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In 1957, Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
December 6 in History
46 events
1060 – 2017
Today in history
December 6 spans 46 recorded events across recorded history, from 1060 to 2017. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1957 — Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit
More major events on December 6
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament. Source
- 1917 World War I: USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U-53. Source
- 1917 Halifax Explosion: A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia kills more than 1,900 people in the largest artificial explosion up to that time. Source
Béla I is crowned king of Hungary.
King of Hungary from 1060 to 1063
Béla I the Boxer or the Wisent was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was Adalbert. He left Hungary in 1031, together with his brothers, Levente and Andrew, after the execution of their father, Vazul. Béla settled in Poland and married Richeza, daughter of Polish king Mieszko II Lambert.
1060
Mongol invasion of Rus': Kyiv, defended by Voivode Dmytro, falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan.
13th-century Mongol military campaign in Europe
The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of the Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimir, including the largest: Kiev and Chernigov. The siege of Kiev in 1240 by the Mongols is generally held to mark the end of the state of Kievan Rus', which had already been undergoing fragmentation. Many other principalities and urban centres in the northwest and southwest escaped complete destruction or suffered little to no damage from the Mongol invasion, including Galicia–Volhynia, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, and probably Rostov and Uglich.
1240
After exploring the island of Cuba (which he had mistaken for Japan) for gold, Christopher Columbus lands on an island he names Hispaniola.
Country in the Caribbean
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country in the Caribbean. It comprises the eponymous main island as well as 4,195 islands, islets, and cays. Situated at the convergence of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean, Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula, south of both Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola, and north of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital. Cuba is the third-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti and Dominican Republic, with about 10 million inhabitants. It is the largest country in the Caribbean by area. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America.
1492
The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar.
Capital city of Ecuador
Quito, officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is in a valley on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes.
1534
Pride's Purge removes royalist sympathizers from Parliament so that the High Court of Justice could put the King on trial.
Event in second English Civil War
Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England.
1648
Charles Edward Stuart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising.
Jacobite leader (1720–1788)
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1766. He is also known as the Young Pretender, the Young Chevalier and Bonnie Prince Charlie, and to Jacobites as Charles III. He led the failed Jacobite Rising of 1745 in an attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty to power.
1745
The U.S.
Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia.
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both meet in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
1790
Five French warships attempting to escape the Royal Naval blockade of Saint-Domingue are all seized by British warships, signifying the end of the Haitian Revolution.
Maritime arm of the French Armed Forces
The French Navy is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world recognised as being a blue-water navy. The French Navy is capable of operating globally and conducting expeditionary missions, maintaining a significant overseas presence. The French Navy is one of eight naval forces currently operating fixed-wing aircraft carriers, with its flagship Charles de Gaulle being the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the United States Navy, and one of two non-American vessels to use catapults to launch aircraft.
1803
Georgia ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
Georgia is a state in the Southeastern, South Atlantic, and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the northwest, North Carolina and South Carolina to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the 50 U.S. states, Georgia is the 24th-largest by area and eighth-most populous. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, its 2025 estimated population was 11,302,748. Atlanta, a global city, is both the state's capital and its largest city. The Atlanta metropolitan area, with a population greater than 6.3 million people in 2023, is the eighth most populous metropolitan area in the United States and contains about 57% of Georgia's entire population. Other major metropolitan areas in the state include Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, and Macon.
1865
Transit of Venus, second and last of the 19th century.
Astronomical event
The 1882 transit of Venus on 6 December 1882, was the second and last transit of Venus of the 19th century, the first having taken place eight years earlier in 1874. Many expeditions were sent by European powers to describe both episodes, eight by the United States Congress alone.
1882
The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed.
U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C.
The Washington Monument is a 555-foot (169 m) tall obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Father of the United States and the nation's first president. Standing east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial, the monument is made of bluestone gneiss for the foundation and of granite for the construction. The outside facing consists of three different kinds of white marble, as the building process was repeatedly interrupted. The monument stands 554 feet 7+11⁄32 inches (169.046 m) tall, according to U.S. National Geodetic Survey measurements in 2013 and 2014. It is the third tallest monumental column in the world, trailing only the Juche Tower in Pyongyang, and the San Jacinto Monument in Houston, Texas. It was the world's tallest structure between 1884 and 1889, after which it was overtaken by the Eiffel Tower, in Paris.
1884
London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.
Type of vehicle for hire with a driver
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice. This differs from public transport where the pick-up and drop-off locations are decided by the service provider, not by the customers, although demand responsive transport and share taxis provide a hybrid bus/taxi mode.
1897
Theodore Roosevelt articulated his "Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the U.S.
would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should Latin American governments prove incapable or unstable.
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Previously serving for six months as vice president under William McKinley, Roosevelt became president after McKinley's assassination in 1901. He was 42 years old upon his first inauguration, making him the youngest person to hold the office.
1904
A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia, kills 362 workers.
