The Brinks Hotel bombing occurred in Saigon on December 24, 1964, during the Vietnam War. Two Viet Cong operatives detonated a car bomb under the hotel, which housed United States Army officers. The explosion killed two Americans and injured approximately 60 other people. The Viet Cong commanders had two objectives: to demonstrate their ability to strike in South Vietnam should the United States decide to launch air raids against North Vietnam, and to show the South Vietnamese that the Americans could not be relied upon for protection. The bombing prompted debate within United States president Lyndon B. Johnson's administration. Most of his advisers favored retaliatory bombing of North Vietnam and the introduction of American combat troops, while Johnson preferred the existing strategy of training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam to protect South Vietnam from the Viet Cong. In the end, Johnson decided not to take retaliatory action. (Full article...)

• ... that Voltairine de Cleyre (pictured), despite losing her ability to move or speak due to illness, refused to accept last rites by scowling at the priest?
• ... that tourte de blettes, a sweet pie made with Swiss chard, is traditionally eaten in Nice on Christmas Eve?
• ... that Casanova's friend Edoardo Tiretta built a bazaar in India?
• ... that Christmas: A Biography states that, despite its Christian origins, Christmas has been mostly secular since its inception in the fourth century?
• ... that Oh Hee-ok was the last surviving female Korean independence activist?
• ... that the Christmas carp traditionally swims in a bathtub for a few days before becoming Christmas Eve dinner?
• ... that Italian anti-Mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri survived three assassination attempts within three weeks?
• ... that in 2016 two thieves stole $350,000 worth of rare books in Oakland, California, and tried to sell some of them to Moe's Books nearby?
• ... that energy executive Chris Wright once drank fracking fluid to prove that it was not dangerous?

• A car attack (aftermath pictured) at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, kills five people and injures more than two hundred others.
• In France, Dominique Pelicot and 49 other men are convicted of the serial rape of his then-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least sixteen people dead.
• Cyclone Chido leaves more than 160 people dead in southeast Africa.

December 24

• 759 – The Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu departed for Chengdu, where he lived for the next five years and composed poems about life in his thatched cottage.
• 1777 – An expedition led by English explorer James Cook reached Christmas Island (pictured), the largest coral atoll in the world.
• 1814 – The United Kingdom and the United States signed a peace treaty in Ghent, present-day Belgium, ending the War of 1812.
• 1987 – About 20,000 protesters marched in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.
• 1999 – Jihadists linked to al-Qaeda hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 to force the release of Islamist figures held in prison in India.

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The Bonn–Oberkassel dog was a Late Paleolithic (c. 12,000 BCE) dog whose partial skeletal remains were found buried alongside two humans in Bonn, Germany. Initially identified as a wolf upon its discovery in 1914, its remains were separated and lost within the University of Bonn's collections. These were reunited in the late 1970s, and the animal was re-identified as an early domestic dog and dated to the Late Glacial Interstadial. It likely suffered and survived canine distemper as a puppy, a disease with an almost 100-percent fatality rate in wild dogs and wolves. The puppy's survival likely required intensive care from humans, including food, water, and regular cleaning. This may show a close emotional bond between the humans and the dog, and possibly that it was regarded as a pet – perhaps by the humans it was buried alongside. The dog died aged around 7.5 months for unclear reasons; it may have died from natural causes, or have been sacrificed to be buried alongside the humans. (Full article...)

• ... that the 2022 Andover tornado (video featured) injured only three people, despite damaging more than 1,000 buildings?
• ... that Dithapelo Keorapetse was named Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana shortly after losing his bid for election to the legislature?
• ... that the 1962 space-age pop album Latin-esque was recorded with halves of the orchestra separated by almost a city block to heighten its stereo effects?
• ... that Bob Gandey founded a circus that continues to be operated by his descendants more than a century later?
• ... that Hudson's Bay Company ships reserved special rooms for important Lower Chehalis visitors due to their key role in regional trade networks?
• ... that referee Mike Hasenfratz acted in an ice hockey fight in Stay Tuned?
• ... that Planting a Rainbow has been praised for both its "deft use of colors" and the educational identification of seeds, bulbs, sprouts, and blossoms?
• ... that David Bookbinder was Margaret Thatcher's "least favourite local government leader"?
• ... that entitativity refers to how "groupy" a group is?

• A car attack (aftermath pictured) at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, kills five people and injures more than two hundred others.
• In France, Dominique Pelicot and 49 other men are convicted of the serial rape of his then-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least sixteen people dead.
• Cyclone Chido leaves more than 140 people dead in southeast Africa.

December 23: Night of the Radishes in Oaxaca City, Mexico; Festivus

• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: American troops, overwhelmed by British reinforcements, retreated from the Battle of Iron Works Hill.
• 1888 – During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (pictured) severed part of his left ear and gave it to a woman in a brothel in Arles, France.
• 1916 – First World War: Allied forces gained a strategic victory at the Battle of Magdhaba on the Sinai Peninsula.
• 1957 – Leading the Australia national cricket team, Ian Craig became the youngest-ever Test cricket captain at the time.
• 2008 – The Guinean military engineered a coup d'état, announcing that it planned to rule the country for two years prior to a new presidential election.

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The Tomb of Antipope John XXIII was created by Donatello and Michelozzo for the Florence Baptistery adjacent to the Duomo. It was commissioned after Antipope John XXIII's death on December 22, 1419, and completed during the 1420s, establishing it as one of the early landmarks of Renaissance Florence. John XXIII had a long history of cooperation with Florence, which had viewed him as the legitimate pontiff during the Western Schism. Its design included figures of the three Virtues in niches, John XXIII's family arms, a gilded bronze recumbent effigy laid out above an inscription-bearing sarcophagus, and a Madonna and Child in a half-lunette, with a canopy. At its completion, the monument was the tallest sculpture in Florence. The tomb monument was the first of several collaborations between Donatello and Michelozzo; attribution of each design element to the artists, as well as interpretations of its design and iconography, have been debated by art historians. (Full article...)

• ... that René Vallon (pictured) achieved the first aeroplane flight, and was the first aeroplane-related death, in China?
• ... that the creator of The Americans drew inspiration for the show from his time as a CIA officer and a 2010 Russian spy scandal?
• ... that Tjeerd van Andel was surprised to find heaps of giant clam shells around hot springs on his first dive to the Pacific ocean floor?
• ... that art historians believe that Ellen Thesleff's self-portrait may have been drawn in a trance-like state?
• ... that Charles Herman Allen, university administrator and American Civil War captain, opened the University of Wisconsin to female enrollment in 1863?
• ... that during World War I the organ of evacuated Polish railway workers in Moscow denounced the trade unions of the Warsaw–Vienna railway as "separatists"?
• ... that the Mingxing Film Company released more than 150 films in 16 years, but most are now lost?
• ... that St. Gregory the Great Seminary was founded in a former juvenile mental hospital?
• ... that Ritsuko Taho once had her students at Harvard University slaughter a chicken and turn its bones into a sculpture?

