25 Days of History: December 6th

Jordan Spriggs
Dec 6, 2019
2 min read

Presenting to you 6 fascinating events from history that occurred on this day!

Friday, December 6th, 2019 @ 19:05 (7:05pm)

Thank goodness its Friday! I'm keeping things short and sweet today since I know everyone wants to wind down or party up this evening. So here's 6 events that occurred today in human history that you will find interesting and can read in just a few minutes.

1. First Successful Appendectomy Performed

1735 - In London, French surgeon Claudius Amyand performed the first successful appendectomy at St. George's Hospital. The patient was an 11-year old boy that had swallowed a pin.

Operating theatre staff in gowns, masks and rubber gloves, Gloucester 1909. Photo Credit: Wellcome Collection, CC-BY

2. First State Education System in the World Established

1774 - Austria became the first nation in the world to introduce a state sponsored education system for its citizens.

Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria [Public Domain Image]

3. The End of Slavery in the United States

1865 - The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

13th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Photo Credit: NARA and National Archives of the United States

4. The Monongah Mining Disaster

1907 - In Monongah, West Virginia, a coal mine fire spread and caused multiple explosions, claiming the lives of 362 individuals in America's worst mine disaster ever. The explosion occurred in Fairmont Coal Company’s No. 6 and No. 8 mines, and was one of the contributing events leading to the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines.

Monument to the Monongah Mining disaster. Photo Credit: Beppeveltri

5. First African-American Heisman Trophy Recipient

1961 - 27th Heisman Trophy Award: Ernie Davis, Syracuse (HB), becomes the 1st ever African-American to win the honor in college football history. If you don't know about Mr. Davis. read his incredible story of triumph and overcoming hardships or watch the film The Express, an biographical drama accounting his life. Sadly, Davis passed away tragically at the extremely young age of 23 due to leukemia.

Ernie Davis holding the Heisman Trophy after winning the award in 1961. Photo Credit: Shreysagi

Statue of Ernie Davis, located in Syracuse University Main Campus, in the Southwest corner of the Quad. Photo Credit: Paulovflopes

6. Record Shattering Sale of a Single Piece of Literature

2010 - Record price for a printed book when a first edition of "The Birds of America" by John James Audubon is auctioned at Sotheby's, London, England, for £7,321,250 (Roughly $9,612,099.87). His work, The Birds of America, is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed.