• Frances Howard, occasioning John Donne's

• 1620 – Elizabeth Báthory's crimes are uncovered.

• 1620 – Pilgrim Fathers land at what becomes New Plymouth in Massachusetts.

• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The British are defeated in the Battle of Trenton.

• 1790 – Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution.

• 1792 – The final trial of Louis XVI of France begins in Paris.

• 1793 – Battle of Geisberg: French defeat Austrians.

• 1793 – The wedding of Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz takes place.

• 1805 – Austria and France sign the Treaty of Pressburg.

• 1806 – Battles of Pultusk and Golymin: Russian forces hold French forces under Napoleon.

• 1811 – A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.

• 1825 – Several Imperial Russia army officers lead circa 3000 soldiers on the Senate Square in the failed Decembrist uprising.

• 1848 – The Phi Delta Theta fraternity is founded at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

• 1860 – The first ever inter-club football match takes place between Hallam F.C. and Sheffield F.C. at the Sandygate Road ground in Sheffield, England.

• 1861 – American Civil War: The Trent Affair: Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a possible war between the United States and Britain.

• 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins.

• 1862 – Four nuns serving as volunteer nurses on board USS Red Rover are the first female nurses on a U.S. Navy hospital ship.

• 1862 – The largest mass-hanging in U.S. history took place in Mankato, Minnesota, 38 Native Americans die.

• 1870 – The 12.8-km long Fréjus Rail Tunnel through the Alps is completed.

• 1871 – Gilbert and Sullivan collaborate for the first time, on their lost opera, Thespis. It does modestly well, but the two would not collaborate again for four years.

• 1883 – The Harbour Grace Affray between Irish Catholics and Protestant Orangemen causes five deaths in Newfoundland.

• 1898 – Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium.

• 1919 – Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee.

• 1925 – Turkey adopts the Gregorian Calendar.

• 1925 – The Communist Party of India is founded.

• 1931 – Phi Iota Alpha, the Oldest Latino Fraternity in Existence, was founded in Troy, NY.

• 1933 – FM radio is patented.

• 1933 – The Nissan Motor Company is organized in Tokyo, Japan.

• 1943 – World War II: German warship Scharnhorst is sunk off of Norway's North Cape after a battle against major Royal Navy forces.

• 1944 – World War II: Patton's Third Army breaks the encirclement of surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne, Belgium.

• 1945 – CFP franc and CFA franc are created.

• 1948 – Cardinal Mindszenty is arrested in Hungary and accused of treason and conspiracy.

• 1966 – The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.

• 1975 – The Tupolev Tu-144 goes into service in Soviet Union.

• 1976 – The Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) is founded.

• 1979 – Opening night of the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea at the Hammersmith Odeon; a benefit concert for the citizens of Cambodia who were victims of dictator Pol Pot.

• 1980 – Aeroflot puts the Ilyushin Il-86 into service.

• 1982 – Time Magazine's Man of the Year is for the first time a non-human, the personal computer.

• 1986 – The first long-running American television soap opera, Search for Tomorrow, airs its final episode after thirty-five years on the air.

• 1986 – World Population reaches 5 billion according to world population tracker.

• 1991 – The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the USSR.

• 1996 – Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.

• 1996 – Start of the largest strike in South Korean history.

• 1997 – The Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat explodes, creating a small tsunami offshore.

• 1998 – Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern no-fly zones.

• 2003 – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.

• 2004 – A 9.0 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives and many other areas around the rim of the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people.

• 2005 – Boxing Day shooting on a busy shopping street in Toronto.

• 2006 – The 2006 Hengchun earthquake with 7.1 magnitude hit Taiwan.