• A car attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, kills five people and injures more than two hundred others.
• In France, Dominique Pelicot and 49 other men are convicted of the serial rape of his then-wife Gisèle Pelicot (portrait shown).
• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least sixteen people dead.
• Cyclone Chido leaves more than 120 people dead in southern Africa.

December 22: Yule begins; Dongzhi Festival in China (2023)

• 856 – An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.9 struck the eastern Alborz mountains in Persia, causing an estimated 200,000 deaths.
• 1948 – Chaired by Sjafruddin Prawiranegara, the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was established to counter Dutch attempts to re-assert colonial control.
• 1988 – Brazilian unionist and environmental activist Chico Mendes was murdered at his home in Xapuri.
• 2008 – A dike ruptured at a waste containment area for a coal-fired power plant in Kingston, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 million m³) of coal fly ash slurry (aftermath pictured) in the largest industrial spill in US history.

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Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car is a children's story written by Ian Fleming and illustrated by John Burningham. It was initially published in three volumes, the first of which was released on 22 October 1964, before being published as one book. The story concerns the exploits of Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, a car with hidden powers and abilities, and its owners, the Pott family. Fleming, better known as the creator of James Bond, took his inspiration for the subject from a series of aero-engined racing cars called "Chitty Bang Bang" (example pictured), built by Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s. Fleming wrote the book while convalescing after having had a major heart attack; he had created the story as a bedtime story for his son, Caspar. Fleming did not live to see Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang published; he died of a heart attack on 11 August 1964. The story was loosely adapted as the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which in turn was later adapted as a stage musical. (Full article...)

• ... that George W. Bush quoted from the Quran in a speech he delivered (pictured) six days after the September 11 attacks?
• ... that Luo Shiwen led a secret cell of the Chinese Communist Party that negotiated better conditions for inmates at their concentration camp?
• ... that the Museiliha inscription hints at a border dispute between ancient Caesarea ad Libanum and Gigarta?
• ... that the fortune left by Zhu Baosan was believed to have been greatly diminished by his philanthropic activities?
• ... that less than a day after his dad died, Brett Favre played in "one of the greatest games of his fabulous career"?
• ... that a museum of tomato processing in Greece uses holographic mechanical fans to display images of workers?
• ... that Shelley Luther was elected to the Texas House of Representatives four years after being imprisoned?
• ... that the main cemetery of Mainz was established in 1803 and became the model for the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris?
• ... that David Green published more than 200 research papers before his 18th birthday?

• In France, Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men are convicted of the mass rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least 16 people dead.
• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
• Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.

December 21

• 1620 – The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower landed at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, to establish the Plymouth Colony.
• 1963 – An attempt by Greek Cypriot police to search certain Turkish Cypriot women in Nicosia escalated into island-wide violence, leading to 538 deaths and the displacement of nearly 27,000 people.
• 1968 – Apollo 8 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a trajectory to the Moon; its crew (pictured) became the first humans to visit another celestial body.
• 1988 – A bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103 detonated over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
• 2018 – Operatives of the British Special Boat Service boarded the container ship Grande Tema in the Thames Estuary to detain four stowaways who had threatened the crew.

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The Battle of the Bagradas River was fought in 240 BC, in present-day north-east Tunisia, between a Carthaginian army led by Hamilcar Barca and a rebel force led by Spendius. Carthage was fighting a coalition of mutinous soldiers and rebellious African cities in the Mercenary War, which had started late the previous year in the wake of the First Punic War. Hamilcar left Carthage and evaded a rebel blockade by crossing the Bagradas River (the modern Medjerda River) at its mouth. Two rebel armies marched towards the Carthaginians. When they came into sight Hamilcar ordered a feigned retreat. The rebels broke ranks to chase the Carthaginians and this impetuous pursuit caused them to fall into disorder. Once the rebels had closed, the Carthaginians turned and charged them. The rebels broke and were routed. The Carthaginians pursued, killing or capturing many of the rebels and taking a bridge over the Bagradas. This victory gave Hamilcar freedom to manoeuvre and the operational initiative. (This article is part of a featured topic: Mercenary War.)

• ... that a bandit spared the life of physician Pablo Busch (pictured) because "he treated the poor for free"?
• ... that a skull of the distant horse relative Palaeotherium was first misidentified as an amphibian, then as a canine?
• ... that Nikolaus Mollyn was the first book printer in Riga, and the first to print a book in Latvian within the present-day territory of Latvia?
• ... that in addition to millions murdered, Nazi crimes against children included compulsory sterilization, forced labor, forced institutionalization, medical experiments and Germanisation?
• ... that Chivas USA had eleven different managers over ten seasons?
• ... that literary critic Qian Xingcun brought several Communist writers into the Shanghai film industry?
• ... that the clergy of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis were upset about the sale of Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary after its closure?
• ... that Femke Bol successfully defended her 2021 title by winning the women's 400 metres at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships?
• ... that Louis Abramson worked on the renovation of a building that he designed 57 years earlier?

• In France, Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men are convicted of the mass rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least 16 people dead.
• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
• Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.

December 20

• 1852 – Led by George Cathcart, British troops defeated Basuto and Taung forces at the Battle of Berea in present-day Lesotho, leading to an offer of peace from King Moshoeshoe I.
• 1940 – The superhero Captain America made his first published appearance in the comic book Captain America Comics #1.
• 1980 – NBC aired the American football match between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins without announcers.
• 1995 – Mandated by the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the NATO-led Implementation Force (troops pictured) began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1999 – Portugal transferred the sovereignty over Macau, which it had administered since the mid–16th century, to China.

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SMS Niobe was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class, built for the Imperial German Navy. Launched in 1899, Niobe was armed with ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph). The ship served as a flotilla leader for torpedo boats, a scout for the fleet, and a station ship with the East Asia Squadron. In World War I, Niobe helped defend Germany's North Sea coast. One of the cruisers permitted Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, Niobe was modernized, but was sold in 1925 to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). Renamed Dalmacija the vessel served until April 1941, when she was captured by the Italians. Renamed again as Cattaro, she served until the Italian surrender in September 1943. Seized by the Germans, she was used in the Adriatic Sea until 19 December 1943, when she ran aground on the island of Silba, and was destroyed by British motor torpedo boats. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy.)

• ... that The Horn of Plenty by Alexander McQueen satirized the fashion industry with clothing sewn from expensive fabric made to look like household trash (example pictured)?
• ... that Fen Juhua became the "first of the lady knights in the Chinese cinema" after fighting for love in a 1925 film?
• ... that the offices of Hamm's Brewery in Saint Paul, Minnesota, were built on the site of the city's third cathedral?
• ... that Miles Rock served as chief of the commission that determined the disputed Guatemala–Mexico border?
• ... that the 2025 season of Inter Miami CF includes matches in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup?
• ... that Anthony F. Ciampi fought his superiors to rebuild the College of the Holy Cross after it was destroyed by fire in 1852?
• ... that a documentary film built around the final interview of K-pop star Sulli employs elements of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a framing device?
• ... that Diane Leather was the first woman to run a mile in under five minutes?
• ... that a cat, Timoshenko, joined the British submarine HMS Unruffled on twenty patrols during the Second World War?

• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least 19 people dead.
• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
• Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.
• Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.

December 19

• 1828 – Nullification crisis: American vice president John C. Calhoun's South Carolina Exposition and Protest, written to protest the Tariff of Abominations, was presented to the South Carolina House of Representatives.
• 1843 – A Christmas Carol (illustration pictured), a novella by Charles Dickens about the miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation after being visited by ghosts, was published.
• 1983 – The Jules Rimet Trophy, awarded to the winner of the FIFA World Cup, was stolen from the offices of the Brazilian Football Confederation.
• 1997 – SilkAir Flight 185 crashed into the Musi River in Indonesia, killing 104 people.
• 2013 – The European Space Agency's spacecraft Gaia was launched with the goal of constructing the largest and most precise star catalogue ever made.

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American Writers is an 1824–25 work of literary criticism by American writer and critic John Neal (pictured). Published by Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, it is the first history of American literature and the first substantial work of criticism concerning US authors. Using no reference materials, Neal made incorrect assertions about many of the more than 120 authors covered. Scholars nevertheless praise the staying power of his opinions, many reflected by critics decades later. Neal also argued American literature relied too much on British precedent and had failed to develop its own voice. Neal wrote the series in London under the English pseudonym of "Carter Holmes", which convinced few. American Writers was well received in the UK but drew considerable ire in the US, particularly from William Lloyd Garrison. Neal was met with hostility and a fistfight on an 1827 visit to his hometown of Portland, Maine; he relocated there and remained until his death forty-nine years later. (Full article...)

• ... that Yoon Do-young (pictured) scored his debut goal for Daejeon Hana Citizen 50 seconds into a match against Gwangju FC?
• ... that the 2007 Greensburg tornado had ten smaller tornadoes orbiting it?
• ... that a music video for a song on the album Dostrotime was made with an oscilloscope?
• ... that the bacterium Ethanoligenens harbinense can produce hydrogen?
• ... that Bob Hainlen, at the age of 22, was both a player and an assistant coach for a professional American football team?
• ... that Izvestiya Askhabadskogo Soveta was the first Bolshevik newspaper published in present-day Turkmenistan?
• ... that after he did not come home for dinner, James Michael Reardon's assistant priests found that he had died in his basilica while praying?
• ... that the area around Sams Creek was excluded from Kahurangi National Park when it was formed in 1996 due to gold-mining interests?
• ... that Susan Finnegan was the first female head of the arachnids section at the Natural History Museum, London, but had to resign her job to marry?

• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
• Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.
• Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.

December 18: National Day in Qatar (1878)

• 1622 – Portuguese forces and their Imbangala allies defeated the Kongo army at the Battle of Mbumbi.
• 1932 – Playing indoors at Chicago Stadium on a modified American football field, the Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans in the first playoff game of the National Football League.
• 1958 – The United States launched SCORE (rocket pictured), the world's first communications satellite.
• 1963 – Ghanaian and other African students organized a protest in Moscow's Red Square in response to the alleged murder of medical student Edmund Assare-Addo.
• 2017 – An Amtrak Cascades passenger train derailed near DuPont, Washington, killing three people and injuring sixty-five others.

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1271 Avenue of the Americas is a 48-story skyscraper on Sixth Avenue, between 50th Street and 51st Street, in Midtown Manhattan, a neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Wallace Harrison of Harrison, Abramovitz, and Harris, the building was developed between 1956 and 1960 as part of Rockefeller Center. The building's eight-story base partially wraps around its 48-story main shaft. The facade comprises glass panels between limestone columns. The lobby has walls of white marble and stainless steel walls, and red-burgundy glass ceilings, with artwork by Josef Albers, Fritz Glarner, and Francis Brennan. The ground floor also includes storefronts. Each of the upper floors covers 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m²), with the offices arranged around the core. Construction started in May 1957, the building was topped out during November 1958, and the occupants took possession in late 1959. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the lobby as a city landmark in 2002. (Full article...)

• ... that Everett Railroad 11 (pictured) had to be modified after it met a sharp curve on its first trip?
• ... that David Fishwick went from a £27.50-a-week pebbledashing job to becoming the biggest minibus supplier in Britain?
• ... that modern Chinese drama was banned during the Cultural Revolution?
• ... that American football player Rich Romer was selected three times as an All-American by Pizza Hut?
• ... that the medieval font of St Peter's Church, Stapenhill, was restored in 1973?
• ... that as a nine-year-old, Anastasia Somoza lobbied U.S. president Bill Clinton?
• ... that Bini's performance of "Cherry on Top" at KCON 2024 was the first act by a Filipino pop group at the event?
• ... that French cellist Nicolas-Joseph Platel is considered to be the founder of the Belgian school of cello playing?
• ... that Saint George fought a dragon at the Paradise Theater until both were stolen?

• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
• Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.
• Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.

December 17: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

• 942 – William Longsword of Normandy was ambushed and assassinated by supporters of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, while both were at a peace conference to settle their differences.
• 1948 – The Finnish Security Police was established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police.
• 1967 – Harold Holt, the prime minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming near Portsea, Victoria; his body was never recovered.
• 1970 – Polish soldiers fired at workers (memorial pictured) emerging from trains in Gdynia, beginning the government's crackdown on mass anti-communist protests across the country.
• 2010 – Arab Spring: Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian revolution.

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The Apocalypse of Peter is an apocryphal text of the 2nd century. It is the earliest-written extant work depicting a Christian account of heaven and of hell in detail. The work describes a divine vision experienced by Peter through Jesus Christ. It delves into a vision of the afterlife (katabasis), and details both heavenly bliss for the righteous and infernal punishments for the damned. The punishments are graphically described and loosely correspond to "an eye for an eye": blasphemers are hung by their tongues; liars have their lips cut off; callous rich people are pierced by stones and are dressed in filthy rags; and so on. While the Apocalypse of Peter influenced other early Christian works, it eventually came to be considered inauthentic and was not included in the standard canon of the New Testament. It influenced later works in which the protagonist takes a tour of the realms of the afterlife, including the Apocalypse of Paul, and the Divine Comedy of Dante. (Full article...)

• ... that Seunghan (pictured) was forced out of his band because of a cigarette and a kiss?
• ... that the Upper Chehalis people adopted horses widely after their introduction, becoming known as "equestrian" compared to their coastal neighbors?
• ... that an official investigation found the Fukushima nuclear accident was foreseeable and preventable?
• ... that basketball player Trey McKenney made all fourteen of his free throws in St. Mary's Preparatory's 2024 state championship victory?
• ... that members of the Trade Union Opposition Federation stormed the Copenhagen Stock Exchange?
• ... that Arne Slettebak revitalised interest in the field of stellar rotation after it had been abandoned for nearly 15 years?
• ... that even though the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks have only played each other 24 times, 4 of those games have come in the playoffs?
• ... that Amrita Sher-Gil painted a portrait of Helen Chaman Lall without expecting a fee?
• ... that SZA's "Snooze" happens to be a sleeper hit?

• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
• Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.
• Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.

December 16: Day of Reconciliation in South Africa

• 1598 – Led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the Korean navy were victorious at Battle of Noryang, ending the Japanese invasions of Korea.
• 1773 – American Revolution: A group of colonists threw chests of tea into Boston Harbor (pictured) to protest British taxation without representation.
• 1938 – Adolf Hitler instituted the Cross of Honour of the German Mother, an order of merit for German mothers with at least four children.
• 1997 – Amid an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the British government banned the sale of beef on the bone for human consumption.
• 2012 – A woman was gang-raped and fatally assaulted on a bus in Delhi, generating protests across India against inadequate security for women.

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The Texas Centennial half dollar was struck by the U.S. Bureau of the Mint from 1934 to 1938. It features an eagle and the Lone Star of Texas on the obverse (pictured), while the reverse is a complex scene with the winged goddess Victory. Proposed by the American Legion as a fundraiser for the 100th anniversary of Texas independence from Mexico, the coin was approved by Congress in 1933. It was designed by sculptor Pompeo Coppini, and, after initial rejection by the Commission of Fine Arts, the designs were approved and the coins entered production at the Philadelphia Mint in October 1934. The first coins to reach the public were sold by auction in Austin, Texas, on December 15, 1934. Profits from the coins helped finance the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin. Most 1934-dated coins went unsold and were sent back to the Mint. Smaller issues took place each year through 1938. Despite the relative lack of sales, the issue is popular with collectors, with the coins gradually gaining in value. (Full article...)

• ... that Light Vessel 93 (pictured) was converted into a photography studio?
• ... that Zheng Zhegu urged his film students to bring their girlfriends when no women enrolled?
• ... that the Green Bay Packers lost the 2014 NFC Championship Game and a spot in the Super Bowl after they were considered to have a 99.9-percent chance of victory?
• ... that politician Thokchom Chandrasekhar Singh was jailed for 12 months for protesting in favour of restoring the Manipur Legislative Assembly?
• ... that the newspaper Qizil Tugh (Red Banner) provided a publishing platform for young Uyghur-language poets and writers in the Soviet Union?
• ... that Gail Damerow was described by one magazine as "poultry's Cesar Millan"?
• ... that both Catholic and Orthodox Christian democrats received a higher share of votes in Kazansky District than in any other district of Petrograd in the 1917 Russian elections?
• ... that in a 2024 game, college football player Jordan Watkins scored an Ole Miss-record five receiving touchdowns – even though he had never before had more than one?
• ... that Haruki Murakami owns so many T-shirts that he published a book about them?

• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
• Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.
• Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.

December 15

• 1796 – War of the First Coalition: The French navy launched an expedition to Ireland to assist the Society of United Irishmen in a rebellion against the British.
• 1871 – Sixteen-year-old Ella Stewart sent the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory.
• 1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces (pictured) began the Battle of Arawe against Japanese forces on New Britain as a diversion before a larger landing at Cape Gloucester.
• 1970 – The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 touched down on the surface of Venus, making the first successful landing of a spacecraft on another planet.
• 2013 – The South Sudanese Civil War began when three opposition leaders voted to boycott the meeting of the National Liberation Council in Juba.

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Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the second crewed landing on the Moon. The sixth crewed mission in the U.S. Apollo program, it was launched by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean walked on the Moon while Command Module Pilot Richard Gordon remained in orbit. Launched on a rainy day, Apollo 12 was twice struck by lightning; the outward journey otherwise saw few problems. On November 19, Conrad and Bean landed close to the Surveyor 3 probe. This meant NASA could plan future missions expecting a landing close to target. Conrad and Bean carried a group of nuclear-powered instruments, and the first color television camera taken by an Apollo mission to the surface, but the picture was lost after Bean accidentally pointed the camera at the Sun and its sensor burned out. They visited Surveyor 3 and removed parts for return to Earth. The Apollo 12 mission safely returned to Earth on November 24. (Full article...)

• ... that Mohamed Aw-Ali Abdi (pictured) campaigned in Birmingham, England, while running to become the vice president of Somaliland?
• ... that most of the contributors to the Emancipation Pictorial, a Chinese women's magazine, were men?
• ... that Elin Falk caused a national controversy in 1913 with her proposals for reforming gymnastics in Swedish schools?
• ... that the discovery of a new waltz attributed to Chopin was announced in October 2024?
• ... that college basketball player Adou Thiero plays for the same head coach for whom his father played?
• ... that match-three video games such as Candy Crush Saga are often considered to be Bejeweled clones?
• ... that Hikari Kodama disguised herself with wigs during public performances because she went to a high school with strict rules?
• ... that although three witnesses are typically needed in linguistic reconstruction, only two are necessary if borrowing and innovation can be ruled out?
• ... that after seeing Taiwanese actor Mo Tzu-yi's work, a director sought to inquire about him at a film market, only to find Mo standing right behind him?

• Gukesh Dommaraju (pictured) defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.
• Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
• The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.

December 14: Martyred Intellectuals Day in Bangladesh (1971), Monkey Day

• 1650 – English domestic servant Anne Greene survived being hanged for infanticide.
• 1836 – The Toledo War, a mostly bloodless territorial dispute between Ohio and the Michigan Territory, was unofficially ended with a resolution passed by the controversial "Frostbitten Convention".
• 1913 – Haruna (pictured), the fourth and last Japanese battlecruiser of the Kongō class, was launched and went on to serve in both world wars.
• 2008 – During a press conference in Baghdad, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at U.S. president George W. Bush and Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, yelling "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq".

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Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims is the first collection by British designer Alexander McQueen, produced for his master's degree in fashion at Central Saint Martins. Inspired by the victims of Jack the Ripper, and by Victorian-era fashion, erotica, and prostitution practices, the collection was presented on the runway at London Fashion Week on 16 March 1992. Editor Isabella Blow was fascinated by the runway show and insisted on purchasing the entire collection, and became McQueen's friend and muse. Jack the Ripper remains an object of critical analysis for its violent concept and styling. McQueen continued the narrative and aesthetic tendencies from Jack the Ripper, producing collections inspired by macabre aspects of history, art, and his own life. Items from Jack the Ripper, most notably a pink frock coat with a thorn print (pictured), have appeared in Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (2011 and 2015) and Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! (2013). (Full article...)

• ... that a raven in Anchorage, Alaska, (pictured) ate tater tots and toast, fought over ice cream, and disassembled a streetlamp?
• ... that Wang Hanlun used proceeds from her company's only film to finalize her divorce?
• ... that Benjamin Britten wanted the score of his An American Overture destroyed after it was rediscovered?
• ... that Dr Disrespect's first videos featured a bombastic "champion" trash-talking game-play footage?
• ... that Cordova, Alabama, was hit by two tornadoes on the same day, the second of which was on the ground for more than two hours?
• ... that Arthur France founded the Leeds West Indian Carnival, the first Caribbean carnival in Europe, in 1967?
• ... that Spectrum HoloByte published Tetris without permission from the Soviet Union?
• ... that a World War II aircraft carrier had been used as a hotel during the 7th National Eucharistic Congress in 1935?
• ... that John Moore's mother, after learning that UCLA's student-body president was Black, said "this is where he's going to school"?

