Election of Pope Boniface V
Murder of St. Dagobert II, King of the Franks
Pope Leo III purges himself of charges of moral turpitude, before Charlemagne
Godfrey and Baldwin's armies of the 1st Crusade arrive in Constantinople
Martyrdom of St. Philip of Moscow, Primate of the Russian Church killed by Czar Ivan "the Terrible"
Murder of the Duc de Guise and Cardinal de Tournon
The English set up a penal colony in Virginia
Michael Drayton, English poet, dies
Alexander I, Czar of Russia born
George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Army and retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the seat of the national government; about two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia.
Egyptologist Jean Francois Champollion, who deciphered the Rosetta Stone born
Mormon church founder Joseph Smith born
Beethoven's one violin concerto was premiered. The director of the Vienna orchestra that played was himself the soloist. This is another of those famous compositions finished just in time for performance, with the usual remarks about the ink still being wet.
Writer Samuel Smiles born
The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore ("`Twas the night before Christmas...") was published in the "Troy (New York) Sentinel."
Poet Harriet Monroe, founder of Poetry magazine born
Manhattan restaurateur Vincent Sardi Sr.(Sardi's Bar & Grill - New York) born
British film executive J. Arthur Rank born
The Engelbert Humperdinck opera "Haensel und Gretel" was first performed, in Weimar, Germany.
Actress Fredi Washington (Imitation of Life) born
Radio host Don McNeill (The Breakfast Club ABC Radio) born
Photographer Yousuf Karsh born
Actor James Gregory (The Manchurian Candidate, Barney Miller,PT 109, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Captain Newman, M.D.) born
The "Federal Reserve Act" was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson. It established 12 Federal Reserve Banks.
Flamenco dancer Jose Greco born
The first ship designed to be used as an ambulance for the transport of sick and wounded patients was launched. The hospital ship was named "USS Relief" and had 515 beds.
Britain institutes a new constitution for India.
President Harding frees Socialist Eugene Debs and 23 other political prisoners.
Actor Gerald S. O'Loughlin (The Rookies, Our House, Ensign Pulver, A Matter of Life and Death) born
Actress Ruth Roman (The Killing Kind, Love has Many Faces, Since You Went Away, The Window, Knots Landing) born
Newscaster Floyd Kalber born
Football coach Dan Devine born
Actor Harry Guardino (Hell is for Heroes, Dirty Harry, The Enforcer, Fist of Honor) born
Author Robert Bly (What Have I Ever Lost by Dying?, Iron John: A Book About Men) born
The National Broadcasting Company established a permanent coast-to-coast radio hookup.
An unknown actress arrived in Hollywood, under contract to Universal Studios. She was Ruth Elizabeth Davis. Universal changed her name for the movies to Bette Davis.
Emperor Akihito of Japan (First son of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako) born
Football player The Golden Boy Paul Hornung born
Pianist and singer `Little' Esther Phillips (Release Me, What a Diff'rence a Day Makes) born
Actor Frederic Forrest born
Rhythm-and-blues singer Eugene Record (The Chi-Lites) born
Singer composer Tim Hardin (If I Were a Carpenter, Reason to Believe, Hang on to a Dream, Misty Roses, Tippy-Toein') born
Actress Elizabeth Hartman (Secret of NIMH, Full Moon High, Walking Tall, Patch of Blue) born
During World War Two, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese.
Bob Hope agreed to entertain U.S. airmen in Alaska. It was the first of his many, famous Christmas shows for American armed forces around the world. He continued the tradition for more than three decades.
Actor-comedian Harry Shearer (The Fisher King, Portrait of a White Marriage, The Right Stuff, One Trick Pony, voice of Smithers & Otto the Bus Driver: The Simpsons) born
Scientists at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey achieved a major breakthrough with an invention called a point-contact transistor, which paved the way to a new era of miniaturized electronics. (transistor invented by Bardeen, Brattain & Shockley in Bell Labs )
Truman grants a pardon to 1,523 who had evaded the World War II draft.
Actress Susan Lucci (All My Children, Dallas, French Silk, Lady Mobster, Mafia Princess, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, Invitation to Hell, Secret Passions) born
The classic movie, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", was released. It was to become one of Walt Disney's most successful films.
Actor Dan Blocker made his debut on television in the "Restless Gun" production of "The Child". Two years later, Blocker starred in "Bonanza" on NBC, as Hoss Cartwright.
Rock musician Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) born
82 crew members of the US intelligence ship "Pueblo" were released by North Korea, eleven months after they had been captured.
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head."
