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8 December 2019 – First confirmed case of COVID-19 in China

Coronavirus disease 2019

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• COVID-19

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9 December 2019 – A volcano on White Island, New Zealand, kills at least 18 people after it erupts.

2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption

Volcanic eruption which killed 22 and injured 25 people

On 9 December 2019, Whakaari / White Island, an active stratovolcano island in New Zealand's northeastern Bay of Plenty region, explosively erupted.^[3] The island was a popular tourist destination, known for its volcanic activity, and 47 people were on the island at the time. Twenty-two people died, either in the explosion or from injuries sustained, including two whose bodies were never found and were later declared dead. A further 25 people suffered injuries, with the majority needing intensive care for severe burns.^[4] Continuing seismic and volcanic activity, together with heavy rainfall, low visibility and the presence of toxic gases, hampered recovery efforts over the week following the incident.^[5][6][7]

Experts identified the event as a phreatic eruption: a release of steam and volcanic gases that caused an explosion, launching rock and ash into the air.^[8]

Following the eruption, investigations resulted in WorkSafe New Zealand charging the owners of the island and multiple tour operators as well as government and scientific agencies under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 for failing to ensure the health and safety of workers and others.^[9] As of July 2023^[update], the charges against two government agencies have been dismissed or dropped and five tour operators have pled guilty to health and safety charges. The trial of six remaining defendants (three individual owners of the island and three tour operating companies) commenced on 11 July 2023.^[10] In early September 2023, Judge Evangelos Thomas dismissed the individual charges against the island's owners Peter, Andrew, and James Buttle but upheld the charges against their company Whakaari Management Limited (WML).^[11] On 12 September, Thomas dismissed the charges against co-defendants Tauranga Tourism Services (TTSL) and ID Tours, reducing the number of defendants to one.^[12] On 31 October, WML was convicted of one health and safety charge relating to the eruption.^[13]

On 1 March 2024, Judge Thomas imposed a total of NZ$10.21 million in reparations and NZ$2 million in fines on the six defendants Whakaari Management Limited, White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris, Kahu Limited, Aerius, and GNS Science.^[14][15]

1. ^ ^{a b} "White Island". Global Volcanism Program. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ "Live: White Island erupting: Plumes of smoke, reports of multiple injuries in Bay of Plenty". The New Zealand Herald. 9 December 2019. ISSN 1170-0777. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
4. ^ "New Zealand volcano: Divers deployed to find last two missing bodies". 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
5. ^ "New volcanic activity slows NZ recovery efforts". BBC News. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
6. ^ "Helicopter pilot says rain and ash are hampering search for bodies of White Island victims". TVNZ. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
7. ^ "Six days after volcanic eruption in New Zealand's White Island, toxic gases, low visibility hamper search for victims". Firstpost. Associated Press. 15 December 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
8. ^ "The science of the White Island eruption: A catastrophic burst of steam". Stuff. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ Williams, Amy (11 July 2023). "Whakaari/White Island trial: What you need to know". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
11. ^ Stanford, Emma (5 September 2023). "Whakaari / White Island: Charges against owners dismissed". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
12. ^ Tahana, Yvonne; Lane, Jordan (12 September 2023). "More charges dismissed as WorkSafe's Whakaari case breaks down". 1 News. TVNZ. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
13. ^ Walton, Felix (31 October 2023). "Whakaari/ White Island trial: Whakaari Management convicted of one health and safety charge relating to fatal eruption". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
14. ^ Ferguson, Sharon (1 March 2024). "Whakaari: Judge says 'world is watching' as sentences handed down". 1 News. TVNZ. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
15. ^ "Brother of guide killed on Whakaari/White Island says sentencing 'bittersweet'". Radio New Zealand. 1 March 2024. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.

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10 December 1953 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill receives the Nobel Prize in literature.

Winston Churchill

British statesman and writer (1874–1965)

"Churchill" redirects here. For other uses, see Churchill (disambiguation) and Winston Churchill (disambiguation).

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill^[a] (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire into the wealthy, aristocratic Spencer family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British India, the Mahdist War (also known as the Anglo-Sudan War), and the Second Boer War, later gaining fame as a war correspondent and writing books about his campaigns. Elected a Conservative MP in 1900, he defected to the Liberals in 1904. In H. H. Asquith's Liberal government, Churchill served as President of the Board of Trade and Home Secretary, championing prison reform and workers' social security. As First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War, he oversaw the Gallipoli campaign, but after it proved a disaster, he was demoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He resigned in November 1915 and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front for six months. In 1917, he returned to government under David Lloyd George and served successively as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, overseeing the Anglo-Irish Treaty and British foreign policy in the Middle East. After two years out of Parliament, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, returning the pound sterling in 1925 to the gold standard at its pre-war parity, a move widely seen as creating deflationary pressure and depressing the UK economy.

Out of government during his so-called "wilderness years" in the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in calling for British rearmament to counter the growing threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was re-appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, he became prime minister, succeeding Neville Chamberlain. Churchill formed a national government and oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers, resulting in victory in 1945. After the Conservatives' defeat in the 1945 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition. Amid the developing Cold War with the Soviet Union, he publicly warned of an "iron curtain" of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. Between his terms as prime minister, he wrote several books recounting his experience during the war. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. He lost the 1950 election but was returned to office in 1951. His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, especially Anglo-American relations and preservation of what remained of the British Empire with India now no longer part of it. Domestically, his government emphasised housebuilding and completed the development of a nuclear weapon (begun by his predecessor). In declining health, Churchill resigned as prime minister in 1955, remaining an MP until 1964. Upon his death in 1965, he was given a state funeral.

One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Churchill remains popular in the UK and the rest of the Anglosphere where he is generally viewed as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. While he has been criticised for his views on race and empire alongside some of his wartime decisions, historians often rank Churchill as the greatest prime minister in British history.

1. ^ Price 2009, p. 12.

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11 December 1997 – The Kyoto Protocol opens for signature.

Kyoto Protocol

1997 international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

This article is about the international treaty. For the rock band, see Kyoto Protocol (band).

The Kyoto Protocol (Japanese: 京都議定書, Hepburn: Kyōto Giteisho) was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring and that human-made CO₂ emissions are driving it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. There were 192 parties (Canada withdrew from the protocol, effective December 2012)^[5] to the Protocol in 2020.

The Kyoto Protocol implemented the objective of the UNFCCC to reduce the onset of global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to "a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" (Article 2). The Kyoto Protocol applied to the seven greenhouse gases listed in Annex A: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).^[8] Nitrogen trifluoride was added for the second compliance period during the Doha Round.^[9]

The Protocol was based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities: it acknowledged that individual countries have different capabilities in combating climate change, owing to economic development, and therefore placed the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed countries on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The Protocol's first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. All 36 countries that fully participated in the first commitment period complied with the Protocol. However, nine countries had to resort to the flexibility mechanisms by funding emission reductions in other countries because their national emissions were slightly greater than their targets. The financial crisis of 2007–08 reduced emissions. The greatest emission reductions were seen in the former Eastern Bloc countries because the dissolution of the Soviet Union reduced their emissions in the early 1990s.^[10] Even though the 36 developed countries reduced their emissions, the global emissions increased by 32% from 1990 to 2010.^[11]

A second commitment period was agreed to in 2012 to extend the agreement to 2020, known as the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, in which 37 countries had binding targets: Australia, the European Union (and its then 28 member states, now 27), Belarus, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine stated that they may withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol or not put into legal force the Amendment with second round targets.^[12] Japan, New Zealand, and Russia had participated in Kyoto's first-round but did not take on new targets in the second commitment period. Other developed countries without second-round targets were Canada (which withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2012) and the United States (which did not ratify). If they were to remain as a part of the protocol, Canada would be hit with a $14 billion fine, which would be devastating to their economy, hence the reluctant decision to exit.^[13] As of October 2020, 147^[6][14] states had accepted the Doha Amendment. It entered into force on 31 December 2020, following its acceptance by the mandated minimum of at least 144 states, although the second commitment period ended on the same day. Of the 37 parties with binding commitments, 34 had ratified.

Negotiations were held in the framework of the yearly UNFCCC Climate Change Conferences on measures to be taken after the second commitment period ended in 2020. This resulted in the 2015 adoption of the Paris Agreement, which is a separate instrument under the UNFCCC rather than an amendment of the Kyoto Protocol.

1. ^ ^{a b c} Cite error: The named reference parties was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ "Kyoto Protocol on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" (PDF). United Nations.
3. ^ "What is the Kyoto Protocol?". UNFCCC.
4. ^ "Status of Ratification". unfccc.int. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
5. ^ ^{a b} "7 .a Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". UN Treaty Database. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
6. ^ ^{a b c} "7 .c Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol". UN Treaty Database. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
7. ^ "Nigeria, Jamaica bring closure to the Kyoto Protocol era, in last-minute dash". Climate Change News. 2 October 2020.
8. ^ "Overview of greenhouse gases - Defra, UK". Naei.beis.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
9. ^ "Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol" (PDF). Unfcc.int. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
10. ^ Shishlov, Igor; Morel, Romain; Bellassen, Valentin (2016). "Compliance of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in the first commitment period" (PDF). Climate Policy. 16 (6): 768–782. Bibcode:2016CliPo..16..768S. doi:10.1080/14693062.2016.1164658. S2CID 156120010.
11. ^ "The Emissions Gap Report 2012" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme. 2012. p. 2. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
12. ^ Figueres, C. (15 December 2012), "Environmental issues: Time to abandon blame-games and become proactive - Economic Times", The Economic Times / Indiatimes.com, Times Internet, retrieved 18 December 2012
13. ^ "Canada pulls out of Kyoto Protocol". CBC News. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
14. ^ "United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Retrieved 23 July 2016.

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12 December 2000 – The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore.

