The year never seems to actually include December. Every year the “Best of” or “Top of” the year comes out. And they never include the last month of the year. I realize this is a product of both print deadlines and major holidays that throw work out the window. But it has always rubbed me the wrong way. Lots of stuff happens in December!

Moments in History that Happened in December 

• Dec 2, 1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations. It ends operations January 20, 2017.
• Dec 3, 1967 – At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky).
• Dec 5, 63 BC – Cicero gives the last of the Catiline Orations.
• Dec 7, 1787 – Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.
• Dec 12, 2015 – Paris Agreement relating to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted. Only one county refuses to join.
• Dec 14, 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
• Dec 20, 1946 – The Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City. It did not do well.
• Dec 22, 2016 – A study finds the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus is between 70-100% effective, and making it the first proven vaccine against the disease.
• Dec 29, 1851 – The first American YMCA opens in Boston.
• Dec 31, 1759 – Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum and starts brewing Guinness. That is, according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator, roughly £8,340.52 in today’s money.
• Also Dec 31, 1796 – The incorporation of Baltimore as a city. So Happy Birthday, Baltimore.

These are a tiny amount of things that happened in December in the past. Obviously, a lot more has happened.

Yes, I am totally linking to Wikipedia. Yes, it would make every history professor I ever had weep, then fail me. But it is very good at giving quick summaries and links for further reading. So there.