✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 348th day of the year

December 14

A look at December 14 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Karl Carstens and Karl Renner, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♐ZodiacSagittarius ◈BirthstoneTurquoise ❀Birth flowerHolly
Advertisement 728 × 90 leaderboard

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2012

    Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting

    Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

    2012 mass shooting in
  2. 1999

    Vargas tragedy

    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.

    1999 natural disaster in
  3. 1992

    War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)

    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.

    Conflict between Georgia and
  4. 1925

    Wozzeck

    Wozzeck, Alban Berg's first opera, is premiered at the Berlin State Opera conducted by Erich Kleiber.

    1925 opera by Alban
  5. 1918

    Giacomo Puccini

    Giacomo Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi premieres at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

    Italian opera composer (1858–1924)
  6. 1913

    Japanese battleship Haruna

    Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II.

    Japanese Kongō-class battlecruiser
  7. 1911

    Roald Amundsen

    Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.

    Norwegian polar explorer (1872–1928)
  8. 1863

    American Civil War

    American Civil War: The Confederate victory under General James Longstreet at the Battle of Bean's Station in East Tennessee ends the Knoxville Campaign, but achieves very little as Longstreet returns to Virginia next spring.

    1861–1865 conflict in the
  9. 1836

    Toledo War

    The Toledo War unofficially ends as the "Frostbitten Convention" votes to accept Congress' terms for admitting Michigan as a U.S. state.

    1835–1836 Ohio–Michigan dispute
  10. 835

    Sweet Dew incident

    Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled.

    835 Tang dynasty political
Advertisement Responsive in-content unit

Famous birthday twins

Born on December 14

Karl Carstens

b. 1914

German lieutenant and politician, 5th President of the Federal Republic of Germany

Karl Renner

b. 1870

Austrian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Austria

Tycho Brahe

b. 1546

Danish astronomer and chemist

Dilma Rousseff

b. 1947

Brazilian economist and politician, 36th President of Brazil

Anna Maria Jopek

b. 1970

Polish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer

Hanni Wenzel

b. 1956

German skier

Stan Smith

b. 1946

American tennis player and coach

Shyam Benegal

b. 1934

Indian director and screenwriter

Deaths

  • 2025Rob Reiner, American filmmaker and actor
  • 1990Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright
  • 1989Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1860George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1799George Washington, American general and politician, 1st President of the United States
  • 1332Rinchinbal Khan, Mongolian emperor

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

Born on this day?

Make your birthday card.

Drop in your birth year and we'll work out your exact age, the day of the week you were born, your Chinese zodiac, your generation, and the countdown to your next candle.