Events
- 875: Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Charles II.
- 1427: The Ming army begins its withdraw from Hanoi, ending the Chinese domination of Đại Việt.
- 1503 – The Battle of Garigliano (1503) was fought between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo.
- 1508: Portuguese forces under the command of Francisco de Almeida attack Khambhat at the Battle of Dabul.
- 1778: American Revolutionary War: Three thousand British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia.
- 1812: USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.
- 1835: The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the US.
- 1845: In accordance with International Boundary delimitation, the US annexes the Republic of Texas, following the manifest destiny doctrine. The Republic of Texas, which had been independent since the Texas Revolution of 1836, is thereupon admitted as the 28th US state.
- 1860: The launch of HMS Warrior, with her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete.
- 1874: The military coup of General Martinez Campos in Sagunto ends the failed First Spanish Republic and the monarchy is restored as Prince Alfonso is proclaimed King of Spain.
- 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota are killed by the US 7th Cavalry Regiment.
- 1911: Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia.
- 1911: Sun Yat-sen becomes the provisional President of the Republic of China; he formally takes office on 01 January 1912.
- 1934: Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
- 1937: The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.
- 1940: World War II: In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, killing almost 200 civilians.
- 1996: Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war.
- 1998: Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologise for the 1970’s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives.
- 2006: UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt.
People (Births)
- 1746: Saverio Cassar, Maltese priest and rebel leader (d. 1805).
- 1808: Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (d. 1875).
- 1859: Venustiano Carranza, Mexican soldier and politician, 37th President of Mexico (d. 1920).
- 1879: Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (d. 1936).
- 1885: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Austrian-Russian general (d. 1921).
- 1886: Norman Hallows, English runner and captain (d. 1968).
- 1899: Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (d. 1992).
- 1917: Tom Bradley, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (d. 1998).
- 1958: Nancy J. Currie, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut.
- 1960: Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Congolese militia leader, founded the Union of Congolese Patriots.
People (Deaths)
- 1959: Robin Milford, English soldier and composer (b. 1903).
- 1986: Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1894).
- 2012: Roland Griffiths-Marsh, Australian soldier and author (b. 1923).
- 2015: Om Prakash Malhotra, Indian general and politician, 25th Governor of Punjab (b. 1922).