Bush v. Gore

2000 U.S. Supreme Court case

This article is about the Supreme Court case. For the presidential race with which the case was concerned, see 2000 United States presidential election.

2000 United States Supreme Court case

Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. On December 8, the Florida Supreme Court had ordered a statewide recount of all undervotes, over 61,000 ballots that the vote tabulation machines had missed. The Bush campaign immediately asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the decision and halt the recount. Justice Antonin Scalia, convinced that all the manual recounts being performed in Florida's counties were illegitimate, urged his colleagues to grant the stay immediately.^[1] On December 9, the five conservative justices on the Court granted the stay, with Scalia citing "irreparable harm" that could befall Bush, as the recounts would cast "a needless and unjustified cloud" over Bush's legitimacy. In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that "counting every legally cast vote cannot constitute irreparable harm."^[1] Oral arguments were scheduled for December 11.

In a 5–4 per curiam decision, the Court ruled, strictly on equal protection grounds, that the recount be stopped. Specifically, it held that the use of different standards of counting in different counties violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution; the case had also been argued on Article II jurisdictional grounds, which found favor with only Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and William Rehnquist. The Court then ruled as to a remedy, deciding against the remedy proposed by Justices Stephen Breyer and David Souter to send the case back to Florida to complete the recount using a uniform statewide standard before the scheduled December 18 meeting of Florida's electors in Tallahassee.^[1] Instead, the majority held that no alternative method could be established within the discretionary December 12 "safe harbor" deadline set by Title 3 of the United States Code (3 U.S.C.), § 5, which the Florida Supreme Court had stated that the Florida Legislature intended to meet.^[2] The Court, holding that not meeting the "safe harbor" deadline would violate the Florida Election Code, rejected an extension of the deadline to allow the Florida court to finish counting disputed ballots under uniform guidelines requested in a remedy proposed by Breyer and Souter. That deadline arrived two hours after the release of the Court's decision.

The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore was among the most controversial in U.S. history, as it allowed the vote certification made by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to stand, giving Bush Florida's 25 electoral votes. Florida's votes gave Bush, the Republican nominee, 271 electoral votes, one more than the 270 required to win the Electoral College. This meant the defeat of Democratic candidate Al Gore, who won 267 electoral votes but received 266, as a "faithless elector" from the District of Columbia abstained from voting. Media organizations later analyzed the ballots and found that, under specified criteria, the original, limited recount of undervotes of several large counties would have resulted in a Bush victory, though a statewide recount would have shown that Gore received the most votes. Florida later retired the punch-card voting machines that produced the ballots disputed in the case.^[3][4][5]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Margolick, David (October 2004). "The Path to Florida". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast.
2. ^ "Search – Supreme Court of the United States". www.supremecourt.gov.
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference FBP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference battle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NORCc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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13 December 2003 – Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.

Operation Red Dawn

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• Capture of Saddam Hussein

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14 December 2008 – Muntadhar al-Zaidi throws his shoes at then-U.S. President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq.

Bush shoeing incident

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• George W. Bush shoeing incident

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15 December 2010 – A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people.

2010 Christmas Island boat disaster

2010 sinking of an Indonesian boat carrying asylum seekers off Christmas Island, Australia

On 15 December 2010, an Indonesian fishing boat (known as the Janga and referred to as SIEV-221 by Australian Government authorities) carrying 89 asylum seekers and 3 crew members sank after being dashed against the rocks near Rocky Point, Christmas Island, an external Australian territory. 50 people died and 42 were rescued. The incident was the worst civilian maritime disaster in Australia in more than a century.^[1]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ "'Too dangerous' to attempt rescue in Christmas Island boat tragedy, court told". The Guardian. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 28 September 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

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16 December 1903 – Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel in Bombay first opens its doors to guests.

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

Five-star hotel in Colaba, Mumbai, India

The Taj Mahal Palace is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, situated next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, it opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has historically often been known simply as "The Taj". The hotel is named after the Taj Mahal, which is located in the city of Agra approximately 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) from Mumbai. It has been considered one of the finest hotels in the East since the time of the British Raj. The hotel was one of the main targets in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Part of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, the hotel has 560 rooms and 44 suites and is considered the flagship property of the group; it employs 1,600 staff. The hotel is made up of two different structures: the Taj Mahal Palace and the Tower, which are historically and architecturally distinct from each other (the Taj Mahal Palace was built in 1903; the Tower was opened in 1972).

The hotel has received many notable guests, from presidents to captains of industry and movie stars.^[1][2]

1. ^ Sherwell, Philip (24 October 2010). "Barack Obama's Indian delegation 'books 800 rooms in Mumbai'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
2. ^ Punit, Itika Sharma (8 April 2016). "'Panama Peppers:' The restaurants in India that only those with great tax shelters can afford". Quartz.

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17 December 1969 – Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.

Project Blue Book

American systematic study of unidentified flying objects

This article is about the US Air Force study. For the TV series, see Project Blue Book (TV series).

Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of unidentified flying objects by the United States Air Force from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was initially directed by Captain Edward J. Ruppelt and followed projects of a similar nature such as Project Sign established in 1947, and Project Grudge in 1949. Project Blue Book had two goals, namely, to determine if UFOs were a threat to national security, and to scientifically analyze UFO-related data.

Thousands of UFO reports were collected, analyzed, and filed. As a result of the Condon Report, which concluded that the study of UFOs was unlikely to yield major scientific discoveries, and a review of the report by the National Academy of Sciences, Project Blue Book was terminated in 1969. The Air Force supplies the following summary of its investigations:

1. No UFO reported, investigated, and evaluated by the Air Force was ever an indication of threat to our national security;
2. There was no evidence submitted to or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorized as "unidentified" represented technological developments or principles beyond the range of modern scientific knowledge; and
3. There was no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as "unidentified" were extraterrestrial vehicles.^[1]

By the time Project Blue Book ended, it had collected 12,618 UFO reports, and concluded that most of them were misidentifications of natural phenomena (clouds, stars, etc.) or conventional aircraft. According to the National Reconnaissance Office a number of the reports could be explained by flights of the formerly secret reconnaissance planes U-2 and A-12.^[2] 701 reports were classified as unexplained, even after stringent analysis.^[3] The UFO reports were archived and are available under the Freedom of Information Act, but names and other personal information of all witnesses have been redacted.

1. ^ "Unidentified Flying Objects and Air Force Project Blue Book" URL accessed February 21, 2010
2. ^ "National Reconnaissance Office Review and Redaction Guide: Appendix C – Glossary of Code Words and Terms" (PDF). National Reconnaissance Office. 2008.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. ^ "Unidentified Flying Objects and Air Force Project Blue Book". U.S. Air Force.

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18 December 1966 – Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by astronomer Richard Walker.

Epimetheus (moon)

Moon of Saturn

For the asteroid, see 1810 Epimetheus.

Epimetheus /ɛpəˈmiːθiːəs/ is an inner satellite of Saturn. It is also known as Saturn XI. It is named after the mythological Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus.

1. ^ Epimetheus. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. A Latin Dictionary on Perseus Project.
2. ^ NASA (2005 March 28) Epimethean Profile
3. ^ Spitale Jacobson et al. 2006.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Thomas & Helfenstein 2020.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Lainey et al. 2023.
6. ^ Verbiscer French et al. 2007.

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19 December 1924 – The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London, England.

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

Luxury car produced from 1906 to 1926

"Silver Ghost" redirects here. For other uses, see Silver Ghost (disambiguation).

For the luxury sedan produced by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and introduced in 2009, see Rolls-Royce Ghost.

Motor vehicle

The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the "40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, and also, between 1921 and 1926, in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. Chassis no. 60551, registered AX 201, was the car that was originally given the name "Silver Ghost". Other 40/50 hp cars were also given names, but the Silver Ghost title was taken up by the press, and soon all 40/50s were called by the name, a fact not officially recognised by Rolls-Royce until 1925, when the Phantom range was launched.

The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royce's claim of making the "best car in the world" – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the prestigious publication Autocar in 1907.^{[citation needed]} The chassis and engine were also used as the basis of a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars. In December 1923, four friends of Woodrow Wilson chipped in to buy the former president a Silver Ghost, just weeks before Wilson's death in February 1924. The car was modified so that Wilson, who was disabled, could enter and exit the car more easily.

1. ^ The Rolls-Royce Motor Car. Anthony Bird and Ian Hallows. Batsford Books. 2002 ISBN 0-7134-8749-6
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference kimes1996 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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20 December 1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.

Zodiac Killer

Pseudonym of a serial killer in California

For the New York City Zodiac copycat, see Heriberto Seda.

The Zodiac Killer^{[n 2]} is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s.^{[n 1]} The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, operating in rural, urban and suburban settings. He targeted three young couples and a lone male cab driver. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history", and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.

The Zodiac's known attacks took place in Benicia, Vallejo, unincorporated Napa County, and the city of San Francisco proper. Five of his known wounded victims died, and two survived. He coined his name in a series of taunting messages that he mailed to regional newspapers, in which he threatened killing sprees and bombings if they were not printed. Some of the letters included cryptograms, or ciphers, in which the killer claimed that he was collecting his victims as slaves for the afterlife. Of the four ciphers he produced, two remain unsolved, and one was cracked only in 2020. The last confirmed Zodiac letter was in 1974, when he claimed to have killed 37 victims.

While many theories regarding the identity of the killer have been suggested, the only suspect authorities ever publicly named was Arthur Leigh Allen,^[1] a former elementary school teacher and convicted sex offender who died in 1992.

