- 536 Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire
- 656 Battle of Kameel: Kalief Al ibn Abu Talib beats rebellion
- 730 Battle of Marj Ardabil, Turkic Khazar army led by Barjik defeats Umayyad force, with 20,000 killed including general al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah, whose head is mounted on a throne
- 1212 Frederick II (later also Holy Roman Emperor) crowned King of Germany in Mainz
- 1315 Swiss Woudsteden renews Eternal Covenant (Oath Society)
- 1425 Pope Martinus V forms University of Leuven
- 1570 The Geuzen (a confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles) under Herman de Ruyter occupies Loevestein
- 1625 Netherlands & England sign military treaty
- 1640 Settler Hugh Bewitt banished from Mass colony when he declares himself to be free of original sin
- 1658 Dutch troops occupy harbor city Quilon (Coilan) India
Theater Premiere
1724 Colley Cibber's play "Caesar in Egypt" premieres in London
Knox's Artillery Convoy Sets Out
1775 At Fort Ticonderoga, New York, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of abandoned British artillery to Boston, Massachusetts, later forces the British to evacuate Boston [1]
- 1783 First execution at Newgate Jail in London (now the site of the Central Criminal Court aka the Old Bailey), relocated from Tyburn (now the site of Marble Arch)
NY's First Daily Newspaper
1793 Noah Webster establishes New York's 1st daily newspaper, the "American Minerva"
- 1805 Comet 3D/1805 V1 (Biela) approaches within 0.0366 AUs of Earth
- 1824 Battle of Ayacucho (Candorcangui), Peru defeats Spain
- 1842 Mikhail Glinka's opera "Russlan and Ludmilla" premieres at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia
- 1851 1st Young Men's Christian Association in North America set up in Montreal
Charge of the Light Brigade
1854 Alfred Tennyson's poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" is published in "The Examiner"
Palace of Westminster
1868 The first traffic lights are installed outside the Palace of Westminster in London. Resembling railway signals, they use semaphore arms and are illuminated at night by red and green gas lamps.
Pulitzer Buys St. Louis Dispatch
1878 Joseph Pulitzer buys the St. Louis Dispatch for $2,500
Chicago Auditorium Dedicated
1889 US President Benjamin Harrison dedicates the Chicago Auditorium, designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, then largest building in the US
- 1892 English football club Newcastle United founded
- 1894 Roman Catholics win Parliamentary election in Belgium
- 1897 French activist Marguerite Durand founds the feminist daily newspaper 'La Fronde' in Paris
- 1899 Boer War: During Siege of Ladysmith, Boers storm King's Post and Caesar's Camp - driven back
Queen Wilhelmina and Kruger's Procession
1900 President Paul Kruger of South Africa's Transvaal & Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands have a triumphant procession
Salome
1905 Richard Strauss' opera "Salome" premieres in Dresden
Reports Leopold II Brided US
1906 NY American reports Belgian King Leopold II bribed US Senate commission on the Congo
- 1907 First Christmas Seals sold (Wilmington, Delaware, post office)
Mahler Departs Vienna
1907 Gustav Mahler departs Vienna for America
Johnson vs. Johnson
1913 Heavyweight fight between Jack Johnson and Jim Johnson ends with no decision in Paris
- 1913 John K. Tener becomes president of baseball's National League
- 1917 British forces under General Allenby capture Jerusalem
- 1918 French troops occupies Mainz
- 1922 Gabriel Narutowicz elected Polish president
- 1924 Michael Hainisch re-elected Austrian president
- 1924 Netherlands & Hungary trade treaty signed
Ban Johnson's Extended Contract
1925 AL extends Ban Johnson's contract to 1935 & raises to $40,000
- 1925 Pro football a hit in NYC; Grange & Bears beat Giants before 73,000
- 1926 USGA legalizes steel shaft golf clubs
- 1931 Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players & NL continues to prohibit uniform numbers
- 1931 Benn W Levy's "Springtime for Henry" premieres in NYC
- 1931 Japanese army attacks Chinese province of Jehol
- 1931 Spain becomes a republic
- 1933 Romania prohibits fascist Iron Guard
- 1935 1st Heisman Trophy Award: Jay Berwanger, Chicago (HB)
- 1935 Walter Liggett American newspaper editor and muckraker killed in gangland murder.
