Nostradamus trained as an apothecary and physician before turning to astrology and prophecy, publishing his famous collection of cryptic quatrains, Les Prophéties, in 1555. His obscure, symbolic verses have been endlessly reinterpreted over the centuries to claim predictions of wars, revolutions, and disasters. Whatever the merits of his prophecies, his name became a byword for foretelling the future in Western culture, invoked to this day after major world events.

Michel de Nostredame, later Latinized as Nostradamus, was born to a family of Jewish converts to Catholicism in Provence, France. He trained as an apothecary and physician before turning to astrology and prophecy, publishing 'Les Propheties' in 1555—a collection of quatrains so vague and allegorical that readers have retroactively linked them to nearly every major disaster since.

Pope Julius II commissioned the ceiling in 1508, and Michelangelo, who considered himself primarily a sculptor, resisted the project before relenting. Working on scaffolding of his own design, he painted more than 300 figures across roughly 5,000 square feet, including the iconic Creation of Adam. The completed work, unveiled around this date, transformed expectations of what fresco painting could achieve and cemented his reputation as the greatest living artist in Christendom.

With Virginia's approval on December 15, 1791 following closely on Maryland's vote, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution took effect, enshrining freedoms of speech, religion, press, and assembly, along with protections against unreasonable searches and cruel punishment. The amendments arose from a compromise to satisfy Anti-Federalists wary of centralized power.

Washington fell ill after riding through freezing rain to inspect his farm, developing a severe throat infection that rapidly worsened. His doctors, following the medical practices of the era, bled him repeatedly, likely hastening his decline. He died at his Virginia estate surrounded by family, reportedly telling those present, 'I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.' Congress and the nation observed extended mourning for the man who had led the Revolution and the founding presidency.

George Washington fell ill after riding through snow and rain on his estate, developing acute epiglottitis that swelled his throat shut. Contemporary doctors bled him repeatedly, draining an estimated 40 percent of his blood in a desperate but misguided treatment. He died at Mount Vernon surrounded by family and aides, reportedly telling his secretary, 'I am just going. Have me decently buried, and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days.'

Engineer James Buchanan Eads completed his namesake bridge connecting St. Louis, Missouri, to East St. Louis, Illinois, after seven years of construction plagued by financial troubles and a mysterious illness—decompression sickness, then not understood—that killed or crippled dozens of workers who dug the deep-water piers using pressurized caissons.

Trying to solve the 'ultraviolet catastrophe' in blackbody radiation, Max Planck proposed that energy is emitted and absorbed in discrete packets, or quanta, rather than as a continuous stream. He presented this idea in Berlin, deriving a formula that matched experimental data with startling accuracy. Planck himself doubted the physical reality of quanta at first, viewing them as a mathematical convenience, but the concept became the seed of quantum mechanics.

After a grueling 800-mile trek with dog sleds across the Antarctic ice, Roald Amundsen's Norwegian team planted their flag at the South Pole. Their meticulous planning, reliance on skis and huskies, and cautious pacing contrasted sharply with the British expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott, which would arrive over a month later and perish on the return journey.

Passed by an overwhelming vote with no opposition, the declaration proclaimed that all peoples have a right to self-determination and condemned colonialism as a violation of the UN Charter. It became a cornerstone document invoked by independence movements across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, lending international legal weight to the dismantling of European empires already underway.

Launched in August 1962, Mariner 2 swept past Venus after a 109-day voyage, the first successful interplanetary mission in history. Its instruments detected surface temperatures around 800°F beneath a thick, unbroken cloud layer, dispelling romantic notions that Venus might harbor oceans or jungle. The tiny probe, cobbled together after its twin Mariner 1 was destroyed by a rocket malfunction, gave humanity its first hard data about a neighboring world.

After three days exploring the Taurus-Littrow valley, Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan became the last person to step off the Moon, leaving behind a plaque reading 'may the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind.' No human has returned to the lunar surface since, making this fifty-plus year gap the longest in the Space Age's exploration record.

Led by Chairman Ajit Pai, the Federal Communications Commission rolled back the 2015 Open Internet Order, which had barred broadband providers from blocking, throttling, or charging for prioritized access to online content. The decision followed a record 22 million public comments, many later found to be fraudulent, and ignited fierce lobbying from telecom companies and advocacy groups alike. Supporters argued it would spur infrastructure investment; critics warned it would let ISPs favor their own content and services.