* On Dec. 16, 1938, Adolf Hitler instituted the Mother’s Cross, a medal awarded as part of an initiative designed to encourage women of “pure” German origin to grow the Third Reich’s population. Each year between 1938 and 1944, gold medals were given to women with eight or more children, silver medals to women with six to seven, and bronze medals to women with five.
* On Dec. 17, 2010, a struggling street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside the governor’s office in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. That morning, his merchandise had been confiscated by a municipal inspector, as Bouazizi was operating without a government permit. His act was considered the start of the Arab Spring, a period of pro-democracy uprisings throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
* On Dec. 18, 1972, future American president Joe Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident while shopping for a Christmas tree when their car was struck by a tractortrailer.
* On Dec. 19, 1843, Charles Dickens’ beloved classic novella “A Christmas Carol” was published in London by Chapman and Hall. The first edition sold out in just five days, and the book not only has been adapted countless times in multiple media, but it has never gone out of print.
* On Dec. 20, 1940, superhero Captain America, aka Steven “Steve” Rogers, a frail man enhanced to physical perfection after drinking an experimental serum, made his debut in “Captain America Comics” No. 1.
* On Dec. 21, 2012, Korean rapper Psy’s music video for “Gangnam Style” became the first YouTube video to garner a billion views.
* On Dec. 22, 2001, British citizen and al-Qaida member Richard Reid attempted to detonate homemade bombs in his shoes while aboard American Airlines Flight 63 headed to Miami from Paris. A flight attendant smelled sulfur and saw what he was doing, and fellow crew members and passengers restrained him until he could be sedated and strapped down with belts, after which the plane was diverted to Boston’s Logan International Airport, where he was taken into custody.
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