On This Day

What Happened on December 14 in History

8 events that happened on December 14, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.

The Young Republic and the Civil War Era

1799
George Washington died at his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia at age 67.
Washington had commanded the Continental Army in the Revolution and served as the first president of the United States.
Source: history.com
1819
Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state.
Settlers poured in after statehood, and the population soared to nearly 128,000 by 1820.
Source: history.com

1911
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led the first expedition to reach the South Pole.
Traveling with sled dogs, Amundsen's team beat a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott. They planted the Norwegian flag and returned safely to their base camp.
Source: history.com
1939
The League of Nations expelled the Soviet Union over its invasion of Finland.
Soviet forces had attacked Finland at the end of November 1939, opening the Winter War. The expulsion was one of the League's last significant acts before World War II left it powerless.
Source: history.com

1962
NASA's Mariner 2 flew past Venus, the first successful visit by a spacecraft to another planet.
Passing within about 21,600 miles of Venus, the probe scanned the planet for 42 minutes and gathered data on its atmosphere and surface.
Source: science.nasa.gov; nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1964
The Supreme Court upheld the Civil Rights Act's ban on segregation in public accommodations.
In Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, the justices ruled that Congress could use its power over interstate commerce to bar a motel from refusing Black guests.
Source: law.cornell.edu

1995
The Dayton Accords were formally signed in Paris, ending the war in Bosnia.
Leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia signed the agreement negotiated in Dayton, Ohio. It ended a four-year conflict, one of the worst in Europe since World War II.
Source: millercenter.org
2012
A gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
The 20-year-old attacker, who had killed his mother earlier that morning, shot his way into the school and then took his own life as police arrived. The victims included 6- and 7-year-old first graders.
Source: history.com