On December 29, 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket, former Chancellor of England, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights acting in the name of Henry II. Becket and Henry had been entangled in a power struggle over, among other things, criminal jurisdiction over clergy. Read a contemporary account of the murder of Thomas Becket.
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On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal’s interim parliament ended the country’s monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly. Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.
On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was [...]
On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.
On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.
On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the [...]
On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for [...]
On December 25, 1868, President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all who had been involved in “insurrection or rebellion” during the US Civil War.
On December 25, 800 A.D., Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome, Italy. During his lifetime, Charlemagne united most of Western Europe for the first time since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. He is credited with spreading the rule of law throughout his dominions as well as starting [...]
On December 24, 1957, Hamid Karzai was born in Karz, Afghanistan. He would go on to become in 2004 his country’s first elected president after the end of Taliban rule in 2001.