The unusual nature of the case led to international interest that has been sustained throughout the years. The San Francisco Police Department marked the case "inactive" in 2004, but re-opened it at some point prior to 2007. The case also remains open in the city of Vallejo, as well as in Napa and Solano counties.^[2] The California Department of Justice has maintained an open case file on the Zodiac murders since 1969.^[3]

Cite error: There are <ref group=n> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Fagan, Kevin (October 6, 2021). "Zodiac Killer case solved? Case Breakers group makes an ID, but police say it doesn't hold up". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
2. ^ Napa PD Website, Vallejo PD Website and "Tipline", Solano County Sheriff's Office
3. ^ California Department of Justice Website

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20 December 1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California.

Zodiac Killer

Pseudonym of a serial killer in California

For the New York City Zodiac copycat, see Heriberto Seda.

The Zodiac Killer^{[n 2]} is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s.^{[n 1]} The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, operating in rural, urban and suburban settings. He targeted three young couples and a lone male cab driver. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history", and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.

The Zodiac's known attacks took place in Benicia, Vallejo, unincorporated Napa County, and the city of San Francisco proper. Five of his known wounded victims died, and two survived. He coined his name in a series of taunting messages that he mailed to regional newspapers, in which he threatened killing sprees and bombings if they were not printed. Some of the letters included cryptograms, or ciphers, in which the killer claimed that he was collecting his victims as slaves for the afterlife. Of the four ciphers he produced, two remain unsolved, and one was cracked only in 2020. The last confirmed Zodiac letter was in 1974, when he claimed to have killed 37 victims.

While many theories regarding the identity of the killer have been suggested, the only suspect authorities ever publicly named was Arthur Leigh Allen,^[1] a former elementary school teacher and convicted sex offender who died in 1992.

The unusual nature of the case led to international interest that has been sustained throughout the years. The San Francisco Police Department marked the case "inactive" in 2004, but re-opened it at some point prior to 2007. The case also remains open in the city of Vallejo, as well as in Napa and Solano counties.^[2] The California Department of Justice has maintained an open case file on the Zodiac murders since 1969.^[3]

Cite error: There are <ref group=n> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Fagan, Kevin (October 6, 2021). "Zodiac Killer case solved? Case Breakers group makes an ID, but police say it doesn't hold up". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
2. ^ Napa PD Website, Vallejo PD Website and "Tipline", Solano County Sheriff's Office
3. ^ California Department of Justice Website

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21 December 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)

Animated Disney film

For the Disney franchise, see Snow White (franchise).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel animated feature film.^[3] The production was supervised by David Hand, and the film's sequences were directed by Perce Pearce, William Cottrell, Larry Morey, Wilfred Jackson, and Ben Sharpsteen.

Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on December 21, 1937. Despite initial doubts from the film industry, it was a critical and commercial success, with international earnings of more than $8 million during its initial release against a $1.5 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1937, and briefly held the record of highest-grossing sound film. It was also the highest-grossing animated film for 55 years. The popularity of the film has led to its being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top-ten performers at the North American box office and is still the highest-grossing animated film. Worldwide, its inflation-adjusted earnings top the animation list.^[4]

Snow White was nominated for Best Musical Score at the Academy Awards in 1938, and the next year, producer Walt Disney was awarded an honorary Oscar for the film. This award was unique, consisting of one normal-sized, plus seven miniature Oscar statuettes. They were presented to Disney by Shirley Temple.^[5]

In 1989, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the National Film Registry.^[6] The American Film Institute ranked it among the 100 greatest American films, and also named the film as the greatest American animated film of all time in 2008. Disney's take on the fairy tale has had a significant cultural effect, resulting in popular theme park attractions, a video game, a Broadway musical, and an upcoming live-action film.

1. ^ Barrier 1999, p. 229.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference gross was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Chaffee, Keith (October 28, 2019). "A Week to Remember: International Animation Day". Los Angeles Public Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
4. ^ Records, Guinness World (2014). Guinness World Records. Vol. 60 (2015 ed.). Guinness World Records. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-1-9088-4370-8. The 2015 edition of Guinness World Records does not provide an explicit figure for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However, it does state that it is one of only two pre-1955 films—the other being Gone with the Wind—that are among the adjusted top ten. It placed tenth in the 2012 edition, and the eleventh highest-grossing film according to the 2015 edition is The Exorcist, which has grossed $1.794 billion adjusted to 2014 prices. The adjusted grosses for the other films on the chart increased by 4.2 percent between 2011 and 2014 according to Guinness and using this apparent rate of inflation would take the adjusted gross for Snow White from $1.746 billion at 2011 prices to $1.819 billion at 2014 prices.
5. ^ Gabler 2006, pp. 277–278.
6. ^ "Film Registry Picks First 25 Movies". Los Angeles Times. Washington, D.C. September 19, 1989. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.

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21 December 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)

Animated Disney film

For the Disney franchise, see Snow White (franchise).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel animated feature film.^[3] The production was supervised by David Hand, and the film's sequences were directed by Perce Pearce, William Cottrell, Larry Morey, Wilfred Jackson, and Ben Sharpsteen.

Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on December 21, 1937. Despite initial doubts from the film industry, it was a critical and commercial success, with international earnings of more than $8 million during its initial release against a $1.5 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1937, and briefly held the record of highest-grossing sound film. It was also the highest-grossing animated film for 55 years. The popularity of the film has led to its being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top-ten performers at the North American box office and is still the highest-grossing animated film. Worldwide, its inflation-adjusted earnings top the animation list.^[4]

Snow White was nominated for Best Musical Score at the Academy Awards in 1938, and the next year, producer Walt Disney was awarded an honorary Oscar for the film. This award was unique, consisting of one normal-sized, plus seven miniature Oscar statuettes. They were presented to Disney by Shirley Temple.^[5]

In 1989, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the National Film Registry.^[6] The American Film Institute ranked it among the 100 greatest American films, and also named the film as the greatest American animated film of all time in 2008. Disney's take on the fairy tale has had a significant cultural effect, resulting in popular theme park attractions, a video game, a Broadway musical, and an upcoming live-action film.

1. ^ Barrier 1999, p. 229.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference gross was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Chaffee, Keith (October 28, 2019). "A Week to Remember: International Animation Day". Los Angeles Public Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
4. ^ Records, Guinness World (2014). Guinness World Records. Vol. 60 (2015 ed.). Guinness World Records. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-1-9088-4370-8. The 2015 edition of Guinness World Records does not provide an explicit figure for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However, it does state that it is one of only two pre-1955 films—the other being Gone with the Wind—that are among the adjusted top ten. It placed tenth in the 2012 edition, and the eleventh highest-grossing film according to the 2015 edition is The Exorcist, which has grossed $1.794 billion adjusted to 2014 prices. The adjusted grosses for the other films on the chart increased by 4.2 percent between 2011 and 2014 according to Guinness and using this apparent rate of inflation would take the adjusted gross for Snow White from $1.746 billion at 2011 prices to $1.819 billion at 2014 prices.
5. ^ Gabler 2006, pp. 277–278.
6. ^ "Film Registry Picks First 25 Movies". Los Angeles Times. Washington, D.C. September 19, 1989. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.

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22 December 1937 – The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City

Lincoln Tunnel

Tunnel between New Jersey and New York

"New York State Route 495" redirects here. For the 1958–1989 routing, see Interstate 495 (New York) § History.

The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned New York State Route 495 on the New York side. It was designed by Ole Singstad and named after Abraham Lincoln. The tunnel consists of three vehicular tubes of varying lengths, with two traffic lanes in each tube. The center tube contains reversible lanes, while the northern and southern tubes exclusively carry westbound and eastbound traffic, respectively.

The Lincoln Tunnel was originally proposed in the late 1920s and early 1930s as the Midtown Hudson Tunnel. The tubes of the Lincoln Tunnel were constructed in stages between 1934 and 1957. Construction of the central tube, which originally lacked sufficient funding due to the Great Depression, started in 1934 and it opened in 1937. The northern tube started construction in 1936, was delayed due to World War II-related material shortages, and opened in 1945. Although the original plans for the Lincoln Tunnel called for two tubes, a third tube to the south of the existing tunnels was planned in 1950 due to high traffic demand on the other two tubes. The third tube started construction in 1954, with the delay attributed to disputes over tunnel approaches, and opened in 1957. Since then, the Lincoln Tunnel has undergone a series of gradual improvements, including changes to security and tolling methods.

The Lincoln Tunnel is one of two automobile tunnels built under the Hudson River, the other being the Holland Tunnel between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Lower Manhattan. The Lincoln Tunnel is also one of six tolled crossings in the New York area owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The tolls on each crossing are only collected in the New York-bound direction. As of 2016^[update], both directions of the tunnel carry a combined average of 112,995 vehicular crossings every day. The tunnel is part of New Jersey Route 495 on the western half of the river, and New York State Route 495 on the eastern half of the river. However, the New York state highway designation is not signed, and its use is inconsistent in official documents.

1. ^ "New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Cite error: The named reference Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference traffic-restrictions was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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23 December 1990 – History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.

History of Slovenia

The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Slovenian territory was part of the Roman Empire, and it was devastated by the Migration Period's incursions during late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The main route from the Pannonian plain to Italy ran through present-day Slovenia. Alpine Slavs, ancestors of modern-day Slovenians, settled the area in the late 6th Century AD. The Holy Roman Empire controlled the land for nearly 1,000 years, and between the mid-14th century and 1918 most of Slovenia was under Habsburg rule. In 1918, most Slovene territory became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and in 1929 the Drava Banovina was created within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with its capital in Ljubljana, corresponding to Slovenian-majority territories within the state. The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was created in 1945 as part of federal Yugoslavia. Slovenia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in June 1991, and today it is a member of the European Union and NATO.

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23 December 1990 – History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.

