History for December 16

History for December 16 - On-This-Day.com
Ludwig Van Beethoven 1770 - Composer, Jane Austen 1775, George Santayana 1863


Arthur C. Clarke 1917 - Author, Philip K. Dick 1928 - Author, Benny Andersson 1946 - Singer, keyboards, synthesizers (ABBA)


1773 - Nearly 350 chests of tea were dumped into Boston Harbor off of British ships by Colonial patriots. The patriots were disguised as Indians. The act was to protest taxation without representation and the monopoly the government granted to the East India Company.


1901 - "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," by Beatrix Potter, was printed for the first time.


1944 - During World War II, the Battle of the Bulge began in Belgium. It was the final major German counteroffensive in the war.


1950 - U.S. President Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight "Communist imperialism."


1951 - NBC-TV debuted "Dragnet" in a special preview on "Chesterfield Sound Off Time". The show began officially on January 3, 1952.


1973 - O.J. Simpson broke Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record in the NFL. Brown had rushed for 1,863 yards, while Simpson attained 2,003 yards.


1998 - Eric Michelman filed the earliest patent for a scroll wheel for a computer mouse.


2000 - U.S. President-elect George W. Bush selected Colin Powell to be the first African-American secretary of state. Powell was sworn in January 20, 2001.