FRIDAY, Dec. 12, 2025

627-Battle of Nineveh: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius defeats Sassanid forces during the Byzantine-Sassanid War

1925-Last Qajar Shah of Iran is deposed; Reza Shah Pahlavi takes over

1946-United Nations accepts six Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr.

1964-Kenya becomes an independent republic with Jomo Kenyatta as its first President

1878-Joseph Pulitzer begins publishing the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch"

1936-Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek declares war on Japan

2000-U.S. Supreme Court releases its 5-4 decision in Bush v. Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election in George W. Bush's favor, thus handing him the presidency over Al Gore