On This Day - What Happened on December 1 (2024)

1955

Rosa Parks's refusal to relinquish her bus seat

This day in 1955, in violation of segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger and was arrested, sparking a 381-day bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Underwood Archives/UIG/REX/Shutterstock.com

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

German artist

born

December 1, 1884
Rottluff, Germany

died

August 9, 1976 (aged 91)
Berlin, Germany

Courtesy of the Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz

2000

Vicente Fox was inaugurated as president of Mexico, ending the dominance of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which had ruled since 1929. Test your knowledge of Latin American history

PRNewsFoto/Detroit Science Center/AP Images

1988

The first World AIDS Day was held. Learn about the early outbreak of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S

© AbleStock.com/Jupiterimages

1959

The Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 countries, making the Antarctic continent a demilitarized zone to be preserved for scientific research. Test your knowledge of Antarctica

© Martyn Unsworth/Dreamstime.com

1925

Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy signed the Pact of Locarno, a series of agreements intended to guarantee peace in western Europe. How much do you know about European history?

German Federal Archives, Bild 183-R03618

1913

The world's first moving assembly line debuted, used in manufacturing Model Ts at a Ford factory in Highland Park, Michigan; the innovation was the idea of owner Henry Ford, and it revolutionized the auto industry. Take our quiz about American industry and innovation

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

1825

Russian Emperor Alexander I died unexpectedly in southern Russia. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Russia

Courtesy of Hillwood, Washington, D.C.

1814

General Andrew Jackson, commander of the U.S. Army of the Southwest, hastened to defend New Orleans, Louisiana, against British invasion; a series of skirmishes over the next few weeks culminated in the Battle of New Orleans. Test your knowledge of U.S. history

Bettmann/Getty Images

1761

Marie Tussaud, the founder of Madame Tussaud's museum of wax figures, was born in France. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Europeans

Hulton Archive/Getty Images