- 1936 AL OKs night baseball for St Louis
England Embarrasses Australia
1936 England embarrasses Australia in the 1st Test in Brisbane; home side all out for 58 as England wins by 322 runs; Don Bradman out for a duck (0)
- 1938 1939 NFL Draft: Ki Aldrich from TCU first pick by Chicago Cardinals
- 1938 State of California uses gas chamber instead of hanging for 2nd time in a week: Wesley Eudy and Fred Barnes executed for roles in Folsom Prison escape attempt resulting in murder of warden and guard (San Quentin State Prison, Marin County)
- 1939 1940 NFL Draft: George Cafego from University of Tennessee first pick by Chicago Cardinals
- 1939 Pianist and statesman Ignacy Paderewski becomes Chief of National Council of Poland (government in exile)
- 1939 Russian air raid on Helsinki
- 1940 British assault on Benghazi, Libya: first major allied offensive in North Africa
- 1940 Illegal Jewish immigrants to Haifa are deported to Mauritius
- 1941 1st US WW II bombing mission in Far East, Luzon, Philippines
Bank of America HQ Opens
1941 300 Montgomery, San Francisco opens as new Bank of America HQ
- 1941 7th Heisman Trophy Award: Bruce Smith, Minnesota (HB)
Hitler Orders US Ships Torpedoed
1941 Adolf Hitler orders US ships and those loyal to her to be torpedoed - 3 days before declaring war on the US [1]
- 1941 China declares war on Japan, Germany & Italy
- 1941 Citizen Register reports "Hostile planes reported nearing Westchester"
- 1947 Menahem Presser (19) makes his Carnegie Hall debut as soloist in Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Eugene Ormandy's direction (NYC)
- 1948 UN General Assembly unanimously approves Convention on Genocide
- 1949 House of Representatives of The Netherlands accepts Indonesian sovereignty
- 1949 NFL merges with AAFC; Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers & Baltimore Colts join league intact, other teams in New York and Los Angeles are merged with existing units
- 1951 West German voters approve merger of 3 states to form Baden-Wurttemberg
- 1952 Great Smog of London (England): Wind resumes, lifting city's worst smog after 4 days; over 8,000 deaths attributed to conditions; clean air legislation enacted in its wake [1] [2]
- 1953 General Electric announces all Communist employees will be fired
- 1953 Montreal Canadiens (106) & Toronto Maple Leafs (98) combine for 204 penalty minutes
Shostakovich In Sweden
1954 Dmitri Shostakovich appointed honored guest of Royal Swedish Academy of Music
- 1957 1st Japanese ambassador to Israel
- 1958 Robert W. Welch Jr and 11 other men meet in Indianapolis to form the conservative and anti-Communist John Birch Society
- 1960 1st broadcast of "Coronation Street" on British ITV
- 1961 Tanganyika gains independence from Britain, takes name Tanzania - with Ukuru (Freedom) Torch lit on the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro
- 1962 "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" closes on Broadway
- 1962 Tanganyika becomes a republic within British Commonwealth
A Love Supreme
1964 John Coltrane's Quartet records their greatest work "A Love Supreme" at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
A Charlie Brown Christmas
1965 "A Charlie Brown Christmas", the first Peanuts animated special premieres on CBS in the US
Robinson to Baltimore Orioles
1965 Frank Robinson is traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Baltimore Orioles
- 1965 Nikolai Podgorny replaces Anastas Mikoyan as president of Soviet Praesidium
Morrison Arrested During Performance
1967 Jim Morrison arrested on stage for disturbing the peace at the New Haven Arena, Connecticut, making him the 1st rock star to be taken into custody during a performance
Ceaușescu President of Romania
1967 Nicolae Ceaușescu becomes President of Romania (overthrown in 1989)
"The Mother of All Demos"
1968 Douglas Engelbart demonstrates in "The Mother of All Demos" the computer system NLS (oN-Line System) to a live audience in San Francisco. Shows for the first time, the mouse, word processing, windows, hypertext links, video conferencing, real-time collaboration, and other modern computing concepts. [1]
- 1968 KRNE TV channel 12 in Merriman, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting
'Ulster stands at the Crossroads'
1968 Terence O'Neill, Northern Ireland Prime Minister, makes a television appeal for moderate opinion in what became known as the 'Ulster stands at the Crossroads' speech
- 1968 The Derry Citizen's Action Committee (DCAC) calls for a halt to all marches and protests for a period of one month
- 1970 Dutch Antilles: government of Petronia falls
