On This Day

What Happened on December 15 in History

8 events that happened on December 15, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.

The Young Republic and the Civil War Era

1791
The Bill of Rights became law when Virginia ratified the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
The amendments guaranteed freedoms of speech, press, religion and assembly, along with fair legal procedures and the right to bear arms. Congress had sent 12 proposed amendments to the states in 1789.
Source: history.com; archives.gov
1864
The Battle of Nashville began, ending in a decisive Union victory the next day.
George Thomas's Union army attacked John Bell Hood's Confederates outside the Tennessee capital. About 55,000 Union troops faced 30,000 Confederates, and the battle cost roughly 9,000 casualties.
Source: battlefields.org

1917
Russia's new Bolshevik government signed an armistice with the Central Powers.
The ceasefire took Russia out of the fighting in World War I. Peace talks at Brest-Litovsk ended in March 1918 with Russia giving up vast territory.
Source: history.com
1944
Bandleader Glenn Miller disappeared when his plane vanished over the English Channel.
Miller, who led the U.S. Army Air Forces dance band, was flying to France to perform for troops. The wreckage of his plane was never found.
Source: history.com
1945
General Douglas MacArthur ordered the end of Shinto as Japan's state religion.
The directive from the Allied occupation separated religion from the Japanese state, part of a plan to demilitarize Japan and build a constitutional government.
Source: history.com

1965
Gemini 6A lifted off and met Gemini 7 in orbit, a rendezvous of two crewed spacecraft.
Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford flew the 26-hour mission, steering to a rendezvous with Gemini 7, which had launched earlier and was already in orbit.
Source: nasa.gov
1978
President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would recognize the People's Republic of China.
After months of secret talks, the two countries agreed to establish full diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979, and the United States cut formal ties with Taiwan.
Source: history.com; history.state.gov

1993
Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" opened in theaters.
The film told the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved more than a thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. It won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Spielberg's first for Best Director.
Source: history.com