Summary of the Day ✨ 14 December (14/12)
A mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia became the country’s deadliest terror incident while the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut claimed numerous lives. Meanwhile, a total solar eclipse was visible across several continents and Disney announced its landmark $52.4 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: At least 16 people are killed, including one gunman, and 43 injured in a mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in the deadliest terror incident in Australia.
- 2020: A total solar eclipse is visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean.
- 2017: The Walt Disney Company announces that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion.
- 2013: A reported coup attempt in South Sudan leads to continued fighting and hundreds of casualties.
- 2012: Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
- 2004: The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France.
- 2003: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
- 1999: Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state’s infrastructure.
- 1998: Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav Army ambushes a group of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 36.
- 1995: Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the same day, NATO began ground peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- 1994: Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river.
- 1992: War in Abkhazia: Siege of Tkvarcheli: A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia.
- 1986: Qasba Aligarh massacre: Over 400 Muhajirs killed in revenge killings in Qasba colony after a raid on Pashtun heroin processing and distribution center in Sohrab Goth by the security forces.
- 1985: Wilma Mankiller takes office as the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
- 1981: Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel’s Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Francisco Conceição, Portuguese footballer
- 2001: Joshua Rush, American actor and activist
- 1998: Lonnie Walker IV, American basketball player
- 1998: Kim Ji-woong, South Korean singer and actor
- 1997: DK Metcalf, American football player
- 1996: Barbie Ferreira, American actress and model
- 1996: Raphinha, Brazilian footballer
- 1996: Li Zijun, Chinese figure skater
- 1995: Ivan Barbashev, Russian ice hockey player
- 1995: Calvyn Justus, South African swimmer
- 1995: Álvaro Odriozola, Spanish footballer
- 1994: Kuldeep Yadav, Indian cricketer
- 1993: Antonio Giovinazzi, Italian race car driver
- 1992: Tori Kelly, American singer-songwriter
- 1992: Ryo Miyaichi, Japanese footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Rob Reiner, American filmmaker and actor (born 1947)
- 2024: Isak Andic, Turkish-Spanish billionaire businessman (born 1953)
- 2023: Tomáš Janovic, Slovak writer (born 1937)
- 2022: Jean Franco, American academic and literary critic (born 1924)
- 2020: Gérard Houllier, French Football manager (born 1947)
- 2019: Chuy Bravo, Mexican-American comedian and actor (born 1956)
- 2017: Yu Kwang-chung, Chinese writer (born 1928)
- 2016: Paulo Evaristo Arns, Brazilian cardinal (born 1921)
- 2016: Bernard Fox, Welsh actor (born 1927)
- 2015: Terry Backer, American soldier and politician (born 1954)
- 2015: Glen Sonmor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1929)
- 2015: Vadym Tyshchenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (born 1963)
- 2015: Lillian Vernon, German-American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Lillian Vernon Company (born 1927)
- 2014: Theo Colborn, American zoologist and academic (born 1927)
- 2014: Irene Dalis, American soprano and pianist (born 1925)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Folcwin - Christian feast day:
John of the Cross - Christian feast day:
John III of the Sedre (Syriac Orthodox Church) - Christian feast day:
Blessed Mary Frances Schervier - Christian feast day:
Nicasius of Rheims - Christian feast day:
Nimatullah Kassab (Maronite Church) - Christian feast day:
Spyridon (Western Church) - Christian feast day:
Venantius Fortunatus - Christian feast day:
December 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Alabama Day (Alabama)
- Forty-seven Ronin Remembrance Day (Sengaku-ji, Tokyo)
- Martyred Intellectuals Day (Bangladesh)
- Monkey Day