On this day: 15 December

The United States Bill of Rights is ratified

The first ten amendments, or changes, to the United States Constitution were ratified, which means they were officially approved. Together they are known as the Bill of Rights. They protect personal freedoms such as freedom of speech and the freedom to practise a religion. They also put clear limits on the government's power.

Sixteen-year-old Ella Stewart sends Arizona's first telegraph message

Ella Stewart, aged just 16, sent the first telegraph message from Arizona Territory in the United States. She worked at the Deseret Telegraph Company office at Pipe Spring. Ella was the first telegraph operator in Arizona Territory. The territory later became the state of Arizona in 1912.

Italo Marchiony patents a machine for making ice cream cones

Italo Marchiony, an Italian American food-cart seller in New York City, received a US patent for an ice cream cone machine. A patent is a right that stops other people copying an invention for a set time. His design for baking edible cups had a bottom that came apart, so cups could be made in unusual shapes. The earliest certain recipe for ice cream cones had appeared in 1888, in a book by English cook Agnes Marshall.

Venera 7 makes the first landing on another planet

The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 landed on the surface of Venus. It was the first spacecraft to make a successful soft landing, touching down gently, on another planet. It was also the first to send information back to Earth from the surface of another planet. Venera 7 was one of a series of Soviet probes sent to Venus.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens, still leaning

The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy reopened after 11 years. Work costing 27 million US dollars had made it more stable, but its famous lean was kept. The tower leans by nearly four degrees because its foundations are unstable. It is the bell tower of Pisa Cathedral and gets more than 5 million visitors a year.

Byzantines led by Belisarius defeated the Vandal King Gelimer at the Battle of Tricamarum, completing the "Reconquest of North Africa" under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.

Sergius was elected pope, ending the last disputed period of sede vacante during the Byzantine Papacy.

Constantine VIII (depicted) became the sole Byzantine emperor, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor.

Sicilian Chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion.

The Nizari Ismaili garrison of Gerdkuh, Persia surrender after 17 years to the Mongols.

The town of Ekenäs (Finnish: Tammisaari) is founded by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden.

The U.S. Patent Office building in Washington, D.C., nearly burns to the ground, destroying all 9,957 patents issued by the federal government to that date, as well as 7,000 related patent models.

American Civil War: The Battle of Fredericksburg ends in a Union defeat as General Ambrose Burnside withdraws the Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock River.

American Civil War: Union troops defeated the Army of Tennessee, one of the largest Confederate forces, at the Battle of Nashville.

The short-lived Republic of Ezo is proclaimed in the Ezo area of Japan. It is the first attempt to establish a democracy in Japan.

Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World" a.k.a. the "New World Symphony") by Antonín Dvořák premieres in a public afternoon rehearsal at Carnegie Hall in New York City, followed by a concert premiere on the evening of December 16.

The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin.

World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.

World War I: An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed.

The American historical epic film Gone With the Wind, adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name, premiered in Atlanta, Georgia.

World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal campaign.

World War II: Australian and American forces (pictured) began the Battle of Arawe against Japanese forces on New Britain as a diversion before a larger landing at Cape Gloucester.

World War II: a single-engine UC-64A Norseman aeroplane carrying United States Army Air Forces Major Glenn Miller is lost in a flight over the English Channel.

The US-led occupying forces ordered the government of Japan to cease state support for Shinto.

U.S.-backed Iranian troops brought an end to the Iran crisis when they marched on the breakaway Republic of Mahabad and recaptured the territory.

King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country's constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule.

The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating the abolition of capital punishment is adopted.

The third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down.

Introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.

The South Sudanese Civil War began when three opposition leaders voted to boycott the meeting of the National Liberation Council in Juba.

Citizenship Amendment Act protests: 10 to 15 local women blockaded a major road in Delhi, India, to protest the exclusion of Muslims from the amended Citizenship Act.