December 5th, 1901

The great American film producer Walt Disney was born. He would go on to create one of the most successful children’s film studios that led to the creation of Disneyland in 1955.

December 6th, 1865

The state of Georgia ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished American slavery, and effectively became the 27th state to do so. This was the last state needed in order to ratify the amendment nationally and add it to the Constitution.

December 7th, 1941

The Japanese attacked an American naval base at Pearl Harbor which gave President Franklin Delano Roosevelt the justification to officially enter World War II. 

December 8th, 1980

John Lennon was shot and killed in New York City by Mark David Chapman. Chapman was supposedly a longtime fan of Lennon who turned against him after a recent religious conversion that led him to believe that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.”

December 9th, 1979

The World Health Organization deemed that the smallpox epidemic was officially eradicated. This came roughly ten years after vaccinations against the virus were released.

December 10th, 1884

The classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was first published in the United Kingdom and Canada. The novel would be released in the United States the following year.

December 11th, 1972 

Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt departed Apollo 17 and became the most recent people to have walked on the moon. Schmitt is also known for his time as a US Senator from the state of New Mexico. Today, he enjoys retirement at the age of 87.