1907 coal mine explosion
The Monongah mining disaster was a coal mine explosion on December 6, 1907, at Fairmont Coal Company's Nos. 6 and 8 mines in Monongah, West Virginia, which killed 362 miners. It has been described as "the worst mining disaster in American history" and was one of the contributing events that led to the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines.
1907
The Nefertiti Bust is discovered.
Ancient sculpture from Egypt
The Nefertiti Bust is a painted stucco-coated limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. It is on display in the Neues Museum of Berlin.
1912
World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
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 theatres of war included Europe and the Middle East, and well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, World War I resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths, including in mass war crimes against civilians and genocides. The conflict saw important developments in weaponry, including the first large-scale use of machine guns, artillery, aircraft, chemical weapons, and tanks, and was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.
1916
Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire.
1917 resolution declaring independence from Russia
The Finnish Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Parliament of Finland on 6 December 1917. It declared Finland to be independent from Russia, with reference to a bill simultaneously delivered to the Parliament to make Finland an independent republic instead.
1917
Halifax Explosion: A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia kills more than 1,900 people in the largest artificial explosion up to that time.
1917 maritime disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc and the Norwegian vessel SS Imo collided in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Laden with high explosives, Mont-Blanc caught fire and detonated, devastating the Richmond district of Halifax. At least 1,782 people, largely in Halifax and Dartmouth, were killed by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time. It released the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT (12 TJ).
1917
World War I: USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U-53.
American Tucker-class destroyer
USS Jacob Jones was a Tucker-class destroyer built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of Jacob Jones.
1917
The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives.
1921 agreement which ended the Irish War of Independence
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the government of the Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence. It provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State within a year as a self-governing dominion within the "community of nations known as the British Empire", a status "the same as that of the Dominion of Canada". It also provided Northern Ireland, which had been created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, an option to opt out of the Irish Free State, which was exercised by the Parliament of Northern Ireland.
1921
Ireland is partitioned, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State coming into existence, one year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
1921 division of Ireland into two jurisdictions
The Partition of Ireland was the process by which the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. It was enacted on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The Act intended both territories to remain within the United Kingdom and contained provisions for their eventual reunification. The smaller Northern Ireland territory was created with a devolved government and remained part of the UK. Although the larger Southern Ireland was also created, its administration was not recognised by most of its citizens, who instead recognised the self-declared 32-county Irish Republic.
1922
The government of Colombia sends military forces to suppress a month-long strike by United Fruit Company workers, resulting in an unknown number of deaths.
1928 mass killing of striking United Fruit Company workers in Ciénaga, Colombia
The Banana Massacre was a massacre of workers of the United Fruit Company that occurred between December 5 and 6, 1928, in the town of Ciénaga near Santa Marta, Colombia. A strike began on November 12, 1928, when the workers ceased to work until the company would reach an agreement with them to grant them dignified working conditions. After several weeks with no agreement, in which the United Fruit Company refused to negotiate with the workers, the government of Miguel Abadía Méndez assigned Carlos Cortés Vargas as military chief in the Magdalena department and sent 700 men from the Colombian Army to quell the strikers, resulting in the massacre of 47–2000 people.
1928
In United States v.
One Book Called Ulysses Judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene despite coarse language and sexual content, a leading decision affirming free expression.
United States v. One Book Called Ulysses, 5 F. Supp. 182, affirmed in United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses by James Joyce , 72 F. 705 (1934) is a landmark decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in a case dealing with freedom of expression. At issue was whether James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses was obscene. In deciding it was not, District Court Judge John Munro Woolsey opened the door to importation and publication of serious works of literature that used coarse language or involved sexual subjects.
1933
Winter War: The Red Army's advance on the Karelian Isthmus is stopped by Finns at the Mannerheim Line during the Battle of Taipale.
1939–1940 war between the Soviet Union and Finland
The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from its organization.
1939
World War II: Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied secret agents for the war.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
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. 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.
1941
A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Water polo match between Hungary and the USSR in 1956
The "Blood in the Water" match was a water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The semi-final match took place on 6 December 1956 against the background of the recent Hungarian Revolution, and saw Hungary defeat the USSR 4–0. The name was coined after Hungarian player Ervin Zádor emerged during the last two minutes with blood pouring from above his eye after being punched by Soviet player Valentin Prokopov.
1956
Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States.
American cardiac surgeon (1918–2008)
Adrian Kantrowitz was an American cardiac surgeon whose team performed the world's second heart transplant attempt at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York on December 6, 1967. The infant lived for only six hours. At a press conference afterwards, Kantrowitz emphasized that he considered the operation to have been a failure.
1967
Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards.
1969 music festival in northern California
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Tracy, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, with some anticipating that it would be a "Woodstock West". The Woodstock festival had taken place in Bethel, New York, in mid-August, almost four months earlier.
1969
Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Military confrontation between India and Pakistan alongside the Bangladesh Liberation War
The India–Pakistan war of 1971, also known as the third Indo-Pakistani war, was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 December 1971. The war began with Pakistan's Operation Chengiz Khan, consisting of preemptive aerial strikes on eight Indian air stations. The strikes led to India declaring war on Pakistan, marking their entry into the war for East Pakistan's independence, on the side of Bengali nationalist forces. India's entry expanded the existing conflict with Indian and Pakistani forces engaging on both the eastern and western fronts.
