Portal:Schools/Selected anniversaries/December

December

1st
 * 1958 – A fire breaks out at the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, Illinois, killing a total of 92 pupils and 3 nuns. The severity of the fire shocks the United States and leads to major improvements in standards for school design and fire safety codes.

5th
 * 1884 - Moose Jaw School District #1 and Qu'Appelle School District #2 were formally established Dec. 5, 1884  under the new Board of Education for the North West Territories, Canada

15th
 * 1891 – James Naismith introduces the first version of basketball, with thirteen rules, a peach basket nailed to either end of his school's gymnasium, and two teams of nine players.

20th
 * 2005 – US District Court Judge John E. Jones III rules against mandating the teaching of "intelligent design" in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.