Today in History, December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus

Associated Press | Cincinnati Enquirer

Today is Dec. 1. On this date:

1824

The presidential election was turned over to the U.S. House of Representatives when a deadlock developed between John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. (Adams ended up the winner.)

1862

President Abraham Lincoln sent his Second Annual Message to Congress, in which he called for the abolition of slavery, and went on to say, “Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves.”

1941

Japan’s Emperor Hirohito approved waging war against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands after his government rejected U.S. demands contained in the Hull Note.

1942

Nationwide gasoline rationing went into effect in the United States.

1955

Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus; the incident sparked a yearlong boycott of the buses by blacks.

1965

An airlift from Cuba to the U.S. began in which thousands of Cubans were allowed to leave their homeland.

1969

The U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.

1990

British and French workers digging the Channel Tunnel between their countries finally met after knocking out a passage in a service tunnel.