1971
The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States.
(On November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92–3.)
The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution addresses issues related to presidential succession and disability.
1973
The Troubles: Fleeing from the police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a British couple hostage in their flat on Balcombe Street, London, beginning a six-day siege.
1960s–1998 conflict in Northern Ireland
The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.
1975
South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.
Bantustan in South Africa (1977–1994)
Bophuthatswana, officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana, colloquially referred to as the Bop and by outsiders as Jigsawland was a Bantustan that was declared (nominally) independent by the apartheid regime of South Africa in 1977. However, like the other Bantustans of Ciskei, Transkei and Venda, its independence was not recognized by any country other than South Africa.
1977
Spain ratifies the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum.
Principles, institutions and law of political governance in Spain
The Spanish Constitution is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy.
1978
The Troubles: The Irish National Liberation Army bombs a pub frequented by British soldiers in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven soldiers and six civilians.
Irish republican paramilitary group formed in 1974
The Irish National Liberation Army is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. With membership estimated at 80–100 at their peak, it is the paramilitary wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP).
1982
The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.
1989 mass shooting in Montreal, Canada
The École Polytechnique massacre, also known as the Montreal massacre, was a mass shooting that occurred on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Fourteen women were murdered in the misogynistic, antifeminist attack; another ten women and four men were injured. Among the injured was eventual gun control advocate and politician Nathalie Provost.
1989
A military jet of the Italian Air Force, abandoned by its pilot after an on-board fire, crashed into a high school near Bologna, Italy, killing 12 students and injuring 88 other people.
Air warfare branch of Italy's armed forces
The Italian Air Force is the air force of the Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the Regia Aeronautica. After World War II, when Italy became a republic following a referendum, the Regia Aeronautica was given its current name. Since its formation, the service has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history. The acrobatic display team is the Frecce Tricolori.
1990
Yugoslav Wars: In Croatia, forces of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) heaviest bombardment of Dubrovnik during a siege of seven months.
1991–2001 series of wars in the Balkans
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from the breakup of Yugoslavia, which began in mid-1991, into six independent countries matching the six republics that had previously constituted Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia, which was later renamed to North Macedonia. The breakup of Yugoslavia and the accompanying Yugoslav Wars are commonly attributed to increasing nationalism and unresolved ethnic tensions in Yugoslavia. While most of the conflicts ended through peace accords that involved full international recognition of the new states, they resulted in the deaths of many as well as severe economic damage to the region.
1991
The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1,500 people.
Destroyed mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India
The Babri Masjid was a mosque located in Ayodhya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that the location where it stood is the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism. The Ayodhya dispute has been a disputed focal point between the Hindu and Muslim communities since the 19th century. According to the mosque's inscriptions, it was built in 935 AH (1528/1529 CE) by Mir Baqi, a commander of the Mughal emperor Babur. Before the 1940s, the masjid was officially known as "Masjid-i-Janmasthan". The mosque was attacked and demolished by a Hindu nationalist mob in 1992, which ignited communal violence across the Indian subcontinent.
1992
The United States Food and Drug Administration approves Saquinavir, the first protease inhibitor to treat HIV/AIDS.
Within 2 years of its approval, annual deaths from AIDS in the United States fall from over 50,000 to approximately 18,000.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, caffeine products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed, and veterinary products.
1995
in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is victorious in presidential elections.
Country in South America
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and various islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of 912,050 km2 (352,140 sq mi), with a population estimated at 31.8 million in 2025. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is Caracas. The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, on the south by Brazil, on the east by Guyana, and on the northeast by Trinidad and Tobago.
1998
A&M Records, Inc.
v. Napster, Inc.: The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement.
A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 was a landmark intellectual property case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that the defendant, peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, could be held liable for contributory infringement and vicarious infringement of copyright. This was the first major case to address the application of copyright laws to peer-to-peer file sharing.
1999
An Iranian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft crashes into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing all 94 on board and 12 more on the ground.
Aerial service branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army
The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force is the aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The present air force was created when the Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution. The IRIAF was heavily involved in the Iran–Iraq War, carrying out major operations like Operation Kaman 99, Operation Sultan 10, the H-3 airstrike, and the first attack on a nuclear reactor in history, Operation Scorch Sword.
2005
NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.
American space and aeronautics agency
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science. Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the US space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS), and the ongoing multi-national Artemis program.
2006
Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament.
Parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela on 6 December 2015 to elect the 164 deputies and three indigenous representatives of the National Assembly. They were the fourth parliamentary elections to take place after the 1999 constitution, which abolished the bicameral system in favour of a unicameral parliament, and the first to take place after the death of President Hugo Chávez. Despite predictions from the opposition of a possible last-minute cancellation, the elections took place as scheduled, with the majority of polls showing the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) holding a wide lead over the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its wider alliance, the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP).
2015
Donald Trump's administration officially announces the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)
Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
2017