History of Slovenia

The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Slovenian territory was part of the Roman Empire, and it was devastated by the Migration Period's incursions during late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The main route from the Pannonian plain to Italy ran through present-day Slovenia. Alpine Slavs, ancestors of modern-day Slovenians, settled the area in the late 6th Century AD. The Holy Roman Empire controlled the land for nearly 1,000 years, and between the mid-14th century and 1918 most of Slovenia was under Habsburg rule. In 1918, most Slovene territory became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and in 1929 the Drava Banovina was created within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with its capital in Ljubljana, corresponding to Slovenian-majority territories within the state. The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was created in 1945 as part of federal Yugoslavia. Slovenia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in June 1991, and today it is a member of the European Union and NATO.

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24 December 640 – Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death.

Pope John IV

Head of the Catholic Church from 640 to 642

This article is about the bishop of Rome. For the Coptic pope, see Pope John X of Alexandria.

Pope John IV (Latin: Ioannes IV; died 12 October 642) was the bishop of Rome from 24 December 640 to his death. His election followed a four-month vacancy. He wrote to the clergy of Ireland and Scotland to tell them of the mistakes they were making with regard to the time of keeping Easter and condemned Monothelitism as heresy. According to sacred tradition, he created the Catholic Church in Croatia with Abbot Martin.

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25 December 1941 – World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

Battle of Hong Kong

One of the first battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II

For the Japanese film in 1942, see The Battle of Hong Kong (film).

The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the British Crown colony of Hong Kong around the same time that Japan declared war on Great Britain. The Hong Kong garrison consisted of British, Indian and Canadian units, also the Auxiliary Defence Units and Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC).

Of the three territories of Hong Kong, the defenders abandoned the two mainland territories of Kowloon and New Territories within a week. Less than two weeks later, with their last territory Hong Kong Island untenable, the colony surrendered.

1. ^ Banham, 2003, p316
2. ^ "Operations in the Far East, From 17th December 1940 to 27th December 1941" (PDF). London Gazette. 38183 (20 January 1948): 573. 22 January 1948. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
3. ^ Banham (2003), pp 330-33
4. ^ Banham 2005, p. 317.
5. ^ Ishiwari 1956, pp. 47–48.
6. ^ Carew 1960, pp. 80.
7. ^ Banham 2005, p. 318.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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26 December 1898 – Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium.

Marie Curie

Polish-French physicist and chemist (1867–1934)

This article is about the Polish-French physicist. For the musician, see Marie Currie. For other uses, see Marie Curie (disambiguation).

Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie^[a] (Polish: [ˈmarja salɔˈmɛa skwɔˈdɔfska kʲiˈri] ^ⓘ; née Skłodowska; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie (/ˈkjʊəri/ KURE-ee,^[1] French: [maʁi kyʁi]), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner of her first Nobel Prize, making them the first-ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was, in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.^[2]

She was born in Warsaw, in what was then the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. She studied at Warsaw's clandestine Flying University and began her practical scientific training in Warsaw. In 1891, aged 24, she followed her elder sister Bronisława to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work. In 1895 she married the French physicist Pierre Curie, and she shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with him and with the physicist Henri Becquerel for their pioneering work developing the theory of "radioactivity"—a term she coined.^[3][4] In 1906 Pierre Curie died in a Paris street accident. Marie won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements polonium and radium, using techniques she invented for isolating radioactive isotopes. Under her direction, the world's first studies were conducted into the treatment of neoplasms by the use of radioactive isotopes. She founded the Curie Institute in Paris in 1920, and the Curie Institute in Warsaw in 1932; both remain major medical research centres. During World War I she developed mobile radiography units to provide X-ray services to field hospitals.

While a French citizen, Marie Skłodowska Curie, who used both surnames,^[5][6] never lost her sense of Polish identity. She taught her daughters the Polish language and took them on visits to Poland.^[7] She named the first chemical element she discovered polonium, after her native country.^[b] Marie Curie died in 1934, aged 66, at the Sancellemoz sanatorium in Passy (Haute-Savoie), France, of aplastic anemia likely from exposure to radiation in the course of her scientific research and in the course of her radiological work at field hospitals during World War I.^[9] In addition to her Nobel Prizes, she received numerous other honours and tributes; in 1995 she became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Paris Panthéon,^[10] and Poland declared 2011 the Year of Marie Curie during the International Year of Chemistry. She is the subject of numerous biographical works.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15253-2.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Madame Curie's Passion was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ "The Discovery of Radioactivity". Berkeley Lab. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. The term radioactivity was actually coined by Marie Curie ...
4. ^ "Marie Curie and the radioactivity, The 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics". nobelprize.org. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Marie called this radiation radioactivity—'radio' means radiation.
5. ^ See her signature, "M. Skłodowska Curie", in the infobox.
6. ^ Her 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was granted to "Marie Sklodowska Curie" File:Marie Skłodowska-Curie's Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911.jpg.
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference goldsmith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ Cite error: The named reference independence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. ^ "The Genius of Marie Curie: The Woman Who Lit Up the World" on YouTube (a 2013 BBC documentary)
10. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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27 December 1929 – Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin orders the "liquidation of the kulaks as a class".

Dekulakization

Political repression of prosperous peasants (kulaks) in the USSR (1929–1932)

Dekulakization (Russian: раскулачивание, romanized: raskulachivanie; Ukrainian: розкуркулення, romanized: rozkurkulennia)^[3] was the Soviet campaign of political repressions, including arrests, deportations, or executions of millions of kulaks (prosperous peasants) and their families. Redistribution of farmland started in 1917 and lasted until 1933, but was most active in the 1929–1932 period of the first five-year plan. To facilitate the expropriations of farmland, the Soviet government announced the "liquidation of the kulaks as a class" on 27 December 1929, portraying kulaks as class enemies of the Soviet Union.

More than 1.8 million peasants were deported in 1930–1931.^[4][5][6] The campaign had the stated purpose of fighting counter-revolution and of building socialism in the countryside. This policy, carried out simultaneously with collectivization in the Soviet Union, effectively brought all agriculture and all the labourers in Soviet Russia under state control.

1. ^ Hildermeier, Die Sowjetunion, pp. 38ff.
2. ^ Robert Conquest (1986) The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505180-7.
3. ^ Pivovarov, Alexey (2021-09-16). "How Russian villages were destroyed (Куда пропали русские деревни?)". 100tv.eu (in Russian). Narva (Estonia).
4. ^ Robert Conquest (1986) The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505180-7.
5. ^ Nicolas Werth, Karel Bartošek, Jean-Louis Panné, Jean-Louis Margolin, Andrzej Paczkowski, Stéphane Courtois, The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression, Harvard University Press, 1999, hardcover, 858 pages, ISBN 0-674-07608-7
6. ^ Lynne Viola The Unknown Gulag. The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements Oxford University Press 2007, hardback, 320 pages ISBN 978-0-19-518769-4

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28 December 1836 – South Australia and Adelaide are founded.

Adelaide

Capital city of South Australia, Australia

This article is about the Australian metropolis. For the local government area, see City of Adelaide. For other uses, see Adelaide (disambiguation).

Adelaide (/ˈædɪleɪd/ ^ⓘ AD-il-ayd,^[8][9] locally [ˈædɜlæɪ̯d]; Kaurna: Tarntanya, pronounced [ˈd̪̥aɳɖaɲa]) is the capital and largest city of South Australia,^[10] and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demonym Adelaidean is used to denote the city and the residents of Adelaide. The traditional owners of the Adelaide region are the Kaurna.^[11][12][13] The area of the city centre and surrounding Park Lands is called Tarndanya in the Kaurna language.^[14]

Adelaide is situated on the Adelaide Plains north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, between the Gulf St Vincent in the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges in the east. Its metropolitan area extends 20 km (12 mi) from the coast to the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges, and stretches 96 km (60 mi) from Gawler in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south.

Named in honour of Queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for the only freely-settled British province in Australia.^[15] Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city centre and chose its location close to the River Torrens. Light's design, now listed as national heritage, set out the city centre in a grid layout known as "Light's Vision", interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by park lands.

Early colonial Adelaide was shaped by the diversity and wealth of its free settlers, in contrast to the convict history of other Australian cities. It was Australia's third most populated city until the post-war era. It has been noted for its leading examples of religious freedom and progressive political reforms, and became known as the "City of Churches" due to its diversity of faiths. Today, Adelaide is known by its many festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its coastline and hills, its large defence and manufacturing sectors and its emerging space sector, including the Australian Space Agency being headquartered here. Adelaide's quality of life has ranked consistently highly in various measures through the 21st century, at one stage being named Australia's most liveable city.^[16]

As South Australia's government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevards of North Terrace and King William Street.

1. ^ "Greater Adelaide". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
2. ^ "Greater Adelaide (GCCSA) (4GADE)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
3. ^ "Great Circle Distance between ADELAIDE and MELBOURNE". Geoscience Australia. March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
4. ^ "Great Circle Distance between ADELAIDE and CANBERRA". Geoscience Australia. March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
5. ^ "Great Circle Distance between ADELAIDE and SYDNEY". Geoscience Australia. March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
6. ^ "Great Circle Distance between ADELAIDE and Brisbane". Geoscience Australia. March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
7. ^ "Great Circle Distance between ADELAIDE and Perth". Geoscience Australia. March 2004. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
8. ^ Macquarie ABC Dictionary. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. 2003. p. 10. ISBN 1-876429-37-2.
9. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
10. ^ Vignesh, K.S.; Rajadesingu, Suriyaprakash; Arunachalam, Kantha Deivi (2021). "Challenges, issues, and problems with zero-waste tools". Concepts of Advanced Zero Waste Tools. Elsevier. pp. 69–90. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822183-9.00004-0. ISBN 9780128221839. S2CID 230570450. Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and includes 19 municipal areas.
11. ^ SCD2018/001 - Kaurna Peoples Native Title Claim National Native Title Tribunal. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
12. ^ Kaurna Heritage City of Adelaide. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
13. ^ "Aboriginal Culture". Experience Adelaide. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
14. ^ "Kaurna Place Names". kaurnaplacenames.com. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
15. ^ "How well do you know our Queen?". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
16. ^ Kelsall, Thomas (9 June 2021). "Adelaide named Australia's most liveable city, third in world". InDaily. Solstice Media. Retrieved 2 October 2021.