• Gukesh Dommaraju (pictured) defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.
• Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
• The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.

December 13: Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day in China (1937)

• 1643 – First English Civil War: Roundhead forces under Sir William Waller led a successful surprise attack in Hampshire on a winter garrison of Cavalier infantry and cavalry.
• 1769 – Dartmouth College (campus pictured) was established by royal charter in present-day Hanover, New Hampshire.
• 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces, capturing the Chinese city of Nanjing, began committing numerous atrocities over the next several weeks, including looting, rape and the execution of prisoners of war and civilians.
• 1989 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army engaged in a fierce firefight with the King's Own Scottish Borderers at a vehicle checkpoint complex in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
• 2011 – A man threw grenades and fired a rifle at crowds in Liège, Belgium, causing 6 deaths and injuring more than 120 others, before killing himself.

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Algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies certain abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of statements within these systems. Elementary algebra generalizes arithmetic by using variables in addition to numbers. It covers methods of transforming equations to solve them by isolating variables. Linear algebra examines systems of several linear equations and techniques to determine for which values all equations in a system are true at the same time. Abstract algebra investigates algebraic structures, which consist of a set of objects together with operations defined on that set. It distinguishes algebraic structures, such as groups, rings, and fields, based on their number of operations and the laws they follow. Algebraic methods were first studied in ancient times to solve specific problems. As algebra evolved, it became increasingly abstract and generalized, leading to many applications in other branches of mathematics and the empirical sciences. (Full article...)

• ... that a staff member at the Carlyle Hotel (pictured) once lent his own bow tie to Laurence Olivier?
• ... that Yangginu plotted to defeat Khan Wan to avenge his murdered father?
• ... that to prepare for her role in The Last Dance, actress Michelle Wai learned to perform a Taoist funeral ritual traditionally performed only by men?
• ... that the city council of Hamtramck, led by Mayor Amer Ghalib, banned the pride flag from publicly owned flagpoles?
• ... that the death rate from adrenal crises can reach as high as 6 percent?
• ... that Shane Connolly has provided flowers for two royal weddings and the coronation of Charles III?
• ... that the Child Law Project reports on Ireland's child care system?
• ... that U.S. Army chaplain Patrick Ryan celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving for 10,000 people after the liberation of Rome?
• ... that Perplexities after Escher, a composition for heckelphone, string quartet and double bass, is based on five graphic artworks by M. C. Escher?

• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad (pictured) flees to Russia.
• Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
• The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.
• The French government, led by Michel Barnier, collapses following a vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.

December 12: Beginning of the Yule Lads' arrival in Iceland

• 627 – At the Battle of Nineveh, the Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeated the forces of Sasanian emperor Khosrow II, commanded by Rhahzadh, near present-day Mosul, Iraq.
• 1936 – Republic of China leader Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang, a former warlord of Manchuria.
• 1988 – Three trains collided near Clapham Junction railway station in London, killing 35 people and injuring 484 others.
• 2000 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore that the recount of ballots cast in Florida for the presidential election be stopped, effectively making George W. Bush (pictured) the winner.
• 2021 – At the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to become World Drivers' Champion.

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Len Deighton (born 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. He had several jobs before writing his first novel, The IPCRESS File, in 1962; it was a critical and commercial success. He wrote several spy novels featuring the same central character, an unnamed working-class intelligence officer. Between 1962 and 1966, Deighton was the food correspondent for The Observer and drew cookstrips – black-and-white graphic recipes with a limited number of words. A selection of these was collected and published in 1965 as Len Deighton's Action Cook Book, the first of five cookery books he wrote. Other topics of non-fiction include military history. Many of his books have been best-sellers and he has been favourably compared with John le Carré. Deighton's fictional work is marked by a complex narrative structure, extensive research and an air of verisimilitude. Several of his works have been adapted for film and radio. (Full article...)

• ... that Zhou Jianyun pawned his wife's jewellery to make Orphan Rescues Grandfather (scene pictured), saving his studio?
• ... that Verificado 2018 was a fact-checking collaboration between at least 90 organizations to counter disinformation during the 2018 Mexican federal election?
• ... that Tommy Suggs recommended using Also sprach Zarathustra as his college football team's entrance music, because he saw Elvis Presley do it first?
• ... that "unusual choices" at Liliget Feast House included wind-dried salmon and pan-fried oolichans?
• ... that Rada Dyson-Hudson was denied academic tenure at Johns Hopkins University and Cornell University despite her academic record and capabilities?
• ... that the Jiangwan Racecourse hosted horse races, a golf club, and prisoners of war?
• ... that a manuscript of the New Testament was bound in the wrong order, which a scholar decried: "the bookbinder has messed everything up"?
• ... that Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi was a fan of the series as a child?
• ... that the backflip ban in figure skating was lifted in 2024 alongside other "somersault type jumps"?

• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad (pictured) flees to Russia.
• Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
• The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.
• The French government, led by Michel Barnier, collapses following a vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.

December 11

• 1789 – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (structure pictured), one of the oldest public universities in the United States and the only one to award degrees in the 18th century, was chartered.
• 1886 – The London-based football club Arsenal, then known as Dial Square, played their first match on the Isle of Dogs.
• 1920 – Irish War of Independence: Following an Irish Republican Army ambush of an Auxiliary patrol, British forces burned and looted numerous buildings in Cork.
• 2006 – Criticized worldwide as a "meeting of Holocaust deniers", the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust opened in Tehran.

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Shovel Knight Showdown is a 2019 fighting video game developed and published by Yacht Club Games. It is an add-on to the platform game Shovel Knight. Players battle using one fighter among twenty characters, each with various movesets and fighting styles. Modes include "Treasure Clash", to collect the most gems, and a "free for all" battle to death. In story mode, a single player battles against AI-controlled opponents across several stages before facing a boss. Completing this mode with each fighter allows the player to unlock new stages and characters. Yacht Club Games envisioned Showdown as a small minigame similar to modes in Mega Man 7 (1995) and Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988). The developers gradually built a more expansive title which they compared to a party game. Showdown was released for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Wii U on December 10, 2019. It received average reviews on release, with praise towards its characters and multiplayer gameplay, but many reviewers criticized the single-player mode for its difficulty balancing. (Full article...)

