On this day: December 15
1968 Montreal Game Where Fans Threw Snowballs at Santa Claus
On December 15, 1968, during an NHL game in Montreal, fans pelted a man dressed as Santa Claus with snowballs after a home-team loss—an episode remembered as an emblem of the city's volatile hockey culture in the era.
France Carries Out First Underground Nuclear Test in Sahara, December 1966
On 15 December 1966 France conducted an underground nuclear test at the In Ekker site in the Algerian Sahara, part of its series of tests transitioning from atmospheric detonations to underground trials amid international concern over nuclear proliferation and environmental risk.
Supreme Court Halts New Death Penalty Procedures
On Dec. 15, 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that blocked certain death penalty reforms enacted after the Court's 1972 death-penalty moratorium, affecting how capital sentences could be imposed and reviewed.
1992 Revelations Shake British Royal Family as Marital Breakdowns Surface
In December 1992, a year Queen Elizabeth II later called an "annus horribilis," reporting revealed major strains and separations within the British royal family, including the breakdowns of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage and other public split announcements.