December 12th

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COP21 climate change summit in Paris reaches a deal between 195 countries to limit the rise in the global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

Houston gets openly gay major. The city of Houston, Texas elected Anise Parker to become the largest city in the United States to have an openly gay mayor

Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the 'Free Willy' movies, died in a Norwegian fjord.

Yasir Arafat closed the offices of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The U.S. Supreme Court stopped the presidential election recount in Florida.

The House Judiciary Committee approved a fourth article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton and submitted the case to the full House.

Maastricht Treaty signed to create a European Community.

Sara Jane Moore pleaded guilty to trying to kill President Gerald R. Ford.

Piazza Fontana bombing. A bomb exploded at the building of the National Agrarian Bank, Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and injuring 88.

Kenyan independence. Kenya declared its independence from the UK.

The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.

UN accepts 6 Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr.

The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

New York City Mayor Ed Koch was born in the Bronx.

Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Neb.

Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, N.J.

The New York Stock Exchange re-opened for the first time since July 30. The market had shut down when World War I broke out.

The Mona Lisa was recovered in Florence after having been stolen two years earlier (August 1911) from the Louvre.

Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first black congressman.

Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It was the first of the larger states to vote to ratify the document.

John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City.

Battle at Nineveh: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius beats Sassanid forces during Byzantine-Sassanid War.