02 December History
- 1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of France in Notre Dame Cathedral.
- 1805 - Napoleon Bonaparte celebrates the first anniversary of his coronation with a victory at Austerlitz over a Russian and Austrian army.
- 1823 - President James Monroe proclaims the principles known as the Monroe Doctrine, "that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by European powers."
- 1863 - General Braxton Bragg turns over command of the Army of Tennessee to General William Hardee at Dalton, Ga.
- 1864 - Major General Grenville M. Dodge is named to replace General William Rosecrans as Commander of the Department of Missouri.
- 1867 - People wait in mile-long lines to hear Charles Dickens give his first reading in New York City.
- 1907 - Spain and France agree to enforce Moroccan measures adopted in 1906.
- 1909 - J.P. Morgan acquires majority holdings in Equitable Life Co. This is the largest concentration of bank power to date.
- 1914 - Austrian troops occupy Belgrade, Serbia.
- 1918 - Armenia proclaims independence from Turkey.
- 1921 - The first successful helium dirigible, C-7, makes a test flight in Portsmouth, Va.
- 1927 - The new Ford Model A is introduced to the American public.
- 1932 - Bolivia accepts Paraguay's terms for a truce in the Chaco War.
- 1942 - The Allies repel a strong Axis attack in Tunisia, North Africa.
- 1944 - General George S. Patton's troops enter the Saar Valley and break through the Siegfried line.
- 1946 - The United States and Great Britain merge their German occupation zones.
- 1964 - Brazil sends Juan Peron back to Spain, foiling his efforts to return to his native land.
- 1970 - The U.S. Senate votes to give 48,000 acres of New Mexico back to the Taos Indians.
- 1982 - Dentist Barney Clark receives the first permanent artificial heart, developed by Dr. Robert K. Jarvik.
02 December Birthdays
- 1837 - Dr. Joseph Bell, British physician believed to be the prototype of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes.
- 1859 - Georges Seurat, French painter, founder and leader of the Pointilism style.
- 1863 - Charles Ringling, one of the seven Ringling brothers of circus fame.
- 1884 - Ruth Draper, actress and writer.
- 1885 - Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer and lawyer (Zorba the Greek).
- 1896 - Georgi Zhukov, Soviet general who captured Berlin during World War II.
- 1906 - Peter Carl Goldmark, engineer, developed the first commercial color television and the long-playing phonograph record.
- 1912 - Henry Armstrong, the only boxer to hold three titles simultaneously.
- 1925 - Alexander Haig, American army general and Secretary of State for President Ronald Reagan.
- 1948 - T. Corgaghessan Boyle, novelist and short story writer (Water Music).