December 15

1161 – Jin-Song wars: Military officers conspire against the emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin dynasty after a military defeat at the Battle of Caishi, and assassinate the emperor at his camp.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia.
1791 – The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
1890 – Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull, who led his people during years of resistance to United States government policies is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre. Born in 1831, he united the Sioux tribes in their struggle to stay in their territories in the Dakotas following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota
1905 – The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin
1914 – A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
1917 – World War I: An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed.
1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution officially becomes effective, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.
1945 – Occupation of Japan/Shinto Directive: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan.
1961 – Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty by an Israeli court of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and membership of an outlawed organization.
1973 – John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10.
1973 – The American Psychiatric Association votes to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.
1978 – President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People’s Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan
1981 – A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.
2001 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean.
Births
37 – Nero, Roman emperor (d. 68)
1832 – Gustave Eiffel, French architect and engineer, co-designed the Eiffel Tower (d. 1923)
1861 – Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, co-founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (d. 1938)
1892 – J. Paul Getty, American-English businessman and art collector, founded Getty Oil (d. 1976)
1921 – Alan Freed, American radio host (d. 1965)
Deaths
1673 – Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (b. 1623)
1878 – Alfred Bird, English chemist and businessman, invented baking powder (b. 1811)
1943 – Fats Waller, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1904)
1944 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader and composer (b. 1904)
1966 – Walt Disney, animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (b. 1901)
2011 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (b. 1949)