- 1970 OPEC meeting in Caracas establishes 55 percent as minimum tax rate and demands that posted prices be changed to reflect changes in foreign exchange rates
Appointment of Interest
1971 Lewis F. Powell Jr. appointed to the US Supreme Court
Brisco NWA Champ
1974 Jack Brisco beats Giant Baba in Tokyo, to become NWA wrestling champ
- 1974 Johnson Grigsby freed after 66 years in jail in Indiana
- 1975 Iraq completes nationalization by taking over the BP, CFP, and Shell shares of the Basrah Petroleum Company
NY City Seasonal Financing Act
1975 US President Gerald Ford signs $2.3 New York City Seasonal Financing Act amid fiscal crisis in the city
- 1978 1st game of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does
- 1978 Pioneer Venus 2 drops 5 probes into atmosphere of Venus
- 1980 61°F in Boston at 1 AM
- 1981 Porn star John Holmes charged with Laurel Canyon murders
- 1982 World Boxing Council first to reduce the length of championship fights from 15 to 12 rounds, and allows referees to order standing 8-count for fighters in trouble
Reagan Aide on Soup Kitchens
1983 Counselor to Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese says people go to soup kitchens "because food is free & that's easier than paying for it"
- 1983 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1984 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1984 Iranian commandos end 5-day hijacking of Kuwaiti plane
Dickerson Rush Record
1984 LA Ram Eric Dickerson rushes 215 yards for season record 2,105 yards
Junta Leaders' Life Sentences
1985 Argentinian Junta leaders Jorge Rafael Videla and Emilio Eduardo Massera sentenced to life imprisonment for human rights violations in Buenos Aires
- 1985 Phoenix, Arizona, gets 3" of snow
Jerry Rice's Streak
1985 SF 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice begins NFL streak of 274 consecutive games with a reception in a 27-20 loss to LA Rams at Candlestick Park
Bird's Streak Ends
1987 Larry Bird ends streak of 59 consecutive free throws
- 1987 Palestine uprising begin in Israeli-occupied West Bank
- 1988 NY Yankees sign 12-year television contract with MSG for $500M
- 1988 Premiere of fact based crime drama film "Mississippi Burning"
- 1988 The Michael Hughes Bridge in Sligo, Ireland is officially opened.
- 1990 Gunda Niemann skates ladies world record 3k ladies (4:10.80)
- 1990 Houston scores most points against Cleveland, Oilers 58, Browns 14
Wałęsa Elected President
1990 Lech Wałęsa wins the first direct presidential election in Poland
- 1990 NFL NY Giant Otis Anderson becomes 8th to rush for 10,000th yard
- 1992 Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott apologizes for racist remarks
- 1992 NHL NJ Devils organization announces that it will change its colors to black, red, & white for the 1992-93 season
- 1992 Sri Lanka's third-ever Test Cricket victory (v NZ by 9 wkts)
Operation Restore Hope
1992 US Marines and allied nations launch an amphibious and airborne operation in Mogadishu, Somalia to restore order to the war-torn nation. Authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 794 passed on December 3.
- 1993 Ivory Coast Premier Ouattara resigns
- 1994 5m meteor 1994 XM1 passes within 100,000 km of Earth
- 1994 US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders resigns after comments about masturbation
- 1995 61st Heisman Trophy Award: Eddie George, Ohio State (RB)
- 1995 The Messel Pit in Germany inscribed on UNECO's World Heritage List as the world richest fossil site for Eocene period (57-36 million years ago) [1]
Tomorrow Never Dies
1997 "Tomorrow Never Dies", 18th James Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh, premieres in London
- 2000 Tottenham defender Ledley King scores fastest goal in English Premier League history when he nets after 9.82 seconds in 3-3 draw at Bradford City
Star Trek: Nemesis
2002 "Star Trek: Nemesis" film directed by Stuart Baird, and starring Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes premieres
Film & TV History
2003 "Peter Pan" live action adventure film adaptation of the 1904 play and 1911 by J.M. Barrie premieres in London; flops at the box office
- 2003 A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more.
Olsen Pledges Maternity Leave
2004 Mary-Kate Olsen pledges that woman sewing garments for her company in Bangladesh will be afforded legal maternity leave
Brokeback Mountain
2005 "Brokeback Mountain" film released, directed by Ang Lee, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, based on story by Annie Proulx
- 2006 72nd Heisman Trophy Award: Troy Smith, Ohio State (QB)
- 2006 Jigme Singye Wangchuk, King of Bhutan abdicates the throne
- 2006 Moscow suffers its worst fire since 1977, killing 45 women in a drug rehabitational center.
