Discover what happened on December 14 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 14

Discover what happened on December 14 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 14 Archives - History.com

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America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian - the U.S. president - would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

Space

Crime

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered an entirely New World: North and South America, plus many other lands.

Exploration

Explorers

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.&nbsp;

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

Education

Videos

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature, and Film History

<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history">World War II</a> was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

This Day In History: December 14

Roald Amundsen becomes first explorer to reach the South Pole

Also on This Day in History December | 14

Sandy Hook school shooting

This Day in History Video: What Happened on December 14

The birth of quantum theory

George Washington dies

Indy “Brickyard” is completed

President Kennedy announces intent to increase aid to South Vietnam

“Saturday Night Fever” premieres in LA

Burglar confesses to high‑profile kidnapping case

President Lincoln pardons his sister‑in‑law

USSR expelled from the League of Nations

Also on This Day in History December | 14

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