• ... that the God of Amiens (head pictured) seems to have lost his serpent?
• ... that Bob Hobman recreated a possible sea journey by Paleolithic humans after 130,000-year-old tools were found on the island of Crete?
• ... that Aucklanders have a reputation for making false earthquake reports on New Zealand's earthquake monitoring website GeoNet?
• ... that in his first electoral victory, Aaron Kennedy defeated the premier of New Brunswick?
• ... that "Vanishing" is the first song that Mariah Carey produced by herself?
• ... that Kenneth Creer supported applying cosmology to geological problems?
• ... that during World War II, Soviet atrocities against prisoners of war included the murder of tens of thousands of Polish soldiers in the Katyn massacre?
• ... that basketball player Charel Allen was a five-time Bulgarian Cup champion despite only knowing a few words of Bulgarian?
• ... that coconut cups were believed to have medical benefits?

• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad (pictured) flees to Russia.
• Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
• The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.
• The French government, led by Michel Barnier, collapses following a vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.

December 10: Human Rights Day; Nobel Banquet in Stockholm, Sweden

• 1508 – The Papal States, France, Aragon and the Holy Roman Empire formed the League of Cambrai, an alliance against the Republic of Venice.
• 1848 – Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte won France's first presidential election, and was elected as the first and only president of the French Second Republic.
• 1901 – On the fifth anniversary of the death of their founder, Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm.
• 1970 – Around the northern Thai village of Mae Salong, remnants of Chinese anti-communist forces now fighting on behalf of the Thai government launched a five-year campaign against local communist insurgents.
• 1983 – Raúl Alfonsín (pictured) became the first democratically elected president of Argentina to take office after more than seven years of military dictatorship.

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Golding Bird (9 December 1814 – 27 October 1854) was a medical doctor who researched the chemistry of urine and kidney stones. From 1836, he lectured at Guy's Hospital and published Elements of Natural Philosophy, a textbook on science for medical students. Bird was innovative in the medical use of electricity, designing his own equipment and bringing medical electrotherapy into the mainstream. He invented a variant of the Daniell cell in 1837, making key discoveries in electrometallurgy. Bird also designed a flexible stethoscope, and in 1840 published the first description of one. In 1842, he was the first to describe oxaluria, a condition which leads to the formation of a particular kind of stone, and published a comprehensive paper on urinary deposits in 1844. A devout Christian, Bird believed that Bible study and prayer were just as important to medical students as their studies. He founded the Christian Medical Association, although it did not become active until after his death. (Full article...)

• ... that Lizzie Esau (pictured) covered a 1955 song for a 2024 series about a 1553 queen?
• ... that a Syrian filmmaker repurposed footage from his first film in his last film in order to criticize his younger self?
• ... that Celeste Caeiro's actions led to the naming of the 1974 coup in Portugal as the Carnation Revolution?
• ... that Operation Blooming Onion uncovered instances of "modern-day slavery" amongst H-2A visa workers in the state of Georgia?
• ... that L'Attaque, the board game that became Stratego, was patented in 1908 by its designer, a 57-year-old woman?
• ... that the Australian Light Weight Air Warning Radar was once loaded using canoes and later manhandled up a 200 foot cliff?
• ... that Thomas Sewell attempted to recruit Brenton Tarrant, the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, into the Lads Society?
• ... that while supporting a law easing restrictions on abortion in Gabon, Prime Minister Rose Christiane Raponda said "it is not yet the right time" for further legalization?
• ... that "the world's loneliest duck" arrived on the remote Pacific island country of Niue in 2018?

• Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad (pictured) flees to Russia.
• Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
• The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.
• The French government, led by Michel Barnier, collapses following a vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.

December 9: International Anti-Corruption Day

• 1688 – In the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution, forces loyal to William of Orange were decisively victorious at the Battle of Reading.
• 1897 – French actress, journalist and leading suffragette Marguerite Durand founded the feminist newspaper La Fronde.
• 1968 – Douglas Engelbart gave what became known as "The Mother of All Demos", publicly debuting the computer mouse (pictured), hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the computer system NLS.
• 2008 – Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois, was arrested on corruption charges, including for attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by president-elect Barack Obama.

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"You Belong with Me" is the third single from Taylor Swift's second studio album Fearless (2008). Big Machine Records released the song to radio on April 20, 2009. Swift and Liz Rose wrote the lyrics, which discuss unrequited love. Swift and Nathan Chapman produced the track, which has a banjo-led country pop production. The song was nominated in three categories at the 2010 Grammy Awards, reached the top 10 on several charts and received certifications in Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100; the RIAA certified it seven-times platinum. Roman White directed the song's music video, which stars Swift in two roles, and won Best Female Video (pictured) at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where Swift's acceptance was interrupted by Kanye West. Following a dispute about the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "You Belong with Me (Taylor's Version)" for her 2021 album Fearless (Taylor's Version). (Full article...)

• ... that the 14th-century Barquq Castle (pictured) was damaged during the Israel–Hamas war?
• ... that David Hilchen played a key role in the establishment of Renaissance humanism in the area of the present-day Baltic states?
• ... that Gutidara is played with balls made from water buffalo horns?
• ... that the 1931 Barcelona rent strike resulted in 18 deaths, dozens of injuries and arrests, and an agreement on the reduction of rents?
• ... that several local residents mistook the production set of Miss Shampoo for a real shop and entered during filming?
• ... that a columnist described Bern Shanks as "the most open and accessible state wildlife chief in memory"?
• ... that Ngiam Tong Dow negotiated Singapore's first and largest purchase of gold from South Africa in 1968 by comparing two halves of a United States one-dollar bill?
• ... that Tiny Glade was developed by a two-person studio and was the fourth most-played demo on 2024's Steam Next Fest?
• ... that Chen Qiyou, a would-be assassin, later became part of the Chinese Committee for World Peace?

• Notre-Dame de Paris (pictured) reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
• Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wins the presidency in the Namibian general election.
• Fianna Fáil wins the most seats in the Irish general election but their ruling coalition with Fine Gael and The Greens does not achieve a majority.
• Protests erupt in Georgia after its government announces the country will suspend its application for EU membership.

December 8: Rōhatsu in Japan; Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Day in Ethiopia

• 1504 – Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah wrote his Oran fatwa, arguing for the relaxation of Islamic law for forcibly converted Muslims in Spain.
• 1854 – Pope Pius IX promulgated the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, proclaiming the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was conceived free of original sin.
• 1980 – English musician John Lennon was murdered at the entrance of the Dakota, where he resided in New York City.
• 1998 – The Australian Cricket Board's cover-up of Shane Warne and Mark Waugh's involvement with bookmakers was revealed.
• 2013 – Metallica (pictured) played a concert in Antarctica, becoming the first band to perform on all seven continents.

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Wilfred Arthur (7 December 1919 – 23 December 2000) was a fighter ace and senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Commonly known as "Woof", he was credited with ten aerial victories and led combat formations at squadron and wing level, becoming the youngest group captain in RAAF's history. Arthur first saw action in the Middle East and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down four aircraft in a single sortie. He was then posted to New Guinea, where he received the Distinguished Service Order for continuing to lead an attack after discovering his guns were inoperable. As wing leader of No. 71 Wing, he was severely burned in a runway collision. Upon recovery, he was posted to the Dutch East Indies and played a leading part in the Morotai Mutiny when eight RAAF officers attempted to resign. Following his discharge, he pursued business interests in Australia and Vietnam before settling in Darwin, Northern Territory. (Full article...)

