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Rosa Parks ignites bus boycott

Born on This Day

Richard Pryor

1940 - 2005

Groundbreaking comedian, actor and writer, whose raw, honest and controversial humor revolutionized stand-up comedy.

Riz Ahmed

1982 -

British actor and musician known for "The Night Of," "Sound of Metal" and his politically charged rap music.

Janelle Monáe

1985 -

Singer-songwriter and actress whose music blends pop, funk, soul and R&B. Starred as Mary Jackson in "Hidden Figures."

Richard PryorWireImage

Riz AhmedGetty Images for AT&T

Janelle MonáeGetty Images for The Recording A

1992

DEC1

Police in Lilly, Pennsylvania are called to a video store after a passerby reports a gunman inside—and come face-to-face with a cardboard cutout of a gun-toting Denzel Washington. Cops use the experience as a training day.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 1st

George Washington establishes winter quarters at Morristown

General George Washington’s army settles into a second season at Morristown, New Jersey, on December 1, 1779. Washington’s personal circumstances improved dramatically as he moved into the Ford Mansion and was able to conduct his military business in the style of a proper 18th-century gentleman. However, the worst winter of the 1700s coupled with the […]

Abraham Lincoln delivers State of the Union address

On December 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln presents the U.S. Congress with some of his most memorable words as he discusses the Northern war effort. Lincoln uses the message—which, unlike today’s State of the Union addresses, was delivered in writing—to give a moderate account of his policy towards slavery. Just 10 weeks before, he had […]

Ford’s assembly line starts rolling

On December 1, 1913, Henry Ford installs the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. His innovation reduced the time it took to build a car from more than 12 hours to one hour and 33 minutes. Ford’s Model T, introduced in 1908, was simple, sturdy and relatively inexpensive–but not […]

Russian revolutionary Sergei Kirov murdered

Sergei Kirov, a leader of the Russian Revolution and a high-ranking member of the Politburo, is shot to death at his Leningrad office by Communist Party member Leonid Nikolayev, likely at the instigation of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Whatever Stalin’s precise role in the assassination of his political rival Kirov, he used the murder as […]

Bette Midler is born in Honolulu, Hawaii

By the time she appeared as the final guest of Johnny Carson’s 30-year career on The Tonight Show and brought tears to the unflappable host’s eyes with an emotional performance of “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” she was an established star of stage and screen—a Tony winner, an Oscar nominee, […]

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95 die in Chicago school fire

A fire at a grade school in Chicago kills 87 children and three nuns on December 1, 1958; five more children later died as a result of their injuries. The Our Lady of Angels School was operated by the Sisters of Charity in Chicago. In 1958, there were well over 1,200 students enrolled at the […]

Antarctica made a military-free continent

Twelve nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign the Antarctica Treaty, which bans military activity and weapons testing on that continent. It was the first arms control agreement signed in the Cold War period. Since the 1800s a number of nations, including Great Britain, Australia, Chile and Norway, laid claim to parts […]

Chunnel makes breakthrough

The two ends of the Channel Tunnel—connecting Great Britain with the European mainland—meet.

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