On this day in history: Important events that took place on December 12

Several important events have taken place on December 12 throughout history, making it a notable date in both India and around the world.

Major Historical Events
2000: A divided U.S. Supreme Court halted the presidential recount in Florida, effectively making Republican George W. Bush the winner of the election.


1963: Kenya gained its independence from Britain.

1975: Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill President Gerald R. Ford.

1998: The House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton and submitted the case to the full House.

1914: The New York Stock Exchange re-opened for the first time since July 30, having shut down when World War I broke out.

1870: Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first black congressman.

1787: Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Culture, Arts, and Innovations
1925: The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened in San Luis Obispo, California.

1917: Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Nebraska.

1897: "The Katzenjammer Kids," the pioneering comic strip by Rudolph Dirks, debuted in the New York Journal.

2003: Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, died in a Norwegian fjord.

Historic Birthdays
1915: Frank Sinatra, the American singer and actor who elevated popular song into an art, was born in Hoboken, N.J. (His obituary appeared in The Times following his death on May 14, 1998).

1924: New York City Mayor Ed Koch was born in the Bronx.

1745: John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City.

Other Events
2009: Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker.

1947: The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.