• 2009 – Abhilash - Ankitha Wedding at thrissur.- Upcomming

Births

• 1194 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1250)

• 1532 – Guilielmus Xylander, German classical scholar (d. 1576)

• 1536 – Yi I, Korean Confucian scholar (d. 1584)

• 1542 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, unifier of Japan and first Tokugawa Shogun (d. 1616)

• 1646 – Robert Bolling, English settler in Virginia (d. 1709)

• 1666 – Guru Gobind Singh, Tenth Guru of Sikhism (d. 1708)

• 1687 – Johann Georg Pisendel, German musician (d. 1755)

• 1716 – Thomas Gray, English writer (d. 1771)

• 1716 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French poet (d. 1803)

• 1723 – Friedrich Melchior, baron von Grimm, German writer (d. 1807)

• 1737 – Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (d. 1815)

• 1751 – Clement Hofbauer, Austrian missionary and saint (d. 1820)

• 1771 – Julie Clary, queen consort of Naples (d. 1845)

• 1780 – Mary Fairfax Somerville, British mathematician (d. 1872)

• 1782 – Filaret Drozdov, Metropolitan of Moscow (d. 1867)

• 1791 – Charles Babbage, English mathematician and inventor (d. 1871)

• 1819 – E. D. E. N. Southworth, American novelist (d. 1899)

• 1822 – Dion Boucicault, Irish actor and playwright (d. 1890)

• 1837 – George Dewey, U. S. admiral (d. 1917)

• 1837 – Morgan Bulkeley, American politician and baseball commissioner (d. 1922)

• 1853 – René Bazin, French novelist (d. 1932)

• 1859 – William Stephens, U.S. political figure (d. 1944)

• 1872 – Norman Angell, British politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1967)

• 1873 – Thomas Wass, English cricketer (d. 1953)

• 1883 – Maurice Utrillo, French artist (d. 1955)

• 1887 – Arthur Ernest Percival, British Army officer (d. 1966)

• 1890 – Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (d. 1992)

• 1891 – Henry Miller, American writer (d. 1980)

• 1893 – Mao Zedong, Chinese military leader and politician (d. 1976)

• 1894 – Jean Toomer, American writer (d. 1967)

• 1902 – Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, Russian painter (d. 1980)

• 1903 – Elisha Cook Jr., American actor (d. 1995)

• 1904 – Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (d. 1980)

• 1905 – William Loeb, American newspaper publisher, (d. 1981)

• 1906 – Imperio Argentina, Argentine actress and singer (d. 2003)

• 1907 – Albert Gore Sr., American Politician (d. 1998)

• 1911 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino politician and sportswriter (d. 1962)

• 1913 – Frank Swift, English footballer and journalist (d. 1958)

• 1914 – Annemarie Wendl, German actress (d. 2006)

• 1914 – Richard Widmark, American actor (d. 2008)

• 1918 – George Rallis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2006)

• 1921 – Steve Allen, American comedian (d. 2000)

• 1922 – Richard Mayes, English actor (d. 2006)

• 1924 – Frank Broyles, American athlete, long time athletic director of the University of Arkansas.

• 1926 – Gina Pellón, Cuban painter

• 1927 – Alan King, American comedian (d. 2004)

• 1927 – Stu Miller, American baseball player

• 1927 – Denis Quilley, British actor (d. 2003)

• 1929 – Régine, French singer and nightclub owner

• 1930 – Donald Moffat, English-born actor

• 1930 – Jean Ferrat, French singer and songwriter

• 1933 – Ugly Dave Gray, Australian television personality

• 1933 – Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer

• 1935 – Abdul "Duke" Fakir, American singer (The Four Tops)

• 1935 – Norm Ullman, Canadian hockey player

• 1937 – John Horton Conway, British mathematician

• 1937 – Jay Heimowitz, American poker player

• 1938 – Bahram Beizai, Iranian playwright and film director

• 1938 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (d. 1989)

• 1939 – Fred Schepisi, Australian film director

• 1940 – Edward C. Prescott, American economist, Nobel laureate

• 1940 – Ray Sadecki, American Major league baseball pitcher

• 1940 – Phil Spector, American music producer

• 1941 – Daniel Schmid, Swiss film director (d. 2006)

• 1942 – Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, Guatemalan president

• 1942 – Gray Davis, former Governor of California

• 1944 – Jane Lapotaire, British actress

• 1945 – John Walsh, American talk show host

• 1947 – James T. Conway, 34th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps

• 1947 – Carlton Fisk, American baseball player

• 1947 – Richard L. McCormick, President of Rutgers University

• 1948 – Candy Crowley, American journalist

• 1949 – José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor, Nobel laureate

