December, Man of.
Napoleon III was so called because December was the month of his election to the Presidency, of the Coup d’Etat, and of his taking the title of Emperor.
December Rising.
An outbreak in St. Petersburg in December, 1825, on the accession of Nicholas I, fomented by a revolutionary society known as the Society of the North. The rightful heir to the throne was Constantine, the elder brother of Nicholas, but he had waived his rights. The revolutionists, however, made use of the question of succession to excite the mob, their real object being the overthrow of the dynasty. The rising was easily suppressed, and the ringleaders convicted and hanged. The conspirators were afterwards known as the Dekabrists.
Decet Romanum Pontificum, Bull.
A Bull of Leo X, issued in January, 1521, calling upon the German Princes to uphold the Papal authority by condemning Luther unheard.
Decimation.
An arbitrary income-tax of ten per cent. levied on all Royalists by Cromwell’s Major-Generals, in 1655.
Declaration of Independence (America).
The Manifesto issued by the second Congress in America, on July 4, 1776, declaring the colonies independent. It was only carried in Congress by a majority of one.