This Day in History

On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, then took his own life as police arrived; the 20-year-old had also fatally shot his mother at their home before carrying out the attack on the school.

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In 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, died at his Mount Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.

In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (ROH'-ahl AH'-mun-suhn) and his team became the first men to reach the South Pole, beating out a British expedition led by Robert F. Scott.

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, ruled that Congress was within its authority to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against racial discrimination by private businesses (in this case, a motel that refused to cater to Blacks).

In 1995, the Dayton Accords were formally signed in Paris, ending the Bosnian War.

In 2020, the Electoral College confirmed Joe Biden as the nation's next president, ratifying his November victory in a state-by-state repudiation of President Donald Trump's refusal to concede he had lost; electors gave Biden 306 votes to Trump's 232.

In 2020, the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history began with health workers getting shots on the same day the nation's COVID-19 death toll hit 300,000.

In 2021, Stephen Curry set a new NBA career 3-point record; the Golden State Warriors' guard hit his 2,974th 3-point shot against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Today's Birthdays: Tennis Hall of Famer Stan Smith is 78. Actor Dee Wallace is 76. Rock musician Cliff Williams (AC/DC) is 74. Former FBI Director James Comey is 64. Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio is 59. Actor Natascha McElhone is 53. Actor Jackson Rathbone is 40. Actor Vanessa Hudgens is 36. Rapper Offset is 33. Singer Tori Kelly is 32. NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf is 27.