History for December 15

History for December 15 - On-This-Day.com:
Nero (Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus) 37 AD - Fifth and last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Gustave Eiffel 1832 - Engineer: designed Paris’ Eiffel Tower and helped design Statue of Liberty, J. Paul Getty 1892 - Oil magnate: Getty Oil 
      

Alan Freed 1922 - Disc jockey in Cleveland, Clyde McPhatter 1932 - Musician (Dominoes, Drifters), Tim Conway 1933 - Actor, comedian ("McHale’s Navy," "The Tim Conway Show," "The Carol Burnett Show") 


1791 - In the U.S., the first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, went into effect following ratification by the state of Virginia.


1939 - "Gone With the Wind," produced by David O. Selznick based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, premiered at Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta. The movie starred Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.


1944 - A single-engine plane carrying U.S. Army Major Glenn Miller disappeared in thick fog over the English Channel while en route to Paris.


1944 - Dr. R. Townley Paton and a small group of doctors laid the groundwork for the Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration.


1961 - Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death in Jerusalem by an Israeli court. He had been tried on charges for organizing the deportation of Jews to concentration camps.


1965 - Two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6 and Gemini 7, maneuvered within 10 feet of each other while in orbit around the Earth.


1978 - U.S. President Carter announced he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New Year's Day and sever official relations with Taiwan.


2001 - It was announced that Siena Heights University would begin offering a class called "Animated Philosophy and Religion." The two-credit class would cover how religion and philosophy are part of popular culture and is based on the television series "The Simpsons."