This Day in HistoryDecember 1

1779

Washington establishes his winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey—this was the 5th winter of the Revolutionary War

1824

As no candidate received a majority of electoral votes, the presidential election is turned over to the House of Representatives to decide—they choose John Quincy Adams as the winner over two months later onFebruary 9, 1825

1913

Henry Ford installs the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile

1939

Mexican-American golfing legend Lee Trevino, winner of 4 major championships and one of the most popular golfers in history, is born in Dallas, Texas

1940

Trailblazing comedian and actor Richard Pryor is born in Peoria, Illinois

1955

Rosa Parks is jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Civil Rights Movement

1958

A fire at a grade school in Chicago kills 90 of the school’s 1,200 students

1959

Twelve nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign the Antarctica Treaty, which bans military activity and weapons testing on the continent

1990

Workers drill the final hole that connects the “Chunnel,” the tunnel under the English Channel that connects Britain and France

2003

The Return of the King, the 3rd and final film in the Lord of the Ringstrilogy, premieres in New Zealand—it would win the Academy Award for Best Picture

2003

The English band Muse releases “Hysteria,” the 3rd single from the band’s album Absolution—Mr. Seeley has twice seen the band in concert

2016

Former USC and NFL running back Joe McNight is shot and killed during a road rage incident in Louisiana

2017

Irish rock band U2 releases its 14th studio album, Songs of Experience—the album features guest appearances from several musical acts including Haim, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga

2020

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel is scheduled to meet today to vote on how to allocate the first supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine—distribution of a vaccine could start as soon as two weeks from now

2020

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced yesterday that the state’s public schools will remain open for the rest of the school year—families will still have the option to keep studentshome and participate in remote learning during the pandemic

2020

Every person who applies forU.S. citizenship after todaywill need to pass a moredifficult citizenship test that requires applicants to answer 12 of 20 questions correctly based on a 128-question study guide—the old study guide had 100 questions and applicants had to answer 6 of 10 questions correctly