Events
- AD 54 – Roman emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances.
- 409 – Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania.
- 1307 – Hundreds of Knights Templar in France are arrested at dawn by King Phillip the Fair, and later confess under torture to heresy.
- 1332 – Rinchinbal Khan becomes the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan dynasty, reigning for only 53 days.
- 1644 – A Swedish–Dutch fleet defeats the Danish fleet at Fehmarn and captures about 1,000 prisoners.
- 1710 – Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege by British forces.
- 1775 – The Continental Congress establishes the Continental Navy (predecessor of the United States Navy).
- 1792 – In Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.
- 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: Austro-Prussian victory over Republican France at the First Battle of Wissembourg.
- 1812 – War of 1812: Sir Isaac Brock’s British and native forces repel an invasion of Canada by General Rensselaer’s United States forces.
- 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is publicly proclaimed.
- 1884 – The International Meridian Conference establishes the meridian of the Greenwich Observatory as the prime meridian.
- 1915 – First World War: The Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt marks the end of the Battle of Loos.
- 1921 – Soviet republics sign the Treaty of Kars to formalise the borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states.
- 1923 – Ankara becomes the capital of Turkey.
- 1943 – World War II: Marshal Pietro Badoglio announces that Italy has officially declared war on Germany.
- 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Riga Offensive captures the city.
- 1946 – France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
- 1972 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes mountains. 28 survive the crash.
- All but 16 succumb before rescue on 23 December.
- 1990 – Syrian forces attack free areas of Lebanon, removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
People (Births)
- 1756 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1833).
- 1768 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (d. 1839).
- 1924 – Roberto Eduardo Viola, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (d. 1994).
- 1945 – Dési Bouterse, Surinamese general and politician, 9th President of Suriname.
- 1960 – Eric Joyce, Scottish soldier and politician.
- 1964 – Nie Haisheng, Chinese general, pilot, and astronaut.
People (Deaths)
- 1195 – Gualdim Pais, Portuguese crusader (b. 1118).
- 1812 – Isaac Brock, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (b. 1769).
- 1815 – Joachim Murat, French general (b. 1767).
- 1841 – Patrick Campbell, Scottish admiral (b. 1773).
- 1904 – Pavlos Melas, French-Greek captain (b. 1870).
- 1950 – Ernest Haycox, American soldier and author (b. 1899).
- 1955 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, Mexican general and politician, 45th President of Mexico (b. 1897).
- 1973 – Albert Mandler, Austrian-Israeli general (b. 1929).
- 1990 – Lê Đức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911).
- 2007 – Bob Denard, French soldier and academic (b. 1929).
- 2013 – Martin Drewes, German soldier and pilot (b. 1918).
- 2015 – Michael J. H. Walsh, English general (b. 1927).
Advertisements