Today in history

On Dec. 15, 1791,

the Bill of Rights went into effect following ratification by Virginia.

In 1832

Gustave Eiffel, the civil engineer renowned for the Paris tower that bears his name, was born in Dijon, France.

In 1890

Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, S.D., during a fracas with Indian police.

In 1892

oil billionaire J. Paul Getty was born in Minneapolis.

In 1916

the French defeated the Germans in the World War I Battle of Verdun.

In 1938

groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jefferson Memorial took place.

In 1939

the motion picture “Gone With the Wind” had its world premiere in Atlanta.

In 1944

a plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller disappeared over the English Channel en route to Paris.

In 1961

former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Israeli court.

In 1965

two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6 and Gemini 7, maneuvered to within 10 feet of each other while in orbit.

In 1966

movie producer Walt Disney died in Los Angeles; he was 65. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter announced he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New Year’s Day and sever official relations with Taiwan.