On Dec. 20 , 1803, the Louisiana Purchase took effect; ownership of the territory shifted from France to the U.S.
In 1820 Missouri imposed a $1 annual bachelor tax on unmarried men up to age 50.
In 1860 South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.
In 1864 Confederate forces fled Savannah, Ga., as Union Gen. William Sherman continued his “March to the Sea.”
In 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed.
In 1973 Spanish Premier Luis Carrero Blanco was assassinated in Madrid.
In 1976 Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley died of a heart attack; he was 74.
In 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed into law a measure mandating substantial increases in Social Security payroll taxes, saying the legislation would guarantee “that from 1980 through 2030, the Social Security system will be sound.”
In 1978 former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman was released after 18 months in prison for the Watergate cover-up.
In 1983 PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and 4,000 guerrilla loyalists fled their stronghold in Tripoli, Lebanon, after being driven out by Syrian-backed Palestinian rebels.
In 1987 more than 3,000 people were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island.
In 1989 the U.S. sent troops into Panama to oust the government of Gen. Manuel Noriega.
In 1994 ex-Secretary of State Dean Rusk died at 85 in Georgia.
In 1995 NATO began its peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, taking over from the UN.
In 1996 astronomer Carl Sagan died at 62 in Seattle.
In 1998 Nkem Chukwu gave birth in Houston to five girls and two boys — 12 days after giving birth to a girl.
In 1999 the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples. Also, country music legend Hank Snow died at 85 in Nashville.
In 2001 the UN Security Council authorized a multinational force for Afghanistan. Also, comic Foster Brooks died at 89 in Encino, Calif.
In 2005 a federal judge ruled that “intelligent design” could not be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district.