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29 December 1998 – Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives.

Khmer Rouge

Members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (Cambodia)

This article is about the regime in general. For the political party of the Khmer Rouge regime, see Communist Party of Kampuchea. For nation of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge Regime, see Democratic Kampuchea.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox militant organization with unknown parameter "opposition leader"

This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.

The Khmer Rouge (/kəˌmɛər ˈruːʒ/; French: [kmɛʁ ʁuʒ]; Khmer: ខ្មែរក្រហម, Khmêr Krâhâm [kʰmae krɑːhɑːm]; lit. 'Red Khmer') is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by then Chief of State Norodom Sihanouk to describe his country's heterogeneous, communist-led dissidents, with whom he allied after his 1970 overthrow.^[16]

The Khmer Rouge army was slowly built up in the forests of eastern Cambodia during the late 1960s, supported by the North Vietnamese army, the Viet Cong, the Pathet Lao, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).^{[17][18][19][20]} Although it originally fought against Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge changed its position and supported Sihanouk following the CCP's advice after he was overthrown in a 1970 coup by Lon Nol who established the pro-American Khmer Republic.^[20][21] Despite a massive American bombing campaign (Operation Freedom Deal) against them, the Khmer Rouge won the Cambodian Civil War when they captured the Cambodian capital and overthrew the Khmer Republic in 1975. Following their victory, the Khmer Rouge, who were led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, and Khieu Samphan, immediately set about forcibly evacuating the country's major cities. In 1976, they renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea.

The Khmer Rouge regime was highly autocratic, totalitarian, and repressive. Many deaths resulted from the regime's social engineering policies and the "Moha Lout Plaoh", an imitation of China's Great Leap Forward which had caused the Great Chinese Famine.^[17][22][23] The Khmer Rouge's attempts at agricultural reform through collectivization similarly led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, including the supply of medicine, led to the death of many thousands from treatable diseases such as malaria.^[24]

The Khmer Rouge regime murdered hundreds of thousands of their perceived political opponents, and its racist emphasis on national purity resulted in the genocide of Cambodian minorities. Summary executions and torture were carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during genocidal purges of its own ranks between 1975 and 1978.^[25] Ultimately, the Cambodian genocide which took place under the Khmer Rouge regime led to the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people, around 25% of Cambodia's population.

In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge was largely supported and funded by the Chinese Communist Party, receiving approval from Mao Zedong; it is estimated that at least 90% of the foreign aid which was provided to the Khmer Rouge came from China.^[a] The regime was removed from power in 1979 when Vietnam invaded Cambodia and quickly destroyed most of its forces. The Khmer Rouge then fled to Thailand, whose government saw them as a buffer force against the Communist Vietnamese. The Khmer Rouge continued to fight against the Vietnamese and the government of the new People's Republic of Kampuchea until the end of the war in 1989. The Cambodian governments-in-exile (including the Khmer Rouge) held onto Cambodia's United Nations seat (with considerable international support) until 1993, when the monarchy was restored and the name of the Cambodian state was changed to the Kingdom of Cambodia. A year later, thousands of Khmer Rouge guerrillas surrendered themselves in a government amnesty.^[29]

In 1996, a new political party called the Democratic National Union Movement was formed by Ieng Sary, who was granted amnesty for his role as the deputy leader of the Khmer Rouge.^[30] The organisation was largely dissolved by the mid-1990s and finally surrendered completely in 1999.^[31] In 2014, two Khmer Rouge leaders, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, were jailed for life by a United Nations-backed court which found them guilty of crimes against humanity for their roles in the Khmer Rouge's genocidal campaign.

1. ^ ^{a b c} Kiernan, Ben (2004). How Pol Pot Came to Power: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Communism in Cambodia, 1930–1975. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300102628.
2. ^ ^{a b} Cook, Susan; Rowley, Kelvin (2017). Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda: New Perspectives (PDF). Routledge. ISBN 9781351517775. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
3. ^ Martin, Gus (2008). Essentials of Terrorism: Concepts and Controversies. SAGE Publications, Inc. p. 80. ISBN 978-1412953139.
4. ^ Hartman, Tom (1985). A World Atlas of Military History, 1945–1984. Hippocrene Books. p. 81. ISBN 0870520008.
5. ^ ^{a b} Richardson, Michael (29 September 2000). "Singaporean Tells of Khmer Rouge Aid". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
6. ^ Shafir, Michael (20 December 1985). Michael Shafir, Pinter, 1985, Romania: Politics, Economics and Society : Political Stagnation and Simulated Change, p. 187. Pinter. ISBN 9780861874385. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
7. ^ Frost, Gerald (23 September 1991). Gerald Frost, Praeger, 1991, Europe in Turmoil: The Struggle for Pluralism, p. 306. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780275941291. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
8. ^ "How Thatcher gave Pol Pot a hand". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
9. ^ "Butcher of Cambodia set to expose Thatcher's role". The Guardian. 9 January 2000. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
10. ^ Becker, Elizabeth (17 April 1998). "Death of Pol Pot: The Diplomacy; Pol Pot's End Won't Stop U.S. Pursuit of His Circle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
11. ^ Parkinson, Charles; Cuddy, Alice; Pye, Daniel (29 May 2015). "The Pol Pot dilemma". The Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
12. ^ "Outside Interference in Vietnamese Affairs Condemned" (PDF). www.cambodiatokampuchea.wordpress.com. 20 July 1978.
13. ^ Weiss, Thomas G.; Evans, Gareth J.; Hubert, Don; Sahnoun, Mohamed (2001). The Responsibility to Protect: Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. International Development Research Centre (Canada). p. 58. ISBN 978-0-88936-963-4. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
14. ^ "When Moscow helped topple the Khmer Rouge". rbth.com. 19 March 2016. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022.
15. ^ "Diplomats Recall Cambodia After the Khmer Rouge". The Cambodia Daily. 5 April 2003. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
16. ^ "Khmer Rouge". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
17. ^ ^{a b c} Chandler, David P. (2018). Brother Number One: A Political Biography Of Pol Pot. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-98161-6.
18. ^ ^{a b} Strangio, Sebastian. "China's Aid Emboldens Cambodia". Yale Global Online. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
19. ^ "The Chinese Communist Party's Relationship with the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s: An Ideological Victory and a Strategic Failure". Wilson Center. 13 December 2018. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
20. ^ ^{a b} Hood, Steven J. (1990). "Beijing's Cambodia Gamble and the Prospects for Peace in Indochina: The Khmer Rouge or Sihanouk?". Asian Survey. 30 (10): 977–991. doi:10.2307/2644784. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2644784.
21. ^ ^{a b} "China-Cambodia Relations". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
22. ^ McLellan, Janet (1 April 1999). "5". Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto (1st ed.). University of Toronto Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-8020-8225-1.
23. ^ Chandler, David (2007). A History of Cambodia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1578566969.
24. ^ Guillou, Anne Yvonne (9 October 2008). "Medicine in Cambodia during the Pol Pot Regime (1975-1979): Foreign and Cambodian Influences". HAL Open Science. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
25. ^ Ratner, Steven R.; Abrams, Jason S. (2001). Accountability for Human Rights Atrocities in International Law: Beyond the Nuremberg Legacy (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-19-829871-7.
26. ^ Levin, Dan (30 March 2015). "China Is Urged to Confront Its Own History". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
27. ^ Kiernan, Ben (2008). The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia Under the Khmer Rouge, 1975–79. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300142990.
28. ^ Laura, Southgate (8 May 2019). ASEAN Resistance to Sovereignty Violation: Interests, Balancing and the Role of the Vanguard State. Policy Press. ISBN 978-1-5292-0221-2.
29. ^ "Cambodia profile – Timeline". BBC News. 7 April 2011. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
30. ^ "Cambodia profile". BBC News. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
31. ^ "No Redemption – The Failing Khmer Rouge Trial By Allan Yang". Harvard International Review. 2008. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2014.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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30 December 1972 – Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker II ends.

Operation Linebacker II

American bombing campaign in the Vietnam war

"Christmas bombings" and "Christmas Day Bombing" redirect here. For other uses, see Christmas bombings (disambiguation).

Operation Linebacker II, sometimes referred to as the Christmas bombings, was a strategic bombing campaign conducted by the United States against targets in North Vietnam from December 18 to December 29, 1972, during the Vietnam War. More than 20,000 tons of ordnance was dropped on military and industrial areas in Hanoi and Haiphong and at least 1,624 civilians were killed. The operation was the final major military operation carried out by the U.S. during the conflict, and the largest bombing campaign involving heavy bombers since World War II.

By late 1972, U.S. combat involvement in Vietnam had been dramatically reduced, and negotiations to end the war were underway in Paris. After secret meetings in October between lead negotiators Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, an informal agreement was reached. The terms included a total U.S. withdrawal, North Vietnam's recognition of South Vietnam, new borders based on the present front lines, and new elections in the South, which would include the then-banned Communist Party of Vietnam. South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu, however, totally rejected these terms when he was informed about them and, following Richard Nixon's reelection in November, the U.S. submitted new terms, which included the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as the recognized national border, leading to a breakdown in negotiations on December 16. Nixon issued an ultimatum for the North to return to negotiations within 72 hours, after which he ordered the bombing campaign on December 18. Conducted by more than 200 B-52 bombers from Strategic Air Command supported by tactical planes of the Seventh Air Force and Task Force 77, the raids ran continuously over a 12-day period. The U.S. acknowledged the loss of 16 B-52 bombers, while North Vietnam claimed 34 bombers shot down.

