This Month in History
December
Abigail Guy
Embedded Files
Dec 1, 1955:
Rosa Parks Sat on the Bus
On this date in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was asked to give up her seat on a segregated bus for a white man, but she refused. She was arrested for her defiance, but her bravery sparked a movement; the Montgomery Bus Boycott. When in court, she pleaded guilty and was fined $10 (which is equivalent to about $100 USD today). The civil rights movement and the boycott continued to grow, and in 1956 bus segregation was ruled unconstitutional. Today, Rosa Parks is well known as “the mother of the civil rights movement”.
A picture of Rosa Parks (Cred. Don Cravens/ The LIFE Images Collection/ Getty Images. Via Biography.com)
Dec 6th, 1917: The Halifax Explosion
Three years into the First World War, Halifax suffered a devastating explosion caused when two ships collided in its port. The busy harbour was well protected in fear of German attacks, but that did little against the explosion that would come from the Norwegian ship Imo hitting the French ship Mont Blanc. This happened because of some unlikely, and unlucky, navigational circumstances in the busy waterways. Mont Blanc was carrying explosive materials, so when a fire sparked because of the collision, all hell broke loose. The ship exploded, with the force of the blast and accompanying tsunami, leveling a huge chunk of northern Halifax. Around 2,000 people died, 9,000 more were injured or blinded and many, many more were left without shelter. It took the city many years to recover, and this explosion continues to be a horrifying story, even over 100 years later.
Dec 11th,1931: The Statute of Westminster Was Signed
The Statute of Westminster is a British law which gave all of its colonies (dominions) official independence. These dominions were already more or less governing themselves, and this was the final step for them in their quest for independence. Canada was one of those countries, as well as New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and a few others. Canada especially sought to gain total independence after their contributions in WWI (particularly at the battle of Vimy Ridge). While today we are still closely intertwined with Britain, Canada is now an independent country due to this law.
Dec 7th, 1941: The Bombing of Pearl Harbour and the US Entrance into the Second World War
During the Second World War, bombs started raining from the skies on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii early in the morning on the 7th of December 1941. This surprise attack was launched by the Japanese on the US naval base, home to ships which were crucial to the navy in the Pacific. They managed to successfully destroy 6 of the American ships, as well as around 200 planes. 2,400 Americans were killed and another 1,200 were wounded, while the Japanese lost only 100 men and a handful of aircraft. This attack on their Navy is what finally prompted the United States to join WWII. (Canada at this point had already been in the war for two years, having entered it in September of 1939).
The U.S.S. Oklahoma after the attack. (Cred. U.S. Navy Photos. Via Time Magazine)
Dec 17th, 1903: The First Airplane Flight is Made by Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright
Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first flight in an airplane in 1903. The American brothers had a talent for mechanics and began to be inspired by the glider flights made in 1808 by Otto Lilienthal, a German engineer. After years of testing gliders, and working on motorizing their plane, they finally found success when they flew their motor-powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. It flew 120 feet, staying in the air for 12 seconds. Hard to believe how advanced airplane technology is today! (Fun Fact: The two dodo birds who run the airport in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons are named Orville and Wilbur).
Dec 26th, 2004: A Tsunami in the Indian Ocean Kills 230,000 in 13 Countries
On Boxing Day of 2004, an earthquake of a magnitude of 9.1 (That’s very strong: the highest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude of 9.5) struck off the northern coast of Indonesia. Within minutes 100-foot waves were hitting shores in Indonesia. Many other countries were also hit hard, including parts of Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, but the waves reached as far as South Africa, which is about 8,000 km away. This disaster is one of the deadliest ones in modern history, killing almost 230,000 people in total. One positive change came from this tragedy, it made countries and organizations invest more money and resources into disaster detection and relief efforts. This includes installing sensors on the ocean floor for early detection of earthquakes.
Aftermath of the tsunami in the northern part of Indonesia. (Cred. Hokkaido University, Yuichi Nishimura. Via National Weather Service)
Works Cited
"Attack on Pearl Harbor." National Geographic Kids, National Geographic Society, kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/pearl-harbor. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
History.com Editors. "First airplane flies." History, A&E Television Networks, 15 Dec. 2020, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-airplane-flies. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
---. "Pearl Harbor bombed." History, A&E Television Networks, 4 Dec. 2020, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pearl-harbor-bombed. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
---. "Rosa Parks." History, A&E Television Networks, 19 Jan. 2021, www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
"Inventing a Flying Machine." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/fly/1903/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
Kernaghan, Lois, and Richard Foot. "Halifax Explosion." The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, 27 July 2021, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
McIntosh, Andrew, and Norman Hillmer. "Statute of Westminster, 1931." The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, 29 Apr. 2020, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/statute-of-westminster. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
Reid, Kathryn. "2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami: Facts, FAQs, and how to help." World Vision, 26 Dec. 2019, www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2004-indian-ocean-earthquake-tsunami-facts. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
Roos, Dave. "The 2004 Tsunami Wiped Away Towns With 'Mind-Boggling' Destruction." History, A&E Television Networks, 18 Sept. 2020, www.history.com/news/deadliest-tsunami-2004-indian-ocean. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
"The Statute of Westminster, 1931: Giving Canada Its Own Voice." Government of Canada, 10 Oct. 2017, www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/important-commemorative-days/anniversary-statute-westminster.html. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
"2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami." National Weather Services, Gov. of the USA, www.weather.gov/jetstream/2004tsu_max. Accessed 29 Nov. 2021.
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