Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani education activist and survivor of Taliban violence, received the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest Nobel laureate in history at age 17.
📍 Oslo, Norway
Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his long struggle for fundamental human rights in China. He was imprisoned at the time and unable to attend the ceremony.
📍 Oslo, Norway
Iraq’s Governing Council signed the interim constitution following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, establishing a provisional framework for governance ahead of democratic elections.
📍 Baghdad, Iraq
Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to dismantle apartheid and establish multiracial democracy in South Africa.
📍 Oslo, Norway
Mother Teresa of Calcutta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor and dying in India, becoming a global icon of compassion and selfless service.
📍 Oslo, Norway
Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his courageous advocacy of human rights and his opposition to the Soviet regime’s nuclear policies.
📍 Oslo, Norway
Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, poet, and interfaith advocate, died in Bangkok. His writings bridged East-West spiritual traditions and promoted social justice and nonviolence.
📍 Bangkok, Thailand
Japan was officially admitted to the United Nations, marking its reintegration into the international community after World War II and signaling a major milestone in global diplomacy.
📍 New York City, United States
CBS made the first commercial color television broadcast in the United States, signaling the beginning of a new era in visual media and entertainment technology.
📍 Washington, D.C., United States
Japan signed the Security Treaty with the U.S., ending the postwar Allied occupation and beginning a new era of U.S.-Japan relations focused on defense and economic cooperation.
📍 San Francisco, United States
British philosopher Bertrand Russell received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his varied and significant writings championing humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.
📍 Stockholm, Sweden
The United Nations began officially observing Human Rights Day on December 10, commemorating the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and promoting global awareness of fundamental freedoms.
📍 Global
Karl Renner, a key political figure in Austria’s transition after both World Wars and first President of the Second Republic, died. He was instrumental in reestablishing Austrian sovereignty in 1945.
📍 Vienna, Austria
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, outlining universal rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled, and marking a historic moment for global justice.
📍 Paris, France
Social reformer Jane Addams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her leadership in women's suffrage and peace advocacy, becoming the first American woman to receive the honor.
📍 Oslo, Norway
Physicist Niels Bohr was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering model of the atom, which became a cornerstone of quantum theory and modern science.
📍 Stockholm, Sweden
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War, becoming the first American to receive a Nobel Prize.
📍 Oslo, Norway
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm and Oslo in accordance with the will of Alfred Nobel, establishing the prestigious global honors in science, literature, peace, and more.
📍 Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway
Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist, engineer, and inventor of dynamite, died in San Remo, Italy. His will established the Nobel Prizes to honor those who serve humanity.
📍 San Remo, Italy
Emily Dickinson, now recognized as one of the most important figures in American poetry, died in Amherst, Massachusetts. Much of her work was unpublished during her lifetime.
📍 Amherst, Massachusetts, United States