The effect of the bombings on the peace negotiations is debated. On December 22, Nixon asked the North to return to the talks with the terms offered in October and warned Thieu that he would sign the agreement even if Thieu did not. The North agreed, and Nixon ordered a halt to the bombings on December 30. The North Vietnamese delegation stated that the campaign played no role in the decision to return to negotiations, while an aide to Kissinger remarked that "[w]e bombed the North Vietnamese into accepting our concessions". On January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed along the same terms as the initial October agreement.

1. ^ Lương Cường (15 December 2022). "Victory of Ha Noi – Dien Bien Phu in the Air in 1972: Vietnamese spirit and wisdom". National Defence Journal. Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
2. ^ Pribbenow, Merle L. (2001). "Rolling Thunder and Linebacker Campaigns: The North Vietnamese View". The Journal of American-East Asian Relations. 10 (3/4): 197–210. doi:10.1163/187656101793645524. JSTOR 23613043.
3. ^ Beagle, T. W. (2001). Operation Linebacker II (Report). Air University Press. pp. 35–50.
4. ^ "Operation Linebacker II: The 11-Day War". HistoryNet. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
5. ^ "How Operation Linebacker II Took the North Vietnamese By Surprise". HistoryNet. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
6. ^ Thompson, p. 257.
7. ^ ^{a b c} "Linebacker". Air Force Magazine. November 1997. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
8. ^ Thompson, p. 257.
9. ^ James R. McCarthy and Robert E. Rayfield. Linebacker II is a view from the rock. pp. 29–34
10. ^ ^{a b} Drenkowski & Grau 2007, p. 22
11. ^ Drenkowski & Grau 2007, p. 26
12. ^ B-52_Stratofortress Archived February 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Project Get Out and Walk
13. ^ Dorr & Peacock 2000, p. 180.
14. ^ Pribbenow, p. 327.
15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thompson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
16. ^ "Nga nói gì về cuộc đấu MiG-21 và F-4 ở Việt Nam (2)". Kien thuc. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
17. ^ Morocco 1985, p. 150.

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31 December 2019 – The World Health Organization was informed of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause, detected in Wuhan. This later turned out to be COVID-19, the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019

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• COVID-19

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1 January 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.

ARPANET

Early packet switching network (1969–1990), one of the first to implement TCP/IP

For the episode of the television series The Americans, see Arpanet (The Americans).

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first computer networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foundation of the Internet. The ARPANET was established by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the United States Department of Defense.^[1]

Building on the ideas of J. C. R. Licklider, Bob Taylor initiated the ARPANET project in 1966 to enable resource sharing between remote computers.^[2] Taylor appointed Larry Roberts as program manager. Roberts made the key decisions about the request for proposal to build the network.^[3] He incorporated Donald Davies' concepts and designs for packet switching,^[4][5] and sought input from Paul Baran.^[6] ARPA awarded the contract to build the network to Bolt Beranek & Newman. The design was led by Bob Kahn who developed the first protocol for the network. Roberts engaged Leonard Kleinrock at UCLA to develop mathematical methods for analyzing the packet network technology.^[6]

The first computers were connected in 1969 and the Network Control Protocol was implemented in 1970, development of which was led by Steve Crocker at UCLA and other graduate students, including Jon Postel and Vint Cerf.^[7][8] The network was declared operational in 1971. Further software development enabled remote login and file transfer, which was used to provide an early form of email.^[9] The network expanded rapidly and operational control passed to the Defense Communications Agency in 1975.

Bob Kahn moved to DARPA and, together with Vint Cerf at Stanford University, formulated the Transmission Control Program,^[10] which incorporated concepts from the French CYCLADES project directed by Louis Pouzin. As this work progressed, a protocol was developed by which multiple separate networks could be joined into a network of networks. Version 4 of TCP/IP was installed in the ARPANET for production use in January 1983 after the Department of Defense made it standard for all military computer networking.^[11][12]

Access to the ARPANET was expanded in 1981 when the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the Computer Science Network (CSNET). In the early 1980s, the NSF funded the establishment of national supercomputing centers at several universities and provided network access and network interconnectivity with the NSFNET project in 1986. The ARPANET was formally decommissioned in 1990, after partnerships with the telecommunication and computer industry had assured private sector expansion and commercialization of an expanded worldwide network, known as the Internet.^[13]

1. ^ "ARPANET – The First Internet". Living Internet. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
2. ^ "An Internet Pioneer Ponders the Next Revolution". The New York Times. 20 December 1999. Retrieved 20 February 2020. Mr. Taylor wrote a white paper in 1968, a year before the network was created, with another ARPA research director, J. C. R. Licklider. The paper, "The Computer as a Communications Device," was one of the first clear statements about the potential of a computer network.
3. ^ Hafner, Katie (30 December 2018). "Lawrence Roberts, Who Helped Design Internet's Precursor, Dies at 81". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 February 2020. He decided to use packet switching as the underlying technology of the Arpanet; it remains central to the function of the internet. And it was Dr. Roberts's decision to build a network that distributed control of the network across multiple computers. Distributed networking remains another foundation of today's internet.
4. ^ "Computer Pioneers - Donald W. Davies". IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved 20 February 2020. In 1965, Davies pioneered new concepts for computer communications in a form to which he gave the name "packet switching." ... The design of the ARPA network (ArpaNet) was entirely changed to adopt this technique.
5. ^ "A Flaw In The Design". The Washington Post. 30 May 2015. The Internet was born of a big idea: Messages could be chopped into chunks, sent through a network in a series of transmissions, then reassembled by destination computers quickly and efficiently. Historians credit seminal insights to Welsh scientist Donald W. Davies and American engineer Paul Baran. ... The most important institutional force ... was the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) ... as ARPA began work on a groundbreaking computer network, the agency recruited scientists affiliated with the nation's top universities.
6. ^ ^{a b} Abbate, Janet (2000). Inventing the Internet. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 39, 57–58. ISBN 978-0-2625-1115-5. Baran proposed a "distributed adaptive message-block network" [in the early 1960s] ... Roberts recruited Baran to advise the ARPANET planning group on distributed communications and packet switching. ... Roberts awarded a contract to Leonard Kleinrock of UCLA to create theoretical models of the network and to analyze its actual performance.
7. ^ Bidgoli, Hossein (11 May 2004). The Internet Encyclopedia, Volume 2 (G - O). John Wiley & Sons. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-471-68996-6.
8. ^ Coffman, K. G.; Odlyzco, A. M. (2002). "Growth of the Internet". In Kaminow, I.; Li, T. (eds.). Optical Fiber Telecommunications IV-B: Systems and Impairments. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0123951731. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
9. ^ Lievrouw, L. A. (2006). Lievrouw, L. A.; Livingstone, S. M. (eds.). Handbook of New Media: Student Edition. SAGE. p. 253. ISBN 1412918731. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
10. ^ Cerf, V.; Kahn, R. (1974). "A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication" (PDF). IEEE Transactions on Communications. 22 (5): 637–648. doi:10.1109/TCOM.1974.1092259. ISSN 1558-0857. The authors wish to thank a number of colleagues for helpful comments during early discussions of international network protocols, especially R. Metcalfe, R. Scantlebury, D. Walden, and H. Zimmerman; D. Davies and L. Pouzin who constructively commented on the fragmentation and accounting issues; and S. Crocker who commented on the creation and destruction of associations.
11. ^ R. Oppliger (2001). Internet and Intranet Security. Artech House. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-58053-166-5. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
12. ^ "TCP/IP Internet Protocol". Living Internet. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
13. ^ Fidler, Bradley; Mundy, Russ (November 2020). "1.2". The Creation and Administration of Unique Identifiers, 1967-2017 (PDF). ICANN. p. 8. Retrieved 14 May 2021.

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2 January 1978 – On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills

1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills

1978 mass killing of striking textile workers by government forces in Multan, Pakistan

The 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills was one of the most brutal acts of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's regime in Pakistan. Paramilitary forces opened fire on striking workers, resulting in 22–133 killed and many injured.^[1]

1. ^ "Labour: The Unkindest Cut". Newsline. Archived from the original on 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2018-09-21.

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3 January 2015 – Boko Haram militants destroy the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people

2015 Baga massacre

Terrorist attacks in Nigeria by Boko Haram

The 2015 Baga massacre was a series of mass killings carried out by the Boko Haram terrorist group in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Baga and its environs, in the state of Borno, between 3 January and 7 January 2015.

The attack began on 3 January when Boko Haram overran a military base that was the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force containing troops from Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. The militants then forced thousands of locals from the region and committed mass killings that culminated on the 7th.

Fatalities have been reported to be "heavy" but their extent is unclear. Western media outlets reported that "over 2,000" people are thought to have been killed or "unaccounted for", but local media reported "at least a hundred" fatalities, while the Nigerian Ministry of Defence said that no more than 150 people in total had been killed, including militants.^[2][3][4][5] Several government officials denied that the fatalities were as extensive as reported, with some even claiming that the massacre had never taken place or that the Nigerian military had repelled the militants from the region, a claim that was refuted by local officials, survivors, and the international media.^[4][6][7]

Baga and at least 16 other towns are thought to have been destroyed as over 35,000 people are reported to have been displaced, with many feared to have drowned while trying to cross Lake Chad and others trapped on islands in the lake.^[2][5] The attacks are said to have resulted in Boko Haram extending its control to over 70% of Borno State, while its leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the massacre in a video statement, saying that they "were not much" and that the group's insurgency "would not stop".^[3][8]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference HRW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference AFP_BI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ ^{a b} "Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria's Baga town hit by new assault". BBC World News. BBC. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
4. ^ ^{a b} Smith, Alexander (8 January 2015). "Boko Haram Torches Nigerian Town of Baga; 2,000 Missing: Senator". NBC News. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Boko Haram kills dozens in fresh raids in Nigerian town". Reuters. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sun_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference News_Express_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ "Boko Haram claims Baga massacre and threatens Nigeria's neighbours". The Guardian. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.

