December 15 in History

The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. It was proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists. The amendments of the Bill of Rights add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, to assemble, and other natural and legal rights. Its clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings include explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people. The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those in earlier documents, especially the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), as well as the Northwest Ordinance (1787), the English Bill of Rights (1689), and Magna Carta (1215).

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war lasted a little over four years, ending with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.

The Republic of Ezo was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the Bakumatsu period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt to institute democracy in Japan, though voting was allowed only to the samurai caste. The Republic of Ezo existed for five months before being annexed by the newly established Empire of Japan.

The Hunkpapa are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota tribe. The name Húŋkpapȟa is a Lakota word, meaning 'Head of the Circle'. By tradition, the Húŋkpapȟa set up their lodges at the entryway to the circle of the Great Council when the Sioux met in convocation. They speak Lakȟóta, one of the three dialects of the Sioux language.

The British Army is the land warfare force of the United Kingdom responsible for defending the UK, the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. The British Army, founded in 1707, has seen involvement in most of the world's major wars throughout history, including both world wars. As of 1 January 2026, the British Army comprises 73,790 regular full-time personnel, 4,190 Gurkhas, 25,770 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,870 "other personnel", for a total of 108,620.

The Pushkin House, formally the Institute of Russian Literature, is a research institute in St. Petersburg. It is part of a network of institutions affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as The Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

On 15 December [O.S. 2 December] 1917, an armistice was signed between the Russian Republic led by the Bolsheviks on the one side, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire—the Central Powers—on the other. The armistice took effect two days later, on 17 December [O.S. 4 December]. By this agreement, Russia de facto exited World War I, although fighting would briefly resume before the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on 3 March 1918, and Russia made peace.

Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. It was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, following her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable.

Richard Paul Pavlick was an American postal worker from New Hampshire who stalked U.S. Senator and U.S. president-elect John F. Kennedy, with the intent of assassinating him. On December 11, 1960, in Palm Beach, Florida, Pavlick positioned himself to carry out the assassination by blowing up Kennedy and himself with dynamite, but delayed the attempt because Kennedy was with his wife Jacqueline and their two young children. He was arrested before he was able to stage another attempt.

The Eichmann trial was the 1961 trial of major Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann, who was captured in Argentina by Israeli agents and taken to Israel to stand trial. Eichmann was a senior Nazi party member and served at the rank of Obersturmbannführer in the SS, and was primarily responsible for the implementation of the Final Solution. He was responsible for shipping Jews and other people from across Europe to the concentration camps, including managing the shipments to Hungary directly, where 564,000 Jews died. After the end of World War II, he fled to Argentina, living under a pseudonym until his capture in 1960 by Mossad.

The Silver Bridge was an eyebar-chain suspension bridge built in 1928 that carried U.S. Route 35 over the Ohio River, connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio. Officially named the Point Pleasant Bridge, it was popularly known as the Silver Bridge for the color of its aluminum paint.

John Paul Getty III was the grandson of the American-born British oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, who was once the richest man in the world. While living in Rome in 1973, he was kidnapped by the 'Ndrangheta, an Italian criminal organization based in Calabria, and held for a $17 million ransom. His grandfather initially refused to pay, but, after John Paul Getty III's severed ear was received by a newspaper, his grandfather relented to a new, lower demand, and Getty was released five months after being kidnapped. Getty subsequently developed an addiction to alcohol and other drugs, leading to an overdose and stroke in 1981 at the age of 25, which left him severely disabled for the rest of his life.

James Earl Carter Jr. was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 as the 76th governor of Georgia and from 1963 to 1967 in the Georgia State Senate. He lived longer than any other president in US history, reaching age 100.

The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, is a subsidiary agreement to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was created on 15 December 1989 and entered into force on 11 July 1991. As of December 2024, the Optional Protocol has 92 state parties. The most recent country to ratify was Zambia, on 19 December 2024.

Tajikistan Airlines Flight 3183 was a Tupolev Tu-154B-1 that crashed on 15 December 1997 on approach to Sharjah Airport in the United Arab Emirates. There was a sole survivor, the navigator, from a crew of seven and seventy-nine passengers. Investigators determined the cause of the accident was pilot error leading to controlled flight into terrain.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, or simply the Tower of Pisa, is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The tower is one of three structures in Pisa's Cathedral Square, which includes the cathedral and Pisa Baptistry. Over time, the flawed tower has become one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world as well as an architectural icon of Italy, receiving over 5 million visitors each year.

A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as a result of who they are, what they believe in or say, or because of armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder." Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by a contracting state or by the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum.

Man Haron Monis was an Iranian-born refugee and Australian citizen who took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Chocolate Café at Martin Place, Sydney on 15 December 2014, lasting for 16 hours, until the early hours of the following morning. The siege resulted in the death of Monis and two hostages.