Special Olympics is an international program of year-round sports training and athletic competition for persons with intellectual disability. The idea was born when Eunice Kennedy Shriver noticed that individuals with intellectual disability were far more capable in sports and physical activities than experts thought. In December 1968, Special Olympics was established as a nonprofit charitable organization.

On this day in 1995, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus.

December 1st is World AIDS Day.