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4 December 1971 – The PNS Ghazi, a submarine belonging to the Pakistan Navy, sinks during the course of the Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971.

Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971

Overview of naval operations during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971 refers to the maritime military engagements between the Indian Navy and the Pakistan Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The series of naval operations began with the Indian Navy's exertion of pressure on Pakistan from the Indian Ocean, while the Indian Army and Indian Air Force moved in to choke Pakistani forces operating in East Pakistan on land. Indian naval operations comprised naval interdiction, air defence, ground support, and logistics missions.

With the success of Indian naval operations in East Pakistan, the Indian Navy subsequently commenced two large-scale operations: Operation Trident and Operation Python. These operations were focused on West Pakistan, and preceded the start of formal hostilities between India and Pakistan.

1. ^ "The Shelling of Dwarka". bharat-rakshak.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
2. ^ GM Hiranandani (2000). Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965–1975. Lancer Publishers. p. 130. ISBN 9781897829721.
3. ^ Rakesh Krishnan Simha (20 December 2011). "1971 War: How Russia sank Nixon's gunboat diplomacy | Russia & India Report". In.rbth.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
4. ^ "1971 India Pakistan War: Role of Russia, China, America and Britain". The World Reporter. 30 October 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
5. ^ "Cold war games". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 15 September 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
6. ^ Birth of a nation. Indianexpress.com (11 December 2009). Retrieved on 14 April 2011.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Cite error: The named reference GlobalSecurity was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ "The Sinking of the Ghazi". Bharat Rakshak Monitor, 4(2). Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
9. ^ "Utilisation of Pakistan merchant ships seized during the 1971 war". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
10. ^ "Damage Assesment [sic] – 1971 Indo-Pak Naval War" (PDF). B. Harry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
11. ^ "How west was won...on the waterfront". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
12. ^ Cite error: The named reference indiannavy.nic.in was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
13. ^ Cite error: The named reference orbat.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
14. ^ "Pakistan Air Force Combat Experience". GlobalSecurity.org. 9 July 2011. Pakistan retaliated by causing extensive damage through a single B-57 attack on Indian naval base Okha. The bombs scored direct hits on fuel dumps, ammunition dump and the missile boats jetty.
15. ^ Dr. He Hemant Kumar Pandey & Manish Raj Singh (1 August 2017). INDIA'S MAJOR MILITARY & RESCUE OPERATIONS. Horizon Books ( A Division of Ignited Minds Edutech P Ltd), 2017. p. 117.
16. ^ Col Y Udaya Chandar (Retd) (2 January 2018). Independent India's All the Seven Wars. Notion Press, 2018.

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5 January 1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco Bay suspension bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. It also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and is designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95. Recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Wonders of the Modern World,^[7] the bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California.

The idea of a fixed link between San Francisco and Marin had gained increasing popularity during the late 19th century, but it was not until the early 20th century that such a link became feasible. Joseph Strauss served as chief engineer for the project, with Leon Moisseiff, Irving Morrow and Charles Ellis making significant contributions to its design. The bridge opened to the public in 1937 and has undergone various retrofits and other improvement projects in the decades since.

The Golden Gate Bridge is described in Frommer's travel guide as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world."^[8][9] At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, titles it held until 1964 and 1998 respectively. Its main span is 4,200 feet (1,280 m) and its total height is 746 feet (227 m).^[10]

1. ^ "About Us". goldengate.org. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
2. ^ Golden Gate Bridge at Structurae
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Denton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "Annual Vehicle Crossings and Toll Revenues". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
5. ^ "Golden Gate Bridge". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
6. ^ "City of San Francisco Designated Landmarks". City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
7. ^ "American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders". Asce.org. July 19, 2010. Archived from the original on August 2, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
8. ^ Levine, Dan (1993). Frommer's comprehensive travel guide, California '93. New York: Prentice Hall Travel. p. 118. ISBN 0-671-84674-4.
9. ^ McGrath, Nancy (1985). Frommer's 1985-86 guide to San Francisco. New York: Frommer/Pasmantier Pub. p. 10. ISBN 0-671-52654-5.
10. ^ "Golden Gate Bridge". history.com. 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.

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6 January 1994 – American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that they were both taking part in.

1994 Cobo Arena attack

Redirect to:

• Assault of Nancy Kerrigan

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7 January 1325 – Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal

Afonso IV of Portugal

King of Portugal from 1325 to 1357

Afonso IV^[a] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu]; 8 February 1291 – 28 May 1357), called the Brave (Portuguese: o Bravo), was King of Portugal from 1325 until his death in 1357. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal and Elizabeth of Aragon.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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8 January 1940 – World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.

Rationing in the United Kingdom

Government-controlled distribution of scarce goods in the United Kingdom

"World War II rationing" redirects here. For World War II rationing in the United States, see Rationing in the United States § World War II.

Rationing was introduced temporarily by the British government several times during the 20th century, during and immediately after a war.^[1][2]

At the start of the Second World War in 1939, the United Kingdom was importing 20 million long tons of food per year, including about 70% of its cheese and sugar, almost 80% of fruit and about 70% of cereals and fats. The UK also imported more than half of its meat and relied on imported feed to support its domestic meat production. The civilian population of the country was about 50 million.^[3] It was one of the principal strategies of the Germans in the Battle of the Atlantic to attack shipping bound for Britain, restricting British industry and potentially starving the nation into submission.

To deal with sometimes extreme shortages, the Ministry of Food instituted a system of rationing. To buy most rationed items, each person had to register at chosen shops and was provided with a ration book containing coupons. The shopkeeper was provided with enough food for registered customers. Purchasers had to present ration books when shopping so that the coupon or coupons could be cancelled as these pertained to rationed items. Rationed items had to be purchased and paid for as usual, although their price was strictly controlled by the government and many essential foodstuffs were subsidised; rationing restricted what items and what amount could be purchased as well as what they would cost. Items that were not rationed could be scarce. Prices of some unrationed items were also controlled; prices for many items not controlled were unaffordably high for most people.

During the Second World War rationing—not restricted to food—was part of a strategy including controlled prices, subsidies and government-enforced standards, with the goals of managing scarcity and prioritising the armed forces and essential services, and trying to make available to everyone an adequate and affordable supply of goods of acceptable quality.

1. ^ Zweiniger-Bargielowska, Ina (2002), Austerity in Britain: Rationing, Controls and Consumption, 1939–1955, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-925102-5
2. ^ Kynaston, David (2007), Austerity Britain, 1945–1951, Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-0-7475-7985-4
3. ^ Macrory, Ian (2010). Annual Abstract of Statistics (PDF) (2010 ed.). Office for National Statistics. p. 29. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

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9 January 1961 – British authorities announce they have uncovered the Soviet Portland Spy Ring in London.

Portland Spy Ring

Soviet spy ring that operated in England

The Portland spy ring was an espionage group active in the UK between 1953 and 1961. It comprised five people who obtained classified research documents from the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE) on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, and passed them to the Soviet Union.

Two of the group's members, Harry Houghton and Ethel Gee, were British. They worked at the AUWE and had access to the areas where the research was stored. After they obtained the information it was passed to their handler, Konon Molody—who was acting under the name Gordon Lonsdale. He was a KGB agent acting in the UK under a Canadian passport. Lonsdale would pass the documents in microdot format to Lona and Morris Cohen, two American communists who had moved to the UK using New Zealand passports in the names Helen and Peter Kroger. The Krogers would get the information to Moscow, often by using the cover of an antiquarian book dealer.

The ring was exposed in 1960 following a tip-off from the Polish spy Michael Goleniewski about a mole in the Admiralty. The information he supplied was enough to identify Houghton. Surveillance by MI5—the UK's domestic counter-intelligence service—established the connection between Houghton and Gee, and then between them and Lonsdale and finally the Krogers. All five were arrested in January 1961 and put on trial that March. Sentences for the group ranged from fifteen years (for Houghton and Gee) to twenty years (for the Krogers) to twenty-five years (for Lonsdale).

Lonsdale was released in 1964 in a spy swap for the British businessman Greville Wynne. The Krogers were exchanged in October 1969 as part of a swap with Gerald Brooke, a British national held on largely falsified claims. The last to be freed were Houghton and Gee, who were given early release in May 1970.

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10 January 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.

WarnerMedia

Not to be confused with Walden Media.

American media conglomerate owned by AT&T (1990–2022)

"Time Warner" redirects here. Not to be confused with Timo Werner. For the former cable television operator in the United States separated from Time Warner in 2009, see Time Warner Cable.

Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City.

It was established as Time Warner in 1990, following a merger between Time Inc. and Warner Communications. The company had film, television and cable operations. Its assets included WarnerMedia Studios & Networks (which consisted of the entertainment assets of Turner Broadcasting, HBO, and Cinemax as well as Warner Bros., which itself consisted of the film, animation, television studios, the company's home entertainment division and Studio Distribution Services, its joint venture with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, DC Comics, New Line Cinema, and, together with CBS Entertainment Group^[6], a 50% interest in The CW); WarnerMedia News & Sports (consisted of the news and sports assets of Turner Broadcasting, including CNN, Turner Sports, and AT&T SportsNet); WarnerMedia Sales & Distribution (consisted of digital media company Otter Media); and WarnerMedia Direct (consisted of the HBO Max streaming service).

