Rosa Parks
Dec 1 Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus and give her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama
- Dec 3 KTVE TV channel 10 in Monroe-El Dorado, LA (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Dec 5 American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) merge to form the AFL-CIO, with George Meany as President
- Dec 5 Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery, Alabama by Rosa Parks and other civil rights activists
Montgomery Improvement Association
Dec 5 Montgomery Improvement Association formed by Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Edgar Nixon to support the Montgomery bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama
Matchmaker
Dec 5 Thornton Wilder's play "Matchmaker" premieres on Broadway, NYC
The Ladykillers
Dec 8 Black Ealing comedy "The Ladykillers", directed by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Alec Guinness is released in the UK
Campanella's 3rd MVP
Dec 8 Brooklyn catcher Roy Campanella wins his 3rd MVP Award
- Dec 8 Turkish government of Menderes forms
- Dec 12 1st prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell
The Rose Tattoo
Dec 12 Film adaptation of "The Rose Tattoo", starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster, premieres at the Astor Theatre in Times Square, NYC
- Dec 14 16 countries join the United Nations, including Austria, Finland, Italy, and Spain
- Dec 14 Tappan Zee Bridge in NY opens to traffic
Folsom Prison Blues
Dec 15 "Folsom Prison Blues" single released by Johnny Cash (Billboard Song of the Year 1968)
"Blue Suede Shoes"
Dec 19 Carl Perkins records "Blue Suede Shoes" for Sun Records at Memphis Recording Service studio
Huxley Takes LSD
Dec 24 Author Aldous Huxley takes LSD for the first time
- Dec 26 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Cleveland Browns beat Los Angeles Rams, 38-14; Browns defend title and win their 3rd NFL Championship of the 1950s in a second straight rout
- Dec 26 RKO is 1st to announce sale of its film library to TV
- Dec 28 44th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in New York (5-0)
"You'll Never Know"
Dec 29 Barbra Streisand's 1st recording "You'll Never Know" at age 13
- Dec 29 NHL officials wear new vertically striped black-and-white sweaters for the first time in Montreal Canadiens' 5-2 win over Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dec 31 James Mundy and John La Touche's musical "The Vamp" closes at the Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 60 performances
General Motors First to $1 Billion
Dec 31 The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over $1 billion USD in a year.
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