Artellia Lovis Stewart (born 1845)

In 1845, in the year that Artellia Lovis Stewart was born, on December 29th, Texas was admitted as the 28th state. Formerly part of Mexico, then an independent Republic, Texas consisted mainly of American settlers - English speaking - in the north and former Mexican citizens - Spanish speaking - in the south and west when admitted to the Union.

In 1869, on December 10th, the Wyoming territorial legislature gave women the right to vote. It was the first time in the world that women were able to vote legally without restrictions.

In 1933, on December 5th, the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The 21st Amendment said "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." Alcohol was legal again! It was the only amendment to the Constitution approved for the explicit purpose of repealing a previously existing amendment. South Carolina was the only state to reject the Amendment.

In 1949, on January 25th, the first Emmy Awards (for television) were handed out in Los Angeles. Shirley Dinsdale won for the Most Outstanding Television Personality and Pantomime Quiz Time earned an Emmy for the Most Popular Television Program.

In 1985, in May, a paper published in Nature by three British scientists reported that a huge hole was discovered in the ozone layer over the Antarctic. It was much larger than expected and is due to the use of manmade chemicals.