December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is one of seven months with the length of 31 days. December is the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, December is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Northern hemisphere, which is the first month of summer. December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
December symbols: Its birth flower is the narcissus. The birthstones of December are the turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite. The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius (until December 21) and Capricorn (December 22 onwards).
Historical Events for December, 1868
Day of Week 10th » The first traffic lights are installed, outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use Railway semaphore signal named semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.
Day of Week 11th » Paraguayan War: Brazilian Army e.g Brazilian troops defeat Paraguayan Army e.g Paraguayan at the Battle of Avay.
Day of Week 25th » President of the United States U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all American Civil War Civil War Confederate States Army Confederate soldiers.
Famous Birthdays on December in 1868
4th » Jesse Burkett, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1953)
5th » Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (d. 1951)
9th » Fritz Haber, Polish-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize in Chemistry known as Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1934)
20th » Harvey Samuel Firestone, American businessman, founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (d. 1938)
21st » George W. Fuller, American engineer (d. 1934)
22nd » Jaan Tõnisson, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1941?)
24th » Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (d. 1941)
Famous Deaths for December 1868
6th » August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (b. 1821)
13th » Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer (b. 1794)
25th » Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (b. 1821)