December 2 in History

Historical Events on December 2

1917 World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk begin.

1942 World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

1950 Korean War: Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ended, with decisive Chinese victory, UN forces were completely expelled from North Korea.

1961 In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.

1962 Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to comment adversely on the war's progress.

1976 Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.

1988 Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.

1991 Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.

1993 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed in Medellín.

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Famous Birthdays on December 2

1827 William Burges

1923 Maria Callas

1981 Britney Spears

1983 Aaron Rodgers

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Famous Deaths on December 2

1594 Gerardus Mercator

1859 John Brown (abolitionist)

1985 Philip Larkin

1990 Aaron Copland

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