Despite spinning off Time Inc. in 2014, the company retained the Time-Warner name from 1990, also becoming Time Warner in 2003, until 2018, when the company was renamed WarnerMedia after it was acquired by AT&T.^[7] On October 22, 2016, AT&T officially announced that they intended on acquiring Time Warner for $85.4 billion (or $108.7 billion when including assumed Time Warner debt), valuing the company at $107.50 per share.^[8][9] The proposed merger was confirmed on June 12, 2018,^[10] after AT&T won an antitrust lawsuit that the U.S. Justice Department filed in 2017 to attempt to block the acquisition,^[11] and was completed two days later, when the company became a subsidiary of AT&T.^[12] The company's final name was adopted a day later.^[13] Under AT&T, the company moved to launch a streaming service built around the company's content, known as HBO Max. WarnerMedia refolded Turner's entertainment-based networks under a singular umbrella unit on August 10, 2020, through a consolidation of the WarnerMedia Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment assets into a new unit, WarnerMedia Studios & Networks Group.^[14][15] On May 17, 2021, nearly three years after the acquisition, AT&T decided to leave the entertainment business by announcing that it had proposed to sell its ownership of WarnerMedia in a merger with Discovery, Inc. to form a new publicly traded company, Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal closed on April 8, 2022.

The company's previous assets included Time Inc., TW Telecom, AOL, Time Warner Cable, AOL Time Warner Book Group, and Warner Music Group; these operations were either sold to others or spun off as independent companies. The company was ranked No. 98 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.^[16]

1. ^ "Financial and Operational Schedules & Non-GAAP Reconciliations" (PDF). AT&T. January 26, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
2. ^ Cohen, Roger (December 21, 1992). "The Creator of Time Warner, Steven J. Ross, Is Dead at 65". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
3. ^ "Time Warner Inc. Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2017 Results (10-K)". Time Warner. February 1, 2018. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
4. ^ "AT&T Corporate Profile". about.att.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
5. ^ "Business Units | WarnerMedia". www.warnermediagroup.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
6. ^ formerly CBS Corporation
7. ^ Flint, Joe (March 11, 2014). "Time Inc. spinoff probably won't mean name change for Time Warner". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
8. ^ Hagey, Keach; Sharma, Amol; Cimilluca, Dana; Gryta, Thomas (October 22, 2016). "AT&T Is in Advanced Talks to Acquire Time Warner". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
9. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (October 22, 2016). "AT&T Sets $85.4 Billion Time Warner Deal, CEOs Talks 'Unique' Potential of Combination". Variety. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
10. ^ Gold, Hadas. "Judge approves $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner deal". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
11. ^ Kang, Cecilia; Merced, Michael (November 20, 2017). "Justice Department Sues to Block AT&T-Time Warner Merger". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
12. ^ "AT&T Completes Acquisition of Time Warner Inc". AT&T. June 15, 2018. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
13. ^ "Time Warner is changing its name to WarnerMedia; Turner CEO to depart". CNBC. June 15, 2018. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
14. ^ Hayes, Dade (August 10, 2020). "WarnerMedia Begins Layoffs In Latest Streamlining Effort". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
15. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (August 7, 2020). "Bob Greenblatt, Kevin Reilly Out Amid Major WarnerMedia Restructuring". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
16. ^ "Fortune 500 Companies 2018: Who Made the List". Fortune.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2018.

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11 January 1972 – East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.

East Pakistan

Former provincial wing of Pakistan (1955–1971)

Not to be confused with West Pakistan.

East Pakistan was the eastern provincial exclave of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, covering the territory of the modern country Bangladesh. The province was restructured and renamed from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, with a coastline on the Bay of Bengal. East Pakistanis were popularly known as "Pakistani Bengalis"; to distinguish this region from India's state West Bengal (which is also known as "Indian Bengal"), East Pakistan was known as "Pakistani Bengal". In 1971, East Pakistan became the newly independent state Bangladesh, which means "country of Bengal" or "country of Bengalis" in Bengali language.

East Pakistan was renamed from East Bengal by the One Unit Scheme of Pakistani Prime Minister Mohammad Ali of Bogra. The Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 replaced the Pakistani monarchy with an Islamic republic. Bengali politician H.S. Suhrawardy served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1956 and 1957 and a Bengali bureaucrat Iskander Mirza became the first President of Pakistan. The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état brought general Ayub Khan to power. Khan replaced Mirza as president and launched a crackdown against pro-democracy leaders. Khan enacted the Constitution of Pakistan of 1962 which ended universal suffrage. By 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged as the preeminent opposition leader in Pakistan and launched the six-point movement for autonomy and democracy. The 1969 uprising in East Pakistan contributed to Ayub Khan's overthrow. Another general, Yahya Khan, usurped the presidency and enacted martial law. In 1970, Yahya Khan organised Pakistan's first federal general election. The Awami League emerged as the single largest party, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party. The military junta stalled in accepting the results, leading to civil disobedience, the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 Bangladesh genocide^[1] and persecution of Biharis. East Pakistan seceded with the help of India.

The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly was the legislative body of the territory, it was the largest provincial legislature in Pakistan and elections were held only twice in 1954 and 1970. During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, most Bengali members elected to the Pakistani National Assembly and the East Pakistani provincial assembly became members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh.

Due to the strategic importance of East Pakistan, the Pakistani union was a member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. The economy of East Pakistan grew at an average of 2.6% between 1960 and 1965. The federal government invested more funds and foreign aid in West Pakistan, even though East Pakistan generated a major share of exports. However, President Ayub Khan did implement significant industrialisation in East Pakistan. The Kaptai Dam was built in 1965. The Eastern Refinery was established in Chittagong. Dacca was declared as the second capital of Pakistan and planned as the home of the national parliament. The government recruited American architect Louis Kahn to design the national assembly complex in Dacca.^[2]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ "Special report: The Breakup of Pakistan 1969-1971". Dawn. Pakistan. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
2. ^ "National Assembly Building of Bangladesh". Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2021.

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12 December 2000 – The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore

Bush v. Gore

2000 U.S. Supreme Court case

This article is about the Supreme Court case. For the presidential race with which the case was concerned, see 2000 United States presidential election.

2000 United States Supreme Court case

Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. On December 8, the Florida Supreme Court had ordered a statewide recount of all undervotes, over 61,000 ballots that the vote tabulation machines had missed. The Bush campaign immediately asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the decision and halt the recount. Justice Antonin Scalia, convinced that all the manual recounts being performed in Florida's counties were illegitimate, urged his colleagues to grant the stay immediately.^[1] On December 9, the five conservative justices on the Court granted the stay, with Scalia citing "irreparable harm" that could befall Bush, as the recounts would cast "a needless and unjustified cloud" over Bush's legitimacy. In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that "counting every legally cast vote cannot constitute irreparable harm."^[1] Oral arguments were scheduled for December 11.

In a 5–4 per curiam decision, the Court ruled, strictly on equal protection grounds, that the recount be stopped. Specifically, it held that the use of different standards of counting in different counties violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution; the case had also been argued on Article II jurisdictional grounds, which found favor with only Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and William Rehnquist. The Court then ruled as to a remedy, deciding against the remedy proposed by Justices Stephen Breyer and David Souter to send the case back to Florida to complete the recount using a uniform statewide standard before the scheduled December 18 meeting of Florida's electors in Tallahassee.^[1] Instead, the majority held that no alternative method could be established within the discretionary December 12 "safe harbor" deadline set by Title 3 of the United States Code (3 U.S.C.), § 5, which the Florida Supreme Court had stated that the Florida Legislature intended to meet.^[2] The Court, holding that not meeting the "safe harbor" deadline would violate the Florida Election Code, rejected an extension of the deadline to allow the Florida court to finish counting disputed ballots under uniform guidelines requested in a remedy proposed by Breyer and Souter. That deadline arrived two hours after the release of the Court's decision.

The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore was among the most controversial in U.S. history, as it allowed the vote certification made by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to stand, giving Bush Florida's 25 electoral votes. Florida's votes gave Bush, the Republican nominee, 271 electoral votes, one more than the 270 required to win the Electoral College. This meant the defeat of Democratic candidate Al Gore, who won 267 electoral votes but received 266, as a "faithless elector" from the District of Columbia abstained from voting. Media organizations later analyzed the ballots and found that, under specified criteria, the original, limited recount of undervotes of several large counties would have resulted in a Bush victory, though a statewide recount would have shown that Gore received the most votes. Florida later retired the punch-card voting machines that produced the ballots disputed in the case.^[3][4][5]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Margolick, David (October 2004). "The Path to Florida". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast.
2. ^ "Search – Supreme Court of the United States". www.supremecourt.gov.
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference FBP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference battle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NORCc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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13 January 2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.

Costa Concordia

Cruise ship that ran aground in a 2012 maritime accident

Costa Concordia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkɔsta konˈkɔrdja]) was a cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere. She was the first of her class, followed by sister ships Costa Serena, Costa Pacifica, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa, and Carnival Splendor built for Carnival Cruise Line. When the 114,137-ton Costa Concordia and her sister ships entered service, they were among the largest ships built in Italy until the construction of the 130,000 GT Dream-class cruise ships.

On 13 January 2012 at 21:45, Costa Concordia struck a rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea just off the eastern shore of Isola del Giglio. This tore open a 50 m (160 ft) gash on the port side of her hull, which soon flooded parts of the engine room, cutting power from the engines and ship services. As water flooded in and the ship listed, she drifted back towards the island and grounded near shore, then rolled onto her starboard side, lying in an unsteady position on a rocky underwater ledge.

The evacuation of Costa Concordia took over six hours, and of the 3,229 passengers and 1,023 crew known to have been aboard, 32 died. Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain at that time, was tried and found guilty of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident, and abandoning his ship. He was sentenced to sixteen years in prison in 2015.^[3] The wreck was salvaged three years after the incident and then towed to the port of Genoa, where she was scrapped.^[4]

1. ^ "Eva Herzigova to be the Godmother of Costa Concordia". freesun.be. 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
2. ^ "Costa Concordia (9320544)". LeonardoInfo. Registro Italiano Navale. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
3. ^ "Concordia skipper's sentence upheld". BBC News. 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
4. ^ "Costa Concordia wreck enters Genoa port for scrapping". BBC News Europe. BBC. BBC. 27 July 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.

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