• ... that a man stabbed Regulus (pictured) because he disliked the "misty state of the picture"?
• ... that Annie Huggett, aged 103, was the oldest living suffragette at the time of her death in 1996?
• ... that cellist Rohan de Saram's background as a geta bera drummer inspired Luciano Berio's Sequenza XIV?
• ... that a priest canceled 1,600 subscriptions to The Catholic Bulletin over a front-page photograph of nuns dancing?
• ... that comic-opera performer Celie Ellis Turner pursued a stage career against her family's wishes?
• ... that the oldest surviving wooden lightship, dating to 1840, is now an Airbnb property?
• ... that Henry Parnell was the youngest British parliamentarian to die in the First World War?
• ... that after signing a peace agreement in 1919, Azerbaijan prepared another invasion of southern Armenia that was foiled by a rebellion in Nagorno-Karabakh?
• ... that schoolteacher Thomas Curnow used a red scarf to stop a train from derailing, leading to the capture of notorious outlaw Ned Kelly?

• Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (pictured) wins the Namibian general election.
• South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law and lifts it hours later after a vote by the National Assembly.
• At least 56 people are killed in a crowd crush during a football match at the Stade du 3 Avril in Nzérékoré, southern Guinea.
• Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.

December 7: Feast day of Saint Ambrose (Christianity); National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in the United States (1941)

• 1936 – Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton (pictured) became the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
• 1942 – Second World War: A small unit of Royal Marines launched Operation Frankton, in which they damaged six ships in the port of Bordeaux in German-occupied France.
• 1975 – The Indonesian military began a lengthy occupation of East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism.
• 2015 – The JAXA space probe Akatsuki entered into orbit around Venus to study the planet's atmosphere, five years after its first attempt failed.

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The École Polytechnique massacre was an antifeminist mass shooting that occurred on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Canada. Fourteen women were murdered; another ten women and four men were injured. The perpetrator, Marc Lépine, entered a mechanical engineering class and separated the male and female students, ordering the men to leave. He shot all nine women in the room, killing six. The shooter then moved throughout the building, killing eight more women and wounding students before fatally shooting himself. The massacre is regarded as misogynist terrorism and representative of wider societal violence against women. In response to the massacre, the Canadian parliament passed more stringent gun control laws. It also led to policy changes in emergency services protocols for shootings, such as police intervening immediately to reduce casualties. The anniversary of the massacre is commemorated annually as White Ribbon Day. (Full article...)

• ... that Kang Ju-hyeok (pictured) became the youngest player in FC Seoul's history at the age of 17 years, 9 months, and 6 days?
• ... that the political opposition in Saint Kitts and Nevis has viewed the national broadcaster, ZIZ, as a government mouthpiece?
• ... that Richard Du Cann acted for the defence in the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial and the trial of the MP John Stonehouse?
• ... that the funds from the sale of burial lots at Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia were intended for the construction of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul?
• ... that Mary Robertson was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Science degree in medicine from the University of Cape Town?
• ... that Karl Amadeus Hartmann completed his Hungarian-influenced composition Kammerkonzert during his period of inner emigration after Hitler's seizure of power?
• ... that one Canadian football announcer refused to mention Tony Pajaczkowski in game broadcasts for several years?
• ... that Augustus Pugin called St John the Evangelist Church, Islington, a "deformity"?
• ... that residents of Port Mercer, New Jersey, profited from passing vessels by dragging their tow mules into the Delaware and Raritan Canal and having local boys "rescue" them for a fee?

• Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (pictured) wins the Namibian general election.
• South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law and lifts it hours later after a vote by the National Assembly.
• At least 56 people are killed in a crowd crush during a football match at the Stade du 3 Avril in Nzérékoré, southern Guinea.
• Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.

December 6: Saint Nicholas's Day (Western Christianity); Independence Day in Finland (1917)

• 1240 – After days of bombardment, Mongol invaders under Batu Khan breached the walls of Kiev and sacked the city.
• 1917 – A ship carrying TNT and picric acid in Halifax Harbour, Canada, caught fire after a collision and caused the second-largest accidental explosion in history (pictured).
• 1956 – In what became known as the Blood in the Water match at the Melbourne Olympics, the Hungarian water polo team defeated the Soviet Union 4–0 against the background of the Hungarian Revolution.
• 1988 – Self-government was granted to the Australian Capital Territory.
• 2017 – Under President Donald Trump, the United States government officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

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Mimodactylus is a genus of istiodactyliform pterosaur that lived in what is now Lebanon during the Late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of Hjoula. The owner of the quarry allowed the specimen to be prepared by researchers, and it was donated to the MIM Museum in Beirut. In 2019, the researchers named the new genus and species Mimodactylus libanensis; referring to the MIM Museum, with the Greek word daktylos for 'digit', and the specific name refers to Lebanon. The well-preserved holotype specimen is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent (which consisted of the then joined Arabian Peninsula and Africa), and the third pterosaur fossil known from Lebanon. The marine deposits of Hjoula are late Cenomanian in age and are well-known for fish fossils. The holotype specimen is comparatively small, with a wingspan of 1.32 metres (4.3 ft), and was probably young. (Full article...)

• ... that dogs (example pictured) have much more sensitive noses and ears than humans, but have trouble distinguishing red from green?
• ... that in 1809, two ministers leading the British war effort against Napoleon fought a duel against each other?
• ... that in his first year in the NFL, Lou Rash was told he was released and began flying back home, but was told upon landing that the release was a mistake and he was to return?
• ... that muthkwey was not harvested or walked over, because oral tradition held that it had grown from the droppings of a two-headed serpent?
• ... that the Mongol princess Al-Altan was rumoured to have poisoned her brother Ögedei Khan?
• ... that the Saybrook Colony was sold to Connecticut for an annual payment of 180 pounds of equal quantities of wheat, peas, and either rye or barley?
• ... that future Olympic weightlifter Chiu Yuh-chuan received a job offer in marketing after media coverage about his difficulty securing employment?
• ... that out of 148 candidates in the 1957 Manipur Territorial Council election there was only one woman?
• ... that basketball coach Trisha Stafford-Odom left the Eagles to join the Eagles?

• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law (protests pictured) and lifts it hours later after a vote by the National Assembly.
• Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.
• Israel and Lebanon agree to a 60-day ceasefire to halt the current hostilities.
• In motorsport, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe win the World Rally Championship.

December 5: Krampusnacht in parts of Central Europe

• 1456 – The first of two major earthquakes struck the Kingdom of Naples, killing up to 70,000 people.
• 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Continental Army colonel Henry Knox arrived at Fort Ticonderoga in New York to arrange the transport of 60 tons of artillery (depicted) to support the siege of Boston.
• 1807 – Napoleonic Wars: British ships began a raid on Griessie after the Dutch captain refused a British demand for surrender.
• 1918 – National Guards and Sokol volunteers protested in Zagreb, leading to an armed clash with regiments of the Home Guard and former Common Army.
• 1958 – Britain's first motorway, the Preston By-pass, opened to the public.

