EVENTS
- 1653 – Following the defeat of King Charles I in the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell, leader of the Parliamentary forces, was declared Lord Protector of England.
- 1707 – Last eruption of Mount Fuji. The highest volcano in Japan erupted for the last time in what is known as the HΕei Eruption. The eruption lasted for 17 days.
- 1773 – The Boston Tea Party occurs when the Sons of Liberty dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
- 1835 – A massive fire erupted in New York City, destroying more than 600 buildings, causing an estimated $20 million in damages.
- 1915 – Albert Einstein publishes the General Theory of Relativity
- 1944 – American big-band leader Glenn Miller disappeared in a small plane over the English Channel and was presumably killed. Best remembered for Moonlight Serenade and In the Mood.
- 1944 – During World War II in Europe, the Battle of the Bulge began as the Germans launched a big counter-offensive in the Ardennes Forest along a 75-mile front, taking American troops by surprise. Aided by foggy, snowy weather, the Germans penetrated 65 miles into Allied lines by the end of December. The German advance was eventually halted by Montgomery on the Meuse and Patton at Bastogne. As the weather cleared, Allied aircraft attacked German ground forces and supply lines and the counter-offensive failed. There were an estimated 77,000 Allied and 130,000 German casualties.
- 1969 – The British House of Commons voted 343-185 to abolish the death penalty in England.
- 1971 – End of Indo-Pakistani War. The third major conflict between the two countries was fought because of India’s support of Bangladesh’s War of Liberation. The war ended only after 13 days and with the creation of the independent state of Bangladesh.
- 1972 – Miami Dolphins become the 1st NFL team to go undefeated.
- 1973 – O. J. Simpson becomes 1st NFL player to rush for 2,000 yard in a season
- 1991 – The United Nations voted to revoke Resolution 3379, originally approved on November 10, 1975, which had equated Zionism (a movement supporting the Jewish national state of Israel) with racism.
- 1991 – Kazakhstan independence. The Central Asian country was the last Soviet republic to declare its independence.
- 2010 – Last episode of ‘Larry King Live’ aired. After 25 years of being on TV, the last episode of Larry King Live, one of CNN’s most watched TV program was aired. While the official end date for the talk show was December 16, an episode on cancer was aired two days later on December 18. It was replaced by ‘Piers Morgan Tonight’.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1485 – Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife
- 1775 – Jane Austen (Author – Pride and Prejudice)
- 1863 – Philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) was born in Madrid, Spain. As a child he emigrated to the U.S. and eventually became a teacher at Harvard University. Best known for stating, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
- 1866 – Wassily Kandinsky (Artist)
- 1901 – Margaret Mead (Anthropologist)
- 1917 – Arthur C. Clarke (English author)
- 1962 – William ‘The Fridge’ Perry (Football Player)
- 1963 – Benjamin Bratt (Actor)
- 1987 – Halle Hirsh (Actress)
- 1988 – Anna Popplewell (Actress)
DEATHS
- 705 – Wu Zetian (Chinese empress)
- 1515 – Afonso de Albuquerque (Portuguese Admiral)
- 1965 – W. Somerset Maugham (French/English author, playwright)
- 1980 – Colonel Sanders (American businessman, founded KFC)
- 1988 – Sylvester (American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer)