December 1 facts for kids

December 1 is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 30 days remain until the end of the year.

December 1st is a special day in history, filled with many important events, famous births, and notable deaths. It's also a day for different celebrations around the world! Let's explore some of the cool things that happened on this day.

Historic Events on December 1

Big Moments in History (Before 1900)

• 800 – A big meeting happened at the Vatican. Here, Charlemagne, a powerful emperor, listened to problems about Pope Leo III.
• 1420 – Henry V of England, a famous English king, entered Paris with his father-in-law, King Charles VI of France.
• 1640 – Portugal became independent from Spain! This ended 59 years of the two countries being ruled by the same kings. João IV became the new King of Portugal.
• 1768 – The ship Fredensborg sank near Tromøya in Norway.
• 1821 – José Núñez de Cáceres helped the Dominican Republic gain independence from Spain. The new country was called the Republic of Spanish Haiti.
• 1822 – Pedro I was crowned the first Emperor of Brazil. This was a huge moment for Brazil's independence.
• 1824 – In the U.S. presidential election, no candidate won enough votes. So, the United States House of Representatives had to choose the winner.
• 1828 – In Argentina, General Juan Lavalle led a revolt against the governor, starting a big change in the country.
• 1834 – Slavery was officially ended in the Cape Colony (part of modern-day South Africa). This happened because of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
• 1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech. He again said that slavery must end, something he had ordered ten weeks earlier.
• 1865 – Shaw University was founded in North Carolina. It was the first historically black university in the southern United States.
• 1878 – President Rutherford B. Hayes had the very first telephone installed in the White House. Imagine that!

Modern History (1901-Today)

• 1913 – The Buenos Aires Metro opened in Argentina. It was the first underground train system in the Southern Hemisphere.
• 1913 – Crete, an island, became part of Greece. It had gained its own rule from Turkey after a war.
• 1918 – Transylvania joined with Romania. This was a big step in forming modern Romania.
• 1918 – Iceland became an independent country. However, it remained connected to Denmark for a while.
• 1918 – The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was created. This country later became known as Yugoslavia.
• 1919 – Lady Astor made history! She became the first woman MP to take her seat in the British House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
• 1924 – The Boston Bruins played their first game in the National Hockey League. They were the first U.S.-based team in the league.
• 1934 – Sergei Kirov was assassinated. This event led to the start of the terrible Great Purge in the Soviet Union.
• 1939 – World War II: The Winter War began in Finland. The Finnish government moved from Helsinki to escape Soviet attacks.
• 1941 – World War II: Japan's Emperor Hirohito agreed to start a war against the United States.
• 1955 – American Civil Rights Movement: In Alabama, a brave woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. She was arrested, and this led to the famous bus boycott.
• 1958 – The Central African Republic gained self-rule from France.
• 1958 – A terrible fire at the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago killed 92 children and three nuns.
• 1959 – Cold War: The Antarctic Treaty was opened for signing. This treaty made Antarctica a place for science and banned military activities there.
• 1963 – Nagaland became the 16th state of India.
• 1969 – Vietnam War: The first draft lottery since World War II was held in the United States. This decided who would be called to serve in the military.
• 1973 – Papua New Guinea gained self-government from Australia.
• 1974 – TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashed near Dulles International Airport, sadly killing everyone on board.
• 1981 – Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80, crashed in Corsica, killing all 180 people on board.
• 1984 – NASA intentionally crashed an airliner in a test called the Controlled Impact Demonstration. This was to learn how to make planes safer.
• 1988 – World AIDS Day was announced by the United Nations. It's a day to raise awareness about AIDS.
• 1988 – Benazir Bhutto became the Prime Minister of Pakistan. She was the first female leader of a Muslim nation.
• 1989 – Cold War: East Germany's government removed the rule that gave the Communist Party the main power in the state.
• 1990 – Sections of the Channel Tunnel from the United Kingdom and France met under the sea.
• 1991 – Cold War: People in Ukraine voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union.
• 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada became the president of Mexico. This was the first time in Mexico's history that power peacefully moved to an opposing political party after a free election.
• 2006 – The law allowing same-sex marriage began in South Africa. This made it legal for the first time on the African continent.
• 2009 – The Treaty of Lisbon came into effect in the European Union.
• 2019 – A women's soccer match between Arsenal Women and Bristol City Women broke a record for most goals scored.
• 2019 – The outbreak of coronavirus infection began in Wuhan, China.
• 2020 – The Arecibo Telescope, a famous radio telescope, collapsed.

People Born on December 1

Famous Births (Before 1900)

• 624 – Hasan ibn Ali, an important religious leader.
• 1081 – Louis VI, a French king.
• 1083 – Anna Komnene, a Byzantine doctor and smart scholar.
• 1415 – Jan Długosz, a Polish historian who wrote about the past.
• 1521 – Takeda Shingen, a powerful Japanese leader.
• 1580 – Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, a French astronomer and historian.
• 1761 – Marie Tussaud, a French-English sculptor who started the famous Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
• 1792 – Nikolai Lobachevsky, a Russian mathematician known for his work in geometry.
• 1844 – Alexandra of Denmark, a queen.
• 1871 – Archie MacLaren, an English cricketer.
• 1886 – Zhu De, a Chinese general and politician.
• 1896 – Georgy Zhukov, a famous Russian general during World War II.

Famous Births (1901-Today)

• 1910 – Alicia Markova, a famous English ballerina.
• 1912 – Minoru Yamasaki, an American architect who designed the original World Trade Center.
• 1913 – Mary Martin, an American actress and singer.
• 1923 – Dick Shawn, an American actor.
• 1925 – Martin Rodbell, an American biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1926 – Keith Michell, an Australian actor.
• 1930 – Marie Bashir, an Australian psychiatrist and politician.
• 1933 – Lou Rawls, an American singer and actor.
• 1934 – Billy Paul, an American soul singer.
• 1937 – Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, a Latvian psychologist and former President of Latvia.
• 1939 – Lee Trevino, a famous American golfer.
• 1940 – Richard Pryor, a very well-known American comedian and actor.
• 1944 – John Densmore, the drummer for the famous band The Doors.
• 1945 – Bette Midler, a popular American singer, actress, and producer.
• 1946 – Gilbert O'Sullivan, an Irish singer-songwriter.
• 1949 – Sebastián Piñera, a Chilean businessman and former President of Chile.
• 1951 – Jaco Pastorius, an American bass player.
• 1951 – Treat Williams, an American actor.
• 1957 – Deep Roy, a Kenyan-British actor.
• 1958 – Candace Bushnell, an American journalist and author.
• 1958 – Charlene Tilton, an American actress.
• 1960 – Carol Alt, an American model and actress.
• 1961 – Jeremy Northam, an English actor.
• 1963 – Arjuna Ranatunga, a Sri Lankan cricketer and politician.
• 1966 – Andrew Adamson, a New Zealand director and producer.
• 1966 – Larry Walker, a Canadian baseball player.
• 1967 – Nestor Carbonell, an American actor.
• 1970 – Sarah Silverman, an American comedian, actress, and singer.
• 1976 – Laura Ling, an American journalist.
• 1977 – Brad Delson, the guitarist for the band Linkin Park.
• 1982 – Riz Ahmed, an English actor and rapper.
• 1984 – Yolandi Visser, a South African rapper.
• 1985 – Janelle Monáe, an American singer, producer, and actress.
• 1988 – Tyler Joseph, a musician and singer from the band Twenty One Pilots.
• 1988 – Zoë Kravitz, an American actress, singer, and model.
• 1991 – Sun Yang, a Chinese swimmer.
• 1992 – Javier Báez, a Puerto Rican baseball player.

People Who Died on December 1

Notable Deaths (Before 1900)

• 217 – Yehudah HaNasi, an important Jewish religious leader.
• 660 – Eligius, a Frankish bishop and saint.
• 1135 – Henry I, a king of England.
• 1241 – Isabella of England, a Holy Roman Empress.
• 1335 – Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, a Mongol ruler.
• 1374 – Magnus Ericson, a king of Sweden.
• 1455 – Lorenzo Ghiberti, a famous Italian sculptor.
• 1521 – Leo X, a pope of the Catholic Church.
• 1530 – Margaret of Austria, a duchess.
• 1581 – Edmund Campion, an English Roman Catholic priest and saint.
• 1825 – Alexander I, an emperor of Russia.
• 1866 – George Everest, a Welsh geographer. Mount Everest is named after him!

Notable Deaths (1901-Today)

• 1914 – Alfred Thayer Mahan, an American captain and historian.
• 1934 – Sergey Kirov, a Russian politician.
• 1947 – Aleister Crowley, an English magician and writer.
• 1947 – G. H. Hardy, a famous English mathematician.
• 1958 – Elizabeth Peratrovich, an Alaskan-American civil rights activist.
• 1964 – J. B. S. Haldane, an English-Indian geneticist and biologist.
• 1973 – David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1987 – James Baldwin, an American novelist and writer.
• 1989 – Alvin Ailey, an American dancer and choreographer.
• 1991 – George Stigler, an American economist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1997 – Stéphane Grappelli, a French violinist.
• 2004 – Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, a prince.
• 2006 – Claude Jade, a French actress.
• 2011 – Christa Wolf, a German author.
• 2012 – Arthur Chaskalson, a South African judge.
• 2013 – Stirling Colgate, an American physicist.
• 2015 – Joseph Engelberger, an American physicist and engineer, known as the "father of robotics".
• 2023 – Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Holidays and Celebrations

December 1st is a day for many special observances around the world:

• World AIDS Day – This is a global day to raise awareness about AIDS and remember those affected.
• Great Union Day (Romania) – Romanians celebrate the union of Transylvania with Romania in 1918.
• Restoration of Independence Day (Portugal) – Portugal celebrates regaining its independence from Spain in 1640.
• Self-governance Day (Iceland) – Iceland celebrates becoming a sovereign state in 1918.
• Rosa Parks Day (Ohio and Oregon, United States) – A day to honor the civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
• Military Abolition Day (Costa Rica) – Costa Rica celebrates getting rid of its army.
• First President Day (Kazakhstan) – A day to honor the first president of Kazakhstan.
• Teachers' Day (Panama) – A day to celebrate teachers in Panama.
• Christian feast day: This day is important for many Christian saints, including Edmund Campion and Eligius.

See also

In Spanish: 1 de diciembre para niños