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KARE (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, United States, an NBC affiliate. Channel 11 began service as WTCN, an ABC affiliate, in 1953. It presented several notable children's shows in its early years. After Time Inc. purchased the station in 1957, ABC switched affiliates, leaving channel 11 to become an independent station that broadcast the Minnesota Twins baseball team, movies, and syndicated programs. By the late 1970s, WTCN was one of the nation's most financially successful independent stations. On March 5, 1979, channel 11 became an NBC affiliate but struggled with its revamped newscasts. Between 1983 and 1987, the station moved from last to first in late news ratings, battling WCCO for two decades. It changed call signs twice in that period, to WUSA in 1985 and KARE in 1986, when owner Gannett moved the WUSA call sign to its Washington, D.C., station. More recently, as of 2022, the station has been a second-place finisher in local news. (Full article...)

• ... that Marie Denizard (pictured) stood as a candidate in a French presidential election in 1913, thirty years before French women achieved suffrage?
• ... that The Crystal was one of few publications in early-20th-century China that regularly covered same-sex intimacy?
• ... that Hanif Kureshi transformed shadows cast by the Sun into street art?
• ... that Gigarta, a settlement mentioned by Strabo and Pliny the Elder, is believed to have been located on the slopes of Mount Lebanon, although its exact location remains under debate?
• ... that Al LeBoeuf was diagnosed with a rare condition in 2012 from an injury that he suffered in 1985?
• ... that the Swedish broadcaster organising the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 refused to allow the contest to be shown in Chile, as a protest against the country's military dictatorship?
• ... that the Polish manga and anime fandom arose in the 1990s and now numbers over 100,000 people?
• ... that Frank A. Kimball brought a transcontinental rail terminus to National City, California, in exchange for thousands of acres of land?
• ... that Aldous Huxley developed his "feelies" in response to the emergence of "talkies"?

• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured) declares martial law and lifts it hours later after a vote by the National Assembly.
• Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.
• Israel and Lebanon agree to a 60-day ceasefire to halt the current hostilities.
• In motorsport, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe win the World Rally Championship.

December 4: Navy Day in India

• 1639 – Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree made the first successful observation of a transit of Venus (example pictured) from Earth.
• 1872 – The American brigantine Mary Celeste was found apparently abandoned under circumstances that remain unknown.
• 1971 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Navy launched a successful attack against the Pakistan Navy at Karachi, sinking three ships with no Indian casualties.
• 1980 – The English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbanded.
• 2006 – Six black teenagers assaulted a white student in Jena, Louisiana; the subsequent court cases became a cause célèbre for perceived racial injustice in the United States.

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The PlayStation is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released in Japan on 3 December 1994, and most of the world in 1995. Sony began developing it after a failed venture with Nintendo to create a CD-ROM add-on in the early 1990s. The console was primarily designed by Ken Kutaragi and his team in Japan, while additional development was outsourced in the United Kingdom. An emphasis on 3D polygon graphics was placed at the forefront of the console's design. The PlayStation signalled Sony's rise to power in the video game industry. It received acclaim and sold strongly; in less than a decade, it became the first computer entertainment platform to ship more than 100 million units. Its use of compact discs heralded the game industry's transition from cartridges. The PlayStation's success led to a line of successors, beginning with the PlayStation 2 in 2000. (Full article...)

• ... that water-filled pits (example pictured) left behind by tin mining activities in Indonesia have become tourist attractions?
• ... that a senior colonel with 30 years' experience in North Korean intelligence agencies defected to South Korea in 2014?
• ... that an underground tunnel between two houses in what is now Jugtown Historic District was used to hide fugitive slaves?
• ... that when John of Montfort was captured in 1341 during the Breton Civil War, his wife took command of the Breton army?
• ... that Sehome was an incorporated town for only three years?
• ... that five of the six people killed in the 2011 Cullman–Arab tornado were members of the same family?
• ... that Ornithoprion was studied primarily using X-rays of its fossils?
• ... that the author of Oh My Mother! has written about the phenomenon of giving Asian-American girls the name "Connie"?
• ... that the Campo Valdés Roman baths were rediscovered during the construction of a sewer system in 1903?

• Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.
• Israel and Lebanon agree to a 60-day ceasefire to halt the current hostilities.
• In motorsport, Thierry Neuville (pictured) and Martijn Wydaeghe win the World Rally Championship.
• In Formula One, Max Verstappen wins the World Championship.

December 3

• 1283 – During the First Mongol invasion of Burma, the fort at Ngasaunggyan was overrun after a two-month siege.
• 1927 – Putting Pants on Philip, the first official film featuring the British-American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was released.
• 1967 – Cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard (pictured) performed the first successful human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
• 1979 – Following the result of a two-day referendum, the current Constitution of Iran was adopted.
• 1990 – Mary Robinson took office as the first female president of Ireland.

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Windswept Adan is the seventh studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba (pictured), released on 2 December 2020 by her label, Hermine. The concept album follows the story of a young girl who is sent away by her family to the fictional island of Adan. Aoba and composer Taro Umebayashi wrote, composed, arranged, and produced the music for the album, which was preceded by one single, "Porcelain". Windswept Adan is a chamber folk and psychedelic folk album with elements of jazz, classical, and ambient music. Marking a departure from Aoba's earlier minimalist instrumentation, it includes a celesta, wind chimes, string arrangements, and vocal performances. The album received widespread critical acclaim for its arrangements, instrumentation, and worldbuilding. Upon its release, the album debuted at number 82 on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart and number 88 on the Oricon Albums Chart. Aoba supported the album with her first international tour between August and October 2022. (Full article...)

• ... that more than one hundred million stars are visible in Zooming In on the Andromeda Galaxy (pictured)?
• ... that Karen Tei Yamashita realized the structure of her novel, I Hotel, by cutting, folding, and writing on ten cardboard cubes, each representing a year in the book?
• ... that Carrlyn Bathe met her husband after he sent her gear from his clothing brand?
• ... that due to the near-miss effect, gamblers may mistake a game of luck for a game of skill?
• ... that tacklers "bounced off" Chauncey Archiquette "as if he were a brick wall"?
• ... that the author of the comic book Timeless Voyage was the leader of a UFO religion?
• ... that Chief Constable James Smart flooded police courts with over 17,000 cases to prove how impractical it was for home owners to light their own stairs?
• ... that an Indiana university argued in court that The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate, a 1914 painting, was too modern for their art collection in 2024?
• ... that Piri Reis did not map Antarctica in the sixteenth century?

• Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.
• Israel and Lebanon agree to a 60-day ceasefire to halt the current hostilities.
• In motorsport, Thierry Neuville (pictured) and Martijn Wydaeghe win the World Rally Championship.
• In Formula One, Max Verstappen wins the World Championship.