Today is Tuesday, Dec. 15, the 350th day of 2020. There are 16 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 15, 2013, Nelson Mandela was laid to rest in his childhood hometown, ending a 10-day mourning period for South Africa’s first Black president.

On this date:

In 1791, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, went into effect following ratification by Virginia.

In 1890, Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, South Dakota, during a confrontation with Indian police.

In 1944, the U.S. Senate approved the promotions of Henry H. Arnold, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and George C. Marshall to the five-star rank of General of the Army and the nominations of William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King and Chester W. Nimitz as Admirals of the Fleet.

In 1965, two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6A and Gemini 7, maneuvered toward each other while in orbit, at one point coming as close as one foot.

In 1967, the Silver Bridge between Gallipolis, Ohio, and Point Pleasant, West Virginia, collapsed into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.

In 2000, the long-troubled Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine was closed for good.

In 2001, with a crash and a large dust cloud, a 50-foot tall section of steel — the last standing piece of the World Trade Center’s facade — was brought down in New York.

In 2009, evangelist Oral Roberts died in Newport Beach, California, at age 91.

In 2016, a federal jury in Charleston, South Carolina, convicted Dylann Roof of slaughtering nine Black church members who had welcomed him to their Bible study.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) is 81. Rock musician Dave Clark (The Dave Clark Five) is 78. Rock musician Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge) is 74. Actor Don Johnson is 71. Actor Melanie Chartoff is 70. Rock musician Paul Simonon (The Clash) is 65. Movie director John Lee Hancock is 64. Actor Stuart Townsend is 48. Figure skater Surya Bonaly is 47.