December 14, Vaccinations begin as COVID-19 death toll hits 300,000
Today is Sunday, December 14, the 348th day of the year 2025. There are 17 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On December 14, 2020, the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history began with health care workers getting vaccinated on the same day the nation’s COVID-19 death toll reached 300,000.
Also on this date:
In 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, died at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, at the age of 67.
In 1819, Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd U.S. state.
In 1903, Wilbur Wright made the first attempt to pilot the Wright Flyer, but he climbed abruptly, stalled the plane, and plunged into the sand of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Three days later, on December 17, his brother Orville would make history with the first successful controlled, powered flight.
In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (ROH’-ahl AH’-mun-suhn) and his team became the first men to reach the South Pole, beating a British expedition led by Robert F. Scott by 33 days.
In 1964, the United States Supreme Court, in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, ruled that Congress had the authority to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against racial discrimination by private businesses (in this case, a motel that refused to cater to blacks).
In 1995, the Dayton Accords were officially signed in Paris, ending the war in Bosnia which had cost more than 200,000 lives and forced 2 million people from their homes in three years.
In 2012, a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle killed 20 first graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, then killed himself when police arrived; the 20-year-old shot and killed his mother in their home before the school attack.
In 2021, Stephen Curry set a new NBA career 3-point record; the Golden State Warriors guard made his 2,974th 3-point shot against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
In 2024, South Korea’s parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for his astonishing and short-lived martial law decree, ending days of political paralysis as jubilant crowds celebrated the pro-democracy decision.
Today’s birthdays:
- Tennis Hall of Famer Stan Smith is 79 years old.
- Actor Dee Wallace is 77 years old.
- Rock musician Cliff Williams (AC/DC) is 76 years old.
- Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio is 60 years old.
- Actress and comedian Miranda Hart is 53 years old.
- Actress Natascha McElhone is 54 years old.
- Actor Jackson Rathbone is 41 years old.
- Actress Vanessa Hudgens is 37 years old.
- The rapper’s offset is 34.
- Singer Tori Kelly is 33 years old.
- NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf is 28 years old.
