TODAY IN HISTORY

On Dec. 6,1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York.

In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified as Georgia became the 27th state to endorse it.

In1884, Army engineers completed the Washington Monument by setting an aluminum capstone atop the obelisk.

In1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362menand boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia.

In 1917, Finland declared its independence from Russia.

In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman.

In1957, America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet offa Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down.

In1969, a free concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Alameda County, California, was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a Hell’s Angel.

In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.

In1989, 14 women were shot to death at University of Montreal’s school of engineering by amanwho then took his ownlife.

In1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez (OO’-goh CHAH’vez), who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president.

In 2001, the House of Representatives, by a one-vote margin, gave President George W. Bush more power to negotiate global trade deals. Also: President Bush dedicated the national Christmas tree to those who had died on Sept. 11 and to service members who had died in the line of duty.

In 2010, President Barack Obama announced a compromise with the GOP to extend Bush-era income tax cuts despite Democratic objections; the agreement included renewing unemployment benefits and reducing Social Security taxes for one year.

In 2015, President Barack Obama vowed the U.S. would overcome anew phase of the terror threat that sought to “poison the minds” of people around theworld, as he tried to reassure Americans shaken by recent attacks in Paris and California.

In 2019, an aviation student from Saudi Arabia opened fire inside a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, killing three people and wounding two sheriff’s deputies before one of the deputies killed him.