlegelberger, German Nazi politician (b. 1876)
- 1971Dick Tiger, Nigerian-born boxer (b. 1929)
- 1974Walter Lippmann, American journalist and political commentator (b. 1889)
- 1975Arthur Treacher, English actor (b. 1894)
- 1978Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish diplomat (b. 1886)
- 1984Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer and Nobel laureate (b. 1898)
- 1985Catherine Doherty, Russian-born Canadian social activist (b. 1896)
- 1985Roger Maris, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 1989Andrei D. Sakharov, Russian physicist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1921)
- 1989Jock Mahoney, American actor and stuntman (b. 1919)
- 1990Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (b. 1921)
- 1993Jeff Alm, American football player (b. 1968)
- 1993Myrna Loy, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1994Orval Faubus, American politician (b. 1910)
- 1996Gaston Miron, French-Canadian poet and editor (b. 1928)
- 1997Kurt Winter, Canadian musician (The Guess Who) (b. 1946)
- 1997Stubby Kaye, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1998Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights activist and author (b. 1928)
- 1998Annette Strauss, American philanthropist (b. 1924)
- 1998Norman Fell, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2001W. G. Sebald, German writer (b. 1944)
- 2003Blas Ople, Filipino diplomat (b. 1927)
- 2003Frank Sheeran, American labor union official (b. 1920)
- 2003Jeanne Crain, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2004Fernando Poe, Jr., Filipino actor and politician (b. 1939)
- 2004Rod Kanehl, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2005Trevanian, American author (b. 1931)
- 2006Ahmet Ertegün, Turkish-born American music executive (b. 1923)
- 2006Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan political strategist (b. 1938)
- 2006Mike Evans, American actor (b. 1949)
- 2009Alan A'Court, English footballer (b. 1934)
- 2010Dale Roberts, English footballer (b. 1986)
- 2010Neva Patterson, American actress (b. 1920)
- 2010Timothy Davlin, American politician (b. 1957)
- 2011Joe Simon, Comic book artist (b. 1913)
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