Blagojevich Arrested
2008 Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, is arrested by federal officials for a number of alleged crimes, including attempting to sell the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama
- 2012 13 people are killed and 10 are injured after a bus rolls of a cliff and falls 100 meters in Taiwan
- 2012 6 people are killed and 41 are injured after a bus plunges 30 metres down a gorge in Guatemala
- 2012 Incumbent Ghanaian president John Mahama wins the general election amidst allegations of fraud
Márquez vs. Pacquiao
2012 Juan Manuel Márquez knocks out Manny Pacquiao in round six for the WBO light welterweight title
- 2012 The Social Liberal Union Party and Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta win by a landslide in the parliamentary elections
Ditka's Jersey Retired
2013 Mike Ditka's #89 jersey is retired by the Chicago Bears
- 2013 MLB pitcher Roy Halladay announces his retirement due to persistent back injury
- 2014 CIA Torture Report released, detailing the CIA's use of torture on detainees between 2001-2006
- 2015 Amazon's best-selling book of the year is "Girl on a Train" by Paula Hawkins
- 2015 Attack on Kandahar airport by Taliban forces kills at least 37 before Afghan forces retake control
Merkel Person of the Year
2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel named Time Magazine's Person of the Year, for her handling of debt and refugee crises
- 2016 Ghanaian Presidential election won by Nana Akufo-Addo of the opposition New Patriotic Party
- 2016 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, London, England: Europe wins 7th consecutive title convincingly beating US, 11-3; MVP: Albin Ouschan (Austria)
Park Geun-hye Impeached
2016 South Korean MPs vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
2017 "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" directed by Rian Johnson, starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver premieres in Los Angeles
- 2017 83rd Heisman Trophy Award: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma (QB)
Sports History
2017 Brian Ortega defeats Cub Swanson at UFC Fight Night 123, earning Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night honors
- 2017 Funeral for French rock star Johnny Hallyday draws hundreds of thousands onto Paris streets
Victory Over Islamic State
2017 Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declares victory over the Islamic State in Iraq, ending more than 3 years of conflict
- 2017 Same-sex marriage is legalized in Australia after being signed into law by the Governor General
- 2018 Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wins a snap election with 70.4% of the vote
- 2018 Copa Libertadores Final, Madrid: River Plate beats Boca Juniors 3-1 in extra time (aggregate 5-3); Juan Quintero's stunning extra-time strike helps River come from a goal down to record historic victory over 10-man Boca
Rodgers Breaks Brady Record
2018 Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers breaks Tom Brady's NFL record with his 359th straight pass without an interception during Packers 34-20 win over Atlanta Falcons; finishes game with streak intact at 368
- 2018 Tens of thousands march on Delhi, India, to demand Hindi temple be built on contentious religious site in Ayodhya
- 2018 Winter storm hits US south east killing three, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, cancelling over 1,000 flights
- 2019 Chilean Air Force plane lost on flight to Antarctica with presumed loss of 38 lives
Rock for the Rainforest
2019 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at The Beacon Theatre, NYC; performers include: Sting, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Bob Geldof, Ricky Martin, Eurythmics, Deborah Harry, Shaggy, Zucchero, MC Rodriguez, and H.E.R.
- 2019 US officials "deliberately misled" the public on progress of the Afghanistan war, hid that it was a lost cause, according to The Washington Post analysis of the "Afghanistan Papers"
- 2019 White Island / Whakaari volcano, a tourist attraction in New Zealand, erupts killing 22
- 2019 World Anti-Doping Agency bans Russia from all major sporting events including 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 football World Cup in Qatar for manipulating laboratory data
- 2020 Canada approves the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19
- 2020 United Arab Emirates is the first country to authorize China's Sinopharm vaccine for COVID-19 saying it is 86% effective
- 2021 Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty of falsely reporting a hate crime in 2019, in a Chicago court
- 2021 Chicago Black Hawks Marc-Andre Fleury becomes 3rd NHL goaltender to reach 500 career wins in 2-0 shut-out over the Canadiens at Montreal
- 2021 More than 40 camels disqualified from the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival beauty contest after Botox injections and other cosmetic enhancements were discovered [1]
- 2021 Truck with a trailer carrying 150 migrants crashes in Chiapas, Mexico, killing 54 [1]
- 2022 Dark fantasy game "Elden Ring", created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George RR Martin, awarded Game of the Year at the Game Awards [1]
Darwin Papers Record Price
2022 Sheet of paper on which scientist Charles Darwin defended his theory of evolution in 1865 sells for a record $882,000 at Sotheby's [1]
- 2023 89th Heisman Trophy Award: Jayden Daniels, LSU (QB)
- 2023 Japanese baseball two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani signs a North American pro-sports record 10-year $700m deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers
