View from the Capitol, Nashville-views taken during the battle of
December 15, 1864, showing civilians and soldiers watching the fight.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions

Sitting Bull and family at Ft. Randall in 1881

On today’s date December 15, 1890, Sitting Bull was shot and killed at Standing Rock Indian Reservation

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On December 15, 1939, the classic epic film Gone With The Wind premiered at the Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

Image: Publicity photo of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh for Gone with the Wind via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The gun crews of a Navy cruiser covering American landing on the island of Mindoro, December 15, 1944, scan the skies in an effort to identify a plane overhead.

From NARA via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights – the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution – became law with the Virginia General assembly’s ratification. The Bill of Rights was largely authored by James Madison.

Image of James Madison via NYPL Digital Collection, no known restrictions

On December 15, 1938, construction of the Jefferson Memorial began in Washington, D.C.

Exactly 149 years prior, on December 15, 1789, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to George Washington thanking him for the nomination to the office of Secretary of State.

Image of the inside the completed Jefferson Memorial by Erik Cox, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

On December 15, 1871, the first telegraph message from the Arizona Territory was keyed by 16 year old operator Ella Stewart Udall. In addition to her telegraphic skills Ella owned a popular ice cream parlor in St. John’s and managed the Apache Hotel in Holbrook. Several of her descendants had careers in public service and politics.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

Harry Babcock, winner of the gold medal in pole vaulting at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, was born on December 15, 1890, in Pelham Manor, New York.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

An image of USMC Lt. Edgar Allan Poe, Jr. that was taken on December 15, 1922.
He was severely wounded during WWI.
His father, also named Edgar Allan Poe, was an attorney.

Yes, they were related to the famous American poet.

Image via LOC, no known restrictions

The airplane carrying popular bandleader Glenn Miller left England for Paris on December
15, 1944. Major Miller flew in advance to make arrangements for the Army Air Forces Band’s
move to France but tragically, his plane failed to safely arrive.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American actor Don Johnson, who played the role of Sonny Crockett in TV’s Miami Vice, was born on December 15, 1949 in Flat Creek, Missouri.

Here’s a photo of Don from 1970 when he starred in his first film, The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart in 1970 via Alamy

Charles Duryea, the originator of the first-ever, functional American gasoline-powered automobile, was born on December 15, 1861 in Canton, Illinois.

Image of Charles Duryea in his third automobile c. 1894 via LOC, no known restrictions

On December 15, 1965, NASA’s Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 spacecraft performed the first controlled rendezvous in orbit. Traveling at nearly 17,000 miles per hour, the two capsules demonstrated Newton’s laws in real time — adjusting velocity and trajectory with precision burns until they flew side‑by‑side, just a foot apart. This breakthrough in orbital mechanics laid the foundation for Apollo’s lunar docking and every space station mission that followed.

On December 15, 1944, William D. Leahy became the first U.S. Naval officer promoted to the five‑star rank of Fleet Admiral. His storied naval career stretched from the Spanish–American War to the nuclear age—66 years of service that saw him command ships in battle, lead the Navy as Chief of Naval Operations, and advise President Roosevelt as the nation’s senior military strategist. Leahy’s promotion ensured America’s admirals stood shoulder‑to‑shoulder with their Allied counterparts, but his legacy rests in a lifetime of service that bridged generations of American history.

Before he became Fleet Admiral and presidential confidant, William D. Leahy was a young lieutenant stationed at Mare Island, California. This 1905 photograph captures a tender moment: Leahy in uniform cradling his infant son, William Jr., beside his wife, Louise, dressed in Edwardian elegance. Taken in the quiet between wars, the image reflects the human side of a man whose career would span six decades and shape the course of global history.

The Trona Pinnacles, with their towering tufa spires, rise from the desert near Ridgecrest in California’s Mojave Desert like monuments from another world. Their alien beauty has made them a favorite Hollywood backdrop, appearing in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Planet of the Apes (1968 and 2001), and series like Battlestar Galactica, Lost in Space, and The Mandalorian. Even music videos from Rihanna and Lady Gaga have tapped into the Pinnacles’ futuristic aura. Formed thousands of years ago by ancient lakes, these surreal formations remain both a geologic wonder and a cultural icon.

Photo taken December 15, 2015 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain