By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Monday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2021. There are 25 days left in the year.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, was ratified as Georgia became the 27th state to endorse it.

On this date:

In 1790, Congress moved to Philadelphia from New York.

In 1889, The Mark Twain novel ìA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurís Courtî was first published in England under the title ìA Yankee at the Court of King Arthurî (it was published in the U.S. under its more familiar name four days later).

In 1907, the worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, West Virginia.

In 1917, some 2,000 people were killed when an explosives-laden French cargo ship, the Mont Blanc, collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo at the harbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off a blast that devastated the Canadian city. Finland declared its independence from Russia.

In 1922, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which established the Irish Free State, came into force one year to the day after it was signed in London.

In 1957, Americaís first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing down and exploding.

In 1962, 37 coal miners were killed in an explosion at the Robena No. 3 Mine operated by U.S. Steel in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.

In 1969, a free concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Alameda County, California, was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a Hellís Angel. In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.

In 1989, 14 women were shot to death at the University of Montrealís school of engineering by a man who then took his own life.

In 1998, in Venezuela, former Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez (OOí-goh CHAHí-vez), who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier, was elected president.

In 2007, President George W. Bush announced a plan to freeze interest rates on subprime mortgages held by hundreds of thousands of homeowners.

Ten years ago: Declaring the American middle class in jeopardy, President Barack Obama, speaking in Kansas, outlined a populist economic vision that would drive his reelection bid, insisting the United States had to reclaim its standing as a country in which everyone could prosper if provided ìa fair shot and a fair share.î A suicide bomber slaughtered 56 Shiite worshippers and wounded more than 160 others outside a shrine in Afghanistanís capital.

Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump officially announced he would nominate retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to be his defense secretary, bringing his pick onstage at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

One year ago: President Donald Trump said his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani had tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the latest in Trumpís inner circle to contract the disease. During a debate with her Democratic opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock, ahead of two Georgia runoff elections that would determine control of the Senate, Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler repeatedly refused to acknowledge that Trump had lost reelection.

Todayís Birthdays: Comedy performer David Ossman is 85. Actor Patrick Bauchau is 83. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 80. Actor James Naughton is 76. Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is 76. R&B singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 75. Former Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., is 73. Actor JoBeth Williams is 73. Actor Tom Hulce is 68. Actor Wil Shriner is 68. Actor Kin Shriner is 68. Actor Miles Chapin is 67. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam) is 66. Comedian Steven Wright is 66. Country singer Bill Lloyd is 66. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 66. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 65. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 60. Actor Janine Turner is 59. Rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) is 59. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 54. Rock musician Ulf ìBuddhaî Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 51. Writer-director Craig Brewer is 50. Actor Colleen Haskell is 45. Actor Lindsay Price is 45. Actor Ashley Madekwe is 40. Actor Nora Kirkpatrick is 37. Christian rock musician Jacob Chesnut (Rush of Fools) is 32. Tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe is 30. NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAHí-nihs an-teh-toh-KOONí-poh) is 27.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.