Actor Corey Haim (Life 101, Dream a Little Dream series, Oh, What a Night, Fast Getaway, Dream Machine, The Lost Boys, Lucas, A Time to Live, Silver Bullet, Murphy's Romance, First Born) born
The B-1 bomber makes its first successful test flight.
Rock musician Jamie Murphy (Space) born
A state funeral was held in Moscow for former Premier Alexei N. Kosygin, who had died December 18th at age 76.
The experimental airplane "Voyager," piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, round-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of President Ford in 1975, escaped from the Alderson Federal Prison for Women in West Virginia. (She was recaptured two days later.)
The pontiff told the PLO leader he believed Palestinians and Jews had "an identical fundamental right" to their own countries.
Pope John Paul the Second met with Yasser Arafat at the Vatican.
Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were captured as they were attempting to flee their country.
Slovenians voted overwhelmingly in favor of their republic's secession from Yugoslavia.
An American mission to save lives in Somalia lost the first of its own when a US vehicle hit a land mine near Bardera, killing civilian Army employee Lawrence N. Freedman of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
President Clinton, under intense political pressure, instructed his attorney to give the Justice department all records of his investment in an Arkansas real estate partnership linked to a failed savings-and-loan.
Bosnian Serbs and the Muslim-led government agreed to a weeklong truce beginning the next day as they worked on details of a four-month cease-fire.
Baseball owners imposed a salary cap that was fiercely opposed by players.
A fire in Dabwali, India, killed 540 people, including 170 children, during a year-end party being held near the children's school.
The charred bodies of 16 members of a doomsday cult, the Order of the Solar Temple, were found outside Grenoble, France. The same cult lost 53 members in 1994 in ritual killings in Switzerland and Canada.
President Clinton expressed gratitude to the nation's armed forces as he visited Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin returned to his office at the Kremlin after a six-month bout with a heart ailment.
Woody Allen married Soon-Yi Previn in a small ceremony in Venice, Italy.
A jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to find him guilty of murder.
Lebanese guerrillas attacked Israel's northern border with rockets, in retaliation for an Israeli air raid a day earlier.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat freed Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin from house arrest, a move denounced by Israel.
The Nasdaq composite index briefly crossed 4,000 and closed at a record high for the 58th time in 1999.
President Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, a black sailor court-martialed for mutiny during World War II when he and other sailors refused to load live ammunition following a deadly explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine near San Francisco that had claimed more than 300 lives.
Drug website surveys LSD users and culture
Evo Morales hoaxed by a Spanish Church-owned radio station
New South Wales road safety campaign begins
Kaczyński takes the office of Polish president
Two Australians charged after burning flag during riot
Canadian Conservatives vow to defend Arctic sovereignty
U.S. soldier may be charged in shooting of Italian agent
Azeri passenger plane crashes
EU threatens to fine Microsoft for failing to open Windows Server
New Zealand secures hosting rights of World Netball Championships in 2007
Microsoft extends warranty for all Xbox 360s
Global Orgasm for Peace anti-war demonstration held yesterday
Republican aide fired for trying to hire hackers to raise his GPA
Authors question CIA redaction of NYT Op-Ed on Iran policy
Exit polls indicate pro-Thaksin party lead in Thai election
French writer Julien Gracq dies at 97
Former Belgian Chairman of the Senate Frank Swaelen dies at 77
Former 'American Idol' finalist Jessica Sierra pregnant
Report blames 747 crash at Brussels on bird strike
Hamas ends truce with Israel
Cyprus charges five over 2005 air crash that killed 121
Fiji, New Zealand expel diplomats
Military dissolves Guinean government
168-centimetre water main breaks near Washington D.C.
American Airlines plane overshoots runway in Jamaica; injuries reported
Chinese dissident goes on trial for subversion
Controversy raised about Nobel Prize in Physics
Australian rules football: Bairnsdale join Gippsland League, will play first game in Warragul
UN probing allegations US is 'torturing' soldier over leaks
French citizens told to leave Ivory Coast as UN warns of civil war
Skype apologises after service goes down for hours
North Korea prepared for 'sacred' nuclear war with South
China prepared to support eurozone countries hit by financial crisis
Alaska Supreme Court rules in Senate election challenge
Two embassies in Rome, Italy hit by bomb attack
Obama signs landmark law overturning 'don't ask, don't tell'
Berlusconi proposes January elections if government fails to gain parliamentary majority
Walmart recalls infant formula after baby death
UK to ban hidden credit card fees
U.S. Congress reaches deal on payroll tax cut extension
Attorney general drops case against Israeli participants in Freedom Flotilla
High winds in Texas cause property damage and utilities loss for many