Today in history

On Dec. 6, 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia.

In 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.

In 1884, Army engineers completed construction of the Washington Monument by setting an aluminum capstone atop the obelisk.

In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.

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

In 1957, America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding.

In 1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, 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. 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.

Ten years ago: President-elect Barack Obama said in a Saturday radio and Internet address that he’d asked his economic team for a recovery plan that would save or create more than 2 million jobs.

Five years ago: A day after Nelson Mandela’s death at 95, South Africans of all colors erupted in song, dance and tears in emotional celebrations of the life of the man who had bridged the country’s black-white divide and helped avert a race war. The Fender Stratocaster that Bob Dylan played at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival was sold at Christie’s for nearly $1 million — the highest price ever paid for a guitar at auction.

One year ago: President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital, defying warnings from the Palestinians and others around the world that he would be destroying hopes for Mideast peace. Time magazine named as its Person of the Year the “Silence Breakers” — those who had shared their stories about sexual assault and harassment. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would seek re-election, putting him on track to become Russia’s longest-serving ruler since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.