Oh boy, here we go... :
1787 The First State
In Dover, Delaware, the U.S. Constitution is unanimously ratified by all thirty delegates to the Delaware constitutional convention, making Delaware the first state of the modern United States.
1972 The Last Manned Mission to the Moon
Apollo 17, the sixth and last of the Apollo landing missions, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt aboard. On December 11, Cernan and Schmitt descend to the surface of the moon, where they stay a record seventy-five hours. During three separate surface excursions, the astronauts discover what they describe as orange soil, which is taken to be a possible indication of volcanic activity on the moon, and employ the Lunar Rover vehicle to help them collect some 243 pounds of rock and soil samples. On December 19, Apollo 17 safely returns to earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
1975 Indonesia Invades East Timor
Early in the morning, Indonesian forces launch a massive invasion of the former Portuguese half of the island of Timor, which lies between Indonesia and Australia. After the departure of the Portuguese from East Timor in August, Indonesian troops began infiltrating across the border from Indonesian West Timor. On November 28, the democratically elected government of East Timor, fearing an imminent Indonesian invasion, proclaimed the Democratic Republic of East Timor in the hope that formal independence would enable East Timor to appeal for international support against the Indonesian aggression. However, on the morning of December 7, Indonesia initiates a naval bombardment of the city of Dili, followed by landings of paratroopers from the air and of marines on the beaches. On December 10, a second invasion results in the capture of the second largest town, Baucau, but East Timorese resistance prevents the capture of the majority of East Timor for over a year. By 1978, the annexation of East Timor by Indonesia is complete. During the initial years of the Indonesian invasion and occupation, it is estimated that some 200,000 East Timorese died as a direct result of the conflict. The majority of the dead were civilians and tens of thousands of these civilians were murdered by Indonesian troops or died from starvation or disease in internment camps.
1983 First Execution by Lethal Injection
The first execution by lethal injection takes place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Charles Brooks, Jr., convicted of murdering an auto mechanic, receives an intravenous injection of sodium pentathol, the barbiturate known as a "truth serum" when administered in lesser doses. Texas adopted the lethal injection procedure as a more humane method of carrying out its death sentences, as opposed to the standard techniques of death by gas, electrocution, or hanging.
1988 Earthquake Devastates Armenia
In the Soviet Union, an earthquake of a 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale hits northwestern Armenia, affecting an area eighty kilometers in diameter. Four minutes later, the initial earthquake is followed by a powerful 5.8 magnitude aftershock. More than twenty towns and 342 villages are affected, and fifty-eight of them are heavily damaged. Spitak, a major population center, was almost totally destroyed. The earthquake killed more than 25,000 people, injured at least 15,000, and left at least 400,000 Armenians homeless. Direct economic losses are estimated at fourteen billion dollars.