Category: Today

On December 9, 1958, the John Birch Society was founded in the United States. December 9 also marks the birthdays of

• Poet and anti-​censorship advocate John Milton (1608), author of Paradise Lost (1667), the masterpiece of blank verse narrative, and a classic prose defense of free speech and the press, Areopagitica (1644).
• Russian prince and anarchist theoretician Peter Kropotkin (1842), author of Mutual Aid and other books and pamphlets. 
• Filmmaker John Malkovich (1953), who directed The Dancer Upstairs (2002) and starred in the odd eponymous film Being John Malkovich (1999).

On December 8, 1974, a plebiscite finalized the abolition of the monarchy in Greece. The last Greek king, Constantine II, had ceased any royal pretensions while in exile on June 1. The December referendum was something of a formality. 

On December 7, 1972, Apollo 17 launched, the last of the Apollo Moon missions. Later that day, one of the astronauts — either Ron Evans or Harrison Schmitt — snapped the photo that would later become famous as “The Blue Marble.”

On December 6, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, banning slavery in all states and territories.

One-​hundred-​and-​nineteen years later, to the day, in 1984, Paul Jacob (of ThisIsCommonSense​.org, LibertyiFund​.org, and the Citizens in Charge Foundation) was arrested by the FBI for his refusal to register with Selective Service System (the draft people). The Government was probably not attempting to make a commemorative point about involuntary servitude.

On December 5, 1933, nationwide alcohol Prohibition in the United States ended after Utah became the 36th U.S. state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus establishing the required 75 percent of states needed to enact the amendment that overturned the 18th.

On December 4, 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in New York City, General George Washington formally bade his officers farewell.