On this day...

1287 Zuider Zee seawall collapses with loss of 50,000 lives
1793 First state road authorized, Frankfort, KY to Cincinnati, OH
1798 David Wilkinson of Rhode Island patents a nut & bolt machine
1819 Alabama admitted to the Union as 22nd state
1849 First chamber music group in US gives their first concert (Boston)
1863 Battle of Bean's Station-Confederacy repulses Union in Tennessee
1889 American Academy of Political & Social Science organized, Philadelphia
1901 First table tennis tournament is held, at the London Royal Aquarium
1913 Greece formally takes possession of Crete
1927 Iraq gains independence from Britain, but British troops remain
1930 NY Giants defeat Notre Dame 22-0 in a charity game
1939 League of Nations drops the Soviet Union
1941 First NFL division playoff, Bears beat Packers 33-14
1944 Congress establishes rank of General of the Army (5-star general)
1946 Togo made a trusteeship territory of the UN
1946 UN General Assembly votes to establish UN Headquarters in New York City
1962 Mariner 2 launched, makes first US visit to another planet (Venus)
1977 Egypt & Israel reps gather in Cairo for first formal peace conference
1980 New Orleans Saints end 14 game losing streak, beat NY Jets 21-20
1981 Israel annexes Golan Heights
1988 CBS' $1.1 B bid wins exclusive 1990-94 major-league baseball rights
1988 NBA's Miami Heat wins first game ever, 89-88 (Clippers), after 17 losses
1988 Spanish general strike to protest austerity measures
1990 Right to Die case permits Nancy Cruzan to have her feeding tube removed, she dies 12 days later
1991 Desmond Howard of Michigan wins the Hiesman trophy

Birthdays which occurred on December 14th:

1503 Nostradamus, France, astrologer/physician
1546 Tycho Brahe, Knudstrup Denmark, astronomer
1829 John Mercer Langston, first black to hold US political office
1883 Morihei Ueshiba, founder (Aikido)
1895 George VI, King of England (1936-52)
1896 James H. Doolittle, general (US Air Force)
1908 Laurence Naismith, Surrey England, actor (Judge Fulton-Persuaders)
1908 Morey Amsterdam, Chicago, comedian (Buddy-Dick Van Dyke Show)
1909 Edward L. Tatum, US, molecular geneticist (Nobel 1958)
1911 Spike Jones, Long Beach California, composer (In a Secluded Rendevous)
1914 Morey Amsterdam, actor/comedian (Dick Van Dyke Show)
1914 Rosalyn Tureck, Chicago, pianist (Bach & Rock)
1915 Clay Warnick, Tacoma Washington, choral director (Jimmie Rodgers Show)
1917 Elyse Knox, Hartford CT, actress (Hit the Ice, Black Gold)
1919 Shirley Jackson, US, writer (Road Through the Wall)
1922 Charley Trippi, NFL halfback (Chicago Cardinals)
1922 Don Hewitt, New York, TV creator (60 Minutes)
1924 Marion Morgan, singer (Stop the Music)
1924 Siiri Rantanen, Finland, cross country skier (Olympic-gold-1956)
1932 Charlie Rich, Colt Arkansas, singer (Behind Closed Doors)
1932 George Furth, Chicago, actor/director (Tammy, Good Guys, Dumplings)
1935 Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Bath England, actress (Search for the Nile)
1935 Lee Remick, Quincy Massachusetts (Long Hot Summer)
1938 Janette Scott, actress (Day of the Triffids)
1938 Leonardo Boff, Italy, Brazilian Catholic theologian
1939 Ernest Davis, first black to win Heisman Trophy (1961)
1939 Hal Williams, Columbus Ohio, actor (Pvt. Benjamin, Sanford & Son)
1942 Rex Thompson, New York, actor (Young Bess, King & I, Her 12 Men)
1943 Frank Allen, rock vocalist (Searchers-Needles & Pins)
1946 Jane Birkin, actress (Mr. Don Juan, Dark Places, Dust)
1946 Joyce Vincent Wilson, Detroit, singer (Tony Orlando & Dawn)
1946 Patty Duke [Anna Marie], Elmhurst NY, actress (Miracle Worker)
1946 Stan Smith, tennis pro (Wimbledon 1972)
1949 Cliff Williams, bass rocker (AC/DC)
1949 Dee Wallace Stone, Kansas City, actress (Critters, Secret Admirer, 10)
1950 Vicki Michelle, Essex England, actress (Virgin Witch, Allo Allo)
1953 Joe Toplyn, Boston, comedic writer (Late Night with David Letterman)
1953 Vijay Amritraj, India, tennis player/actor (Octopussy)
1954 James Horean, actor (Loving)
1956 T.K. Carter, Los Angeles, actor (Mike-Punky Brewster, Just our Luck)
1959 Franco Iglesia, Cuba, singer
1963 Cindy Gibb, Bennington VT, actress (Search for Tomorrow, Youngblood)
1964 Chelsea Noble, actress (Kate-Growing Pains)
1967 Noelle Beck, Baltimore, actress (Trisha-Loving, Fletch Lives)
1977 Tisha Dabber, Shelbyville Indiana, actress (New Mickey Mouse Club)

Deaths which occurred on December 14th:

1799 George Washington, dies at Mt Vernon VA, at 67
1861 Albert, Prince Consort of England & husband of Queen Victoria
1945 Josef Kramer, known as "Beast of Belsen," & 10 others hung for crimes committed at the Belsen and Oswiecim Nazi concentration camps
1963 Dinah Washington, singer, dies of sleeping pill overdose at 39
1964 William Bendix, actor (Life of Riley), dies at 58
1966 Verna Felton, actress (Hilda-December Bride), dies at 76
1975 Arthur Treacher, announcer (Merv Griffin Show), dies at 81
1980 Elston Howard, NY Yankee catcher
1985 Roger Maris, NY Yankee HR hitter, dies at 51 of cancer
1989 Andrei D. Sakharov, Soviet Physicsit, Dissident & 1975 Nobel peace prize winner, dies at 68