• 1951 – Richard Skinner, British radio presenter

• 1951 – John Scofield, American jazz guitarist

• 1953 – Leonel Fernández, Dominican politician and current President of the Dominican Republic

• 1953 – Henning Schmitz, German musician (Kraftwerk)

• 1953 – Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia

• 1954 – Ozzie Smith, American baseball player

• 1954 – Steve Steen, English actor

• 1954 – Tony Rosato, Italian-Canadian actor

• 1955 – Evan Bayh, American politician

• 1956 – David Sedaris, American essayist

• 1957 – Dermot Murnaghan, British broadcaster

• 1958 – Adrian Newey, British engineer

• 1959 – Koji Morimoto, Japanese animated film director

• 1960 – Temuera Morrison, New Zealand actor

• 1960 – Jim Toomey, American syndicated cartoonist

• 1960 – Tina Wesson, Winner of Survivor: The Australian Outback

• 1961 – John Lynch, Irish actor

• 1963 – Lars Ulrich, Danish-born drummer (Metallica)

• 1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player

• 1964 – Elizabeth Kostova, American author

• 1966 – Tim Legler, American basketball player

• 1966 – Sandra Taylor, American model and actress

• 1968 – Dennis Knight, American professional wrestler

• 1970 – James Mercer, American musician (The Shins)

• 1970 – Krissada Terrence, Thai singer and actor

• 1971 – Jared Leto, American actor and singer (30 Seconds to Mars)

• 1971 – Mika Nurmela, Finnish footballer

• 1971 – Jonathan M. Parisen, American film director

• 1972 – Esteban Fuertes, Argentine footballer

• 1972 – Robert Muchamore, English children's author

• 1973 – Reichen Lehmkuhl, American television personality

• 1974 – Josie Ho, Hong Kong singer and actor

• 1974 – Joshua John Miller, American actor

• 1975 – Marcelo Ríos, Chilean tennis player

• 1976 – Simon Goodwin, Australian rules footballer

• 1976 – Lea De Mae, Czech actress (d. 2004)

• 1976 – Nadia Litz, Canadian actress

• 1978 – Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player

• 1979 – Fabián Carini, Uruguayan footballer

• 1979 – Chris Daughtry, American singer

• 1979 – Mzbel, Ghanaian singer

• 1979 – Dimitry Vassiliev, Russian ski jumper

• 1979 – Craig Wing, Australian Rugby League Player

• 1980 – Todd Dunivant, American soccer player

• 1982 – Kenneth Darby, American National Football League player

• 1982 – Oguri Shun, Japanese Actor/Model

• 1982 – Aksel Lund Svindal, Norwegian skier

• 1984 – Alex Schwazer, Italian race walker

• 1985 – Yuu Shirota, Japanese Idol

• 1987 – Adam Walker, British flautist

• 1989 – Jennica Garcia, Filipina actress

• 1989 – Sergio Pérez, Mexican racing driver

• 1990 – Aaron Ramsey, Welsh footballer

• 1995 – Zach Mills, American actor

Deaths

• 211 – Publius Septimius Geta – Roman Emperor (b. 189)

• 268 – Pope Dionysius

• 418 – Pope Zosimus

• 1350 – Jean de Marigny, French bishop

• 1458 – Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (b. 1393)

• 1476 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1444)

• 1530 – Babur, Emperor of the Mogul empire (b. 1483)

• 1574 – Charles of Guise, French cardinal (b. 1524)

• 1624 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (b. 1573)

• 1731 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (b. 1672)

• 1771 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (b. 1715)

• 1780 – John Fothergill, English physician (b. 1712)

• 1784 – Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (b. 1743)

• 1786 – Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (b. 1713)

• 1869 – Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille, French physiologist (b. 1797)

• 1890 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (b. 1822)

• 1909 – Frederic Remington, American artist (b. 1861)

• 1923 – Dietrich Eckart, German Nazi politician (b. 1868)

• 1931 – Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey decimal classification (b. 1851)

• 1933 – Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian literary critic and politician (b. 1875)

• 1933 – Henry Watson Fowler, English schoolmaster, lexicographer and commentator on the usage of the English language (b. 1858)

