George Ariyoshi Becomes Governor of Hawaii
George Ariyoshi was inaugurated as governor of Hawaii, the first Asian American elected governor of a US state. (Shares Dec 2 with the proclamation of the Lao PDR.)
On this day
December 2
Lao People's Democratic Republic Proclaimed
The Pathet Lao abolished the 650-year-old Lao monarchy and proclaimed the Lao People's Democratic Republic; the takeover drove hundreds of thousands of Lao and Hmong to flee, most eventually resettling in the US.