Today in History.....December 15

On this day in …

* 1791, the Bill of Rights went into effect following ratification by Virginia

* 1916, the French defeated the Germans in the World War I battle of Verdun

* 1938, groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jefferson Memorial took place in Washington, D.C.

* 1961, former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, ym"s, was sentenced to death by an Israeli court

* 1965, two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6 and Gemini 7, maneuvered to within 10 feet of each other while in orbit

* 1978, President Carter announced he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New Year's Day and sever official relations with Taiwan

* 1979, the deposed Shah of Iran left the United States for Panama, the same day the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Iran should release all its American hostages