• 1957 – Charles Pathé, French film and recording industries pioneer (b. 1863)

• 1960 – Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (b. 1889)

• 1963 – George Wagner (Gorgeous George), American professional wrestler and television personality (b. 1915)

• 1966 – Herbert Otto Gille, German SS officer (b. 1897)

• 1970 – Lillian Board, British athlete (b. 1948)

• 1972 – Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (b. 1884)

• 1973 – Harold B. Lee, 11th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)

• 1974 – Farid al-Atrash, Arab composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor (b. 1915)

• 1974 – Jack Benny, American comedian (b. 1894)

• 1977 – Howard Hawks, American film director and writer (b. 1896)

• 1980 – Tony Smith, American sculptor (b. 1912)

• 1981 – Savitri, Indian actress (b. 1937)

• 1981 – Amber Reeves, feminist writer (b. 1887)

• 1983 – Violet Carson, British actress (b. 1898)

• 1985 – Dian Fossey, American gorilla specialist (b. 1932)

• 1985 – Harold P. Warren, American movie director (d. 1928)

• 1986 – Elsa Lanchester, British-born actress (b. 1902)

• 1988 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (b. 1907)

• 1989 – Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1924)

• 1990 – Gene Callahan, American film art and production designer (b. 1923)

• 1992 – Nikita Magaloff, Russian pianist (b. 1912)

• 1994 – Parveen Shakir, Pakistani Woman Poet (b. 1952)

• 1997 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek philosopher and economist (b. 1922)

• 1999 – Curtis Mayfield, American musician (b. 1942)

• 1999 – Shankar Dayal Sharma, President of India (b. 1918)

• 2000 – Jason Robards, American actor (b. 1922)

• 2001 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (b. 1929)

• 2002 – Herb Ritts, American photographer (b. 1952)

• 2002 – Armand Zildjian, American cymbal manufacturer (b. 1921)

• 2004 – Sir Angus Ogilvy, British businessman (b. 1928)

• 2004 – Marianne Heiberg, Norwegian mediator (b. 1945)

• 2004 – Jonathan Drummond-Webb, South African heart surgeon (b. 1959)

• 2004 – Sigurd Køhn, Norwegian jazz musician (b. 1959)

• 2004 – Reggie White, American football player (b. 1961)

• 2004 – Aki Sirkesalo, Finnish musician (b. 1962)

• 2004 – Mieszko Talarczyk, Polish-born Swedish musician (Nasum) (b. 1974)

• 2004 – Troy Broadbridge, Australian rules footballer (b. 1980)

• 2004 – Khun Bhumi Jensen, Thai Royal Family member (b. 1983)

• 2005 – Erich Topp, German submarine commander (b. 1914)

• 2005 – Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1937)

• 2005 – Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (b. 1937)

• 2005 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948)

• 2006 – Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (b. 1913)

• 2006 – Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier (b. 1951)

• 2007 – John A. Garraty, American author (b. 1920)

• 2007 – Stu Nahan, American sportscaster (b. 1926)

• 2007 – Joe Dolan, Irish entertainer (b. 1943)

• 2008 – Gösta Krantz, Swedish actor (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• St. Stephen's Day, a public holiday in Alsace, Austria, Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland and in Slovakia.

• Synaxis of Theotokos and feast of St. Joseph,King and Prophet David and St. James the Just (Orthodox Christianity)

• The first of the twelve days of Christmas in Western Christianity.

• Boxing Day in the Commonwealth of Nations except when 26 December is a Sunday Boxing Day is transferred to 27 December by Royal Proclamation.

• Wren day in Ireland and the Isle of Man.

• Australia – Proclamation Day (South Australian public holiday), for the foundation of the Australian state of South Australia on December 28 1836 but commemorated on this day.

• Solomon Islands – Thanksgiving public holiday.

• South Africa – Day of Goodwill, a public holiday.

• First day of Kwanzaa

• Abadiu of Antinoe is commemorated in the Coptic Church on this date.

• First day of Junkanoo street parade in the Bahamas (the second day is on the New Year's Day)

• Slovenia – Day of independence and unity, national holiday.