On Dec. 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place as American colonists boarded a British ship and dumped more than 300 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest tea taxes.
Today in History: Boston Tea Party
Category: History
Today in History: Bill of Rights takes effect
On Dec. 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, went into effect following ratification by Virginia.
Today in Sports History: Marcel Dionne scores his 500th goal
1982 — Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 500th goal in a 7-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. Dionne is the ninth player in NHL history to reach the milestone.
Today in History: 20 children, 6 educators killed in Sandy Hook shooting
On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, then took his own life as police arrived; the 20-year-old had also fatally shot his mother at their home before carrying out the attack on the school.
Today in History: Saddam Hussein captured
On Dec. 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq, near his hometown of Tikrit.
Today in Sports History: Bobby Hull scores his 1,000th point
1971 — Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks scores his 1,000th point with an assist in the first period of a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.
Today in History: Supreme Court issues Bush v. Gore decision
On Dec. 12, 2000, George W. Bush became president-elect as a divided U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state court recount decision in Florida’s tightly contested presidential election.
Today in Sports History: Tiger Woods announces an indefinite leave from professional golf
2009 — Tiger Woods announces an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage.
Today in History: Bernie Madoff arrested
On Dec. 11, 2008, former Nasdaq chairman Bernie Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out the life savings of thousands of people and wrecked charities. (Madoff died in April 2021 while serving a 150-year federal prison sentence.)
Today in History: Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first American to win a Nobel Prize
On Dec. 10, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to win a Nobel Prize, winning the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to negotiate peace in the Russo-Japanese War.