1822 – Pedro I of Portugal is crowned King of Brazil. He would lead the Orleans-Braganza dynasty, in the giant colony of Portugal from 1822 to 1831. Over the centuries, Brazil would serve as one of the most lucrative colonial territories for Portugal as the latter transferred the Royal Crown from Official Lisbon in Brazil, when the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Napoleon Bonaparte troops.
1913 – The first subway is built on the South American continent, in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. This architectural work would also be the first to be built and put into use in the Hispanic world, followed by that of Madrid in 1919. The Buenos Aires metro is frequented by about 2 million passengers in year. It is 62 km long.
1918 – The creation of Yugoslavia, otherwise known as the Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom, is proclaimed. After the dissolution of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, about half of its territories would be annexed to the new Yugoslav Kingdom with Belgrade as its capital. This heterogeneous nation would be ruled by the Kara Djordjevic dynasty until 1941 when the latter would be occupied by Nazi Germany. The kingdom would cease to exist in 1945 when Josip Broz Tito founded the SFRY.
1929– Alfred Spiro Moisiu was born in Shkodra, career military, President and Minister of the Republic of Albania from 2002 to 2007. In 1946 – 1948 he attended the School of Military Engineering of the Soviet Union. From 1949 to 1951 he was an instructor at the Skanderbeg Military Academy. From 1958 to 1966 he was an officer in the Engineering Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. He is the author of many articles, articles and studies published in the Albanian and foreign press, on the problems of martial arts, defense and regional security policy and developments in Kosovo.
1935 – Famous American director, actor, screenwriter, and comedian Woody Allen is born in Brooklyn, New York. He would become famous in the international arena with some of his films, Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Midnight in Paris, and The Purple Rose of Cairo. Allen over the years would win 3 Oscars and 9 BAFTAs, thus being classified by critics as one of the best filmmakers of the twentieth century.
1955 – In Montgomery, Alabama, human rights activist Rosa Parks breaks segregationist racial laws by not giving a white man a seat on the bus. It was this action of hers that would spur the African-American community and not just start the famous protests for their constitutional rights in the US. The 1-year boycott of the public transport service would also start in Montgomery, as a sign of protest against racial discrimination.
1973 – The founder of the state of Israel, David Ben Gurion, dies at the age of 73. Ben Gurion, would also serve as the Minister of Defense and Prime Minister of Israel, since its inception in 1948. After his death he was named by the prestigious Times magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the twentieth century. . David Ben Gurion, in the 1940s founded what would later be labeled as the most famous political and ethnic current for Jews, Zionism.
1988 – The United Nations declares December 1 as International AIDS Day, also known as the Disease of the Century. HIV-AIDS, over half a century has killed about 30-40 million people worldwide, while as many currently carry it as a disease. Government and health officials, NGOs, and individuals around the world commemorate this day, often with educational advice on AIDS prevention and control.