On this day in 1849, a Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for his allegedly antigovernment activities linked to a radical intellectual group. His execution is stayed at the last minute.

Dostoevsky’s father was a doctor at Moscow’s Hospital for the Poor, where he grew rich enough to buy land and serfs. After his father’s death, Dostoevsky, who suffered from epilepsy, studied military engineering and became a civil servant while secretly writing novels. His first, Poor People, and his second, The Double, were both published in 1846-the first was a hit, the second a failure.

Dostoevsky began participating in a radical intellectual discussion group called the Petrashevsky Circle. The group was suspected of subversive activites, which led to Dostoevsky’s arrest in 1849, and his sentencing to death.

On December 22, 1849, Dostoevsky was led before the firing squad but received a last-minute reprieve and was sent to a Siberian labor camp, where he worked for four years. He was released in 1854 and worked as a soldier on the Mongolian frontier. He married a widow and finally returned to Russia in 1859. The following year, he founded a magazine and two years after that journeyed to Europe for the first time.

In 1864 and 1865, his wife and his brother died, the magazine folded, and Dostoevsky found himself deeply in debt, which he exacerbated by gambling.

In 1866, he published Crime and Punishment, one of his most popular works. In 1867, he married a stenographer, and the couple fled to Europe to escape his creditors. His novel The Possessed (1872) was successful, and the couple returned to St. Petersburg. He published The Brothers Karamazov in 1880 to immediate success, but he died a year later.

FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY IS SENTENCED TO DEATH

— Source: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fyodor-dostoevsky-is-sentenced-to-death

Sherman’s March to the Sea, more formally known as the Savannah Campaign, was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. The campaign began with Sherman’s troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta, on November 15 and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. His forces destroyed military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property and disrupted the Confederacy’s economy and its transportation networks. Sherman’s bold move of operating deep within enemy territory and without supply lines is considered to be revolutionary in the annals of war.

Start date: Nov 15, 1864
End date: Dec 21, 1864

— Source: wiki/Sherman’s_March_to_the_Sea

Colo is a western gorilla widely known as the first gorilla to be born in captivity anywhere in the world and as the oldest gorilla in captivity in the world. Colo was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to Millie Christina and Baron Macombo. She was briefly called Cuddles before a contest was held to officially name her. Colo’s name is derived from the place of her birth, Columbus, Ohio. Tomatoes are her favorite food.

— Source: wiki/Colo_(gorilla)

The 1984 New York City Subway shooting was a shooting in the New York City Subway, in which Bernhard Goetz shot four alleged muggers on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan on December 22, 1984. He fired five shots, seriously wounding all four men. Goetz surrendered to police nine days after the shooting and was eventually charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and several firearms offenses. A jury found him not guilty of all charges except for one count of carrying

Location: New York City, United States
Date: December 22, 1984
Attack type: Mass shooting
Weapons: Smith & Wesson Model 38
Non-fatal injuries: 4
Perpetrator: Bernhard Goetz

— Source: wiki/1984_New_York_City_Subway_shooting

Valley Forge was the military camp 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–78 during the American Revolutionary War. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed more than 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778.

Start date: Dec 19, 1777
End date: Jun 18, 1778

— Source: wiki/Valley_Forge

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

Authors: Charles Dickens · Paul Sills · Stephen Krensky
First published: Dec 19, 1843
ATOS reading level: 4.10
Characters: Ebenezer Scrooge · Ghost of Christmas Past · Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come · Tiny Tim · Ghost of Christmas Present · Bob Cratchit · Fezziwig · Mrs. Cratchit · Fred · Martha Cratchit
Genre: Novella
Adaptations: A Christmas Carol (2009) · A Christmas Carol (1951) · A Christmas Carol (1984) · A Christmas Carol (1938) · Scrooge (1970) · The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) · A Christmas Carol (1999)

— Source: wiki/A_Christmas_Carol

The Sino–British Joint Declaration, formally known as the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong, was signed by Premier Zhao Ziyang of the People’s Republic of China and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom on behalf of their respective governments on 19 December 1984 in Beijing.

The Declaration entered into force with the exchange of instruments of ratification on 27 May 1985, and was registered by the PRC and UK governments at the United Nations on 12 June 1985. In the Joint Declaration, the PRC Government stated that it had decided to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong (including Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories) with effect from 1 July 1997, and the UK Government declared that it would hand over Hong Kong to the PRC with effect from 1 July 1997. The PRC Government also declared its basic policies regarding Hong Kong in the document.

In accordance with the “one country, two systems” principle agreed between the UK and the PRC, the socialist system of PRC would not be practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and Hong Kong’s previous capitalist system and its way of life would remain unchanged for a period of 50 years until 2047. The Joint Declaration provides that these basic policies should be stipulated in the Hong Kong Basic Law and that the socialist system and socialist policies shall not be practiced in HKSAR.

— Source: wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declaration

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, on December 19, 1998. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power, failed in the House. He was acquitted of both charges by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Independent Counsel Ken Starr alleged that Clinton had broken the law during his handling of the Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones lawsuit. Four charges were considered by the full House of Representatives; only two passed, and those on a nearly party-line vote. It was only the second time in history that the House had impeached the President of the United States, and only the third that the full House had considered such proceedings. The trial in the United States Senate began right after the seating of the 106th Congress, in which the Republicans began with 55 senators. A two-thirds vote was required to remove Clinton from office. Fifty senators voted to remove Clinton on the obstruction …

Start date: Dec 19, 1998
End date: Feb 12, 1999

— Source: wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton

Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 5th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base and is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois River. For decades, O’Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world’s busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics.

Population: 12.86 million (2015)
Area: 57,915 sq miles (149,998 km²)
Colleges and universities: Illinois State University · University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign · University of Chicago · Northwestern University · Northern Illinois University · University of Illinois at Chicago
Governor: Bruce Rauner
Capital: Springfield
Senators: Mark Kirk · Dick Durbin · Barack Obama · Stephen A. Douglas · Samuel McRoberts · John McCracken Robinson · Paul Simon · James Shields · Elias Kane · David J. Baker · William Lee D. Ewing

— Source: wiki/Illinois

A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams which received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was directed by Elia Kazan and starred Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter. The London production opened in 1949 with Bonar Colleano, Vivien Leigh, and Renee Asherson and was directed by Laurence Olivier. The drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often regarded as among the finest plays of the 20th century, and is considered by many to be one of Williams’ greatest.

Author: Tennessee Williams
Written: 1947
First performed: Dec 03, 1947
Adaptations: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) · A Streetcar Named Desire (1995) · A Streetcar Named Desire (1984) · A Streetcar Named Desire
Awards: Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Genres: Drama · Songbooks · Music · Plays

— Source: wiki/A_Streetcar_Named_Desire

The Who concert disaster occurred on December 3, 1979 when British rock band the Who performed at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and a stampede of concert-goers outside the coliseum’s entry doors resulted in the deaths of eleven people.

Date: Dec 03, 1979

— Source: wiki/The_Who_concert_disaster

The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India, considered the world’s worst industrial disaster. It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way into and around the shanty towns located near the plant.

Fatalities: 3,000
Date: Dec 03, 1984

— Source: wiki/Bhopal_disaster

The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among all thirteen original states in the United States of America that served as its first constitution. Its drafting by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress began on July 12, 1776, and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification in late 1777. The formal ratification by all thirteen states was completed in early 1781. Government under the Articles was superseded by a new constitution and federal form of government in 1789.

— Source: wiki/Articles_of_Confederation

Sherman’s March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the military Savannah Campaign in the American Civil War, conducted through Georgia from November 15 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army. The campaign began with Sherman’s troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta, on November 15 and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. His forces destroyed military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property and disrupted the Confederacy’s economy and its transportation networks. Sherman’s bold move of operating deep within enemy territory and without supply lines is considered to be revolutionary in the annals of war.

Start date: Nov 15, 1864
End date: Dec 21, 1864

— Source: wiki/Sherman’s_March_to_the_Sea

The Romani genocide or Romani Holocaust, also known as the Porajmos, Pharrajimos, or Samudaripen, was the planned and attempted effort, often described as a genocide, during World War II by the government of Nazi Germany and its allies to exterminate the Romani people of Europe. Under the rule of Adolf Hitler, a supplementary decree to the Nuremberg Laws was issued on 26 November 1935, defining Gypsies as “enemies of the race-based state”, the same category as Jews. Thus, the fate of Roma in Europe in some ways paralleled that of the Jews. Historians estimate that 220,000 to 500,000 Romani were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators, or more than 25% of the slightly fewer than 1 million Roma in Europe at the time. Ian Hancock puts the death toll as high as 1.5 million. In 1982, West Germany formally recognized that genocide had been committed against the Romani. In 2011 the Polish Government passed a resolution for the official recognition of 2 August as a day of commemoration of the genocide.

— Source: wiki/Porajmos

Stephanie Fae Beauclair, better known as Baby Fae, was an American infant born in 1984 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. She became the first infant subject of a xenotransplant procedure and first successful infant heart transplant, receiving the heart of a baboon. Though she died within a month of the procedure, she had lived weeks longer than any previous recipient of a non-human heart.

Born: Oct 14, 1984 · Barstow, CA
Died: Nov 15, 1984

— Source: wiki/Baby_Fae