Today in History: December 1 marks the beginning of the month of December and, with it, the arrival of winter in most of the world. However, 1 December also holds a key place in history. Many important events in the world happened on this day. From the birth of one of the most popular Indian playback singers and the demise of a revolutionary female icon who became the first president of the United Nations General Assembly, to the incident that sparked the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, December 1 is a defining day in history. Read on to know what happened on this day (Dec. 1) in terms of sports, politics, art, famous birthdays, and deaths.
Historical Events on This day
- In 1913, Ford Motor Company debuted the world's first moving assembly line for the Model T Ford and forever revolutionised the auto industry. The invention was an idea of Henry Ford.
- In 1934, Leningrad mayor Sergey Kirov was assassinated. Joseph Stalin used his death to begin the Great Purge of 1934-38, mass murdering high-ranking military and government officials without trial.
- In 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. The incident sparked the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
- In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was named Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first female leader of a Muslim-majority country.
- In 1969, the first draft lottery was held in the United States since World War II to select civilians to serve in the Vietnam War.
- In 1988, World AIDS Day was proclaimed worldwide by the United Nations to raise awareness about the AIDS pandemic caused by the human immunodeficiency virus.
- In 1991, during the Cold War and the collapsing Soviet Union, Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum for independence.
- In 1997, the Ranvir Sena killed 58 scheduled caste people in Bihar in retaliation to the Bara massacre, in which 34 upper caste people were killed by CPI-Maoist party members.
- In 2009, the Lisbon Treaty came into effect and enhanced the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the European Union.
Sports Events Today
- In 1981, American basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passed Oscar Robertson (26,710) to become the NBA’s second all-time leading scorer behind Wilt Chamberlain.
- In 2009, FC Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi was named the best football player in the world ahead of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d’Or trophy.
- In 2018, British boxer Tyson Fury made a historic comeback after being knocked down in Round 12 against American WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Fury dominated the fight, but it ended in a controversial split draw.
Music and Cinema Events Today
- In 1953, Hugh Hefner published the first edition of Playboy magazine, featuring Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe.
- In 1994, the acclaimed American rapper Tupac Shakur was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to four and half years in prison.
- In 2014, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, the third and final film in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, premiered in London.
- In 2018, one of the best computer-animated films of all time, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, premiered in Los Angeles. It later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film 2019.
Notable Deaths On This Day
| Sr No | Death Year | Personality |
| 1 | 1135 | Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror, who became the King of England after defeating his three brothers |
| 2 | 1521 | Leo X, Italian Pope from 1513 to 1521 |
| 3 | 1866 | George Everest, British surveyor and geographer who served as the Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. Although he had nothing to do with discovering or mapping Mount Everest, the peak is named after him. |
| 4 | 1901 | George Lohman, England medium pace bowler regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time |
| 5 | 1947 | G.H. Hardy, English mathematician known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis. He also gave the Hardy-Weinberg principle in population genetics. |
| 6 | 1973 | David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel from 1948-53 and 1955-63 |
| 7 | 1987 | James Baldwin, American writer of African descent whose novel Go Tell It on the Mountain is considered one of the greatest English novels ever |
| 8 | 1990 | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Indian diplomat and politician who presided over the United Nations General Assembly from 1953 to 1954. She was the daughter of Motilal Nehru and the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru. |
Famous Birthdays On This Day
| Sr No | Birth Year | Personality |
| 1 | 1761 | Marie Tussaud, French modeler and artist who founded the Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London |
| 2 | 1896 | Georgy Zhukov, Soviet deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Army during World War II and later Minister of Defense |
| 3 | 1935 | Woody Allen, American filmmaker and comedian known for his realistic and unconventional films like Annie Hall and Midnight in Paris |
| 4 | 1940 | Richard Pryor, American comedian who popularised stand up in the 1970s and ‘80s with his observational and racial comedy |
| 5 | 1949 | Pablo Escobar, infamous terrorist, drug kingpin and leader of Colombia's Medellin cartel, who terrorised the entire world in the 1980s and '90s, and acclerated the cocaine trade in America and Europe |
| 6 | 1954 | Medha Patkar, Indian social activist known for the movement Narmada Bachao Andolan against dam projects on the river Narmada in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. |
| 7 | 1955 | Udit Narayan, Indian playback singer who ruled the 1980s and 90s Hindi films with his distinctive singing voice |
| 8 | 1980 | Mohammad Kaif, Indian cricketer turned politician known for his middle-order batting skills |
Also Read: Today in History (28 November)
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Also Read: Today in History (29 November)
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