Events

• 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office.
• 1282 - Llywelyn the Last (b. c.1228), the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales.
• 1602 - A surprise attack by forces under the command of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. Commemorations/celebrations on Fête de l'Escalade are usually held on December 11 or the closest weekend.
• 1789 - The University of North Carolina is chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly.
• 1792 - French Revolution: King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.
• 1816 - Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state.
• 1872 - P.B.S. Pinchback becomes the first black member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• 1905 - A workers uprising occurs, establishing the Shuliavka Republic in Kiev.
• 1907 - New Zealand Parliament Buildings almost completely destroyed by fire.
• 1917 - British troops take Jerusalem from the troops of the Ottoman Empire.
• 1925 - Quas Primas encyclical is promulgated, introducing the Feast of Christ the King.
• 1927 - Guangzhou Uprising: Communist militia and worker red guards launch an uprising in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.
• 1931 - The British Parliament enacts the Statute of Westminster, establishing legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free State, Dominion of Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa.
• 1936 - Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India becomes effective.
• 1937 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy leaves the League of Nations.
• 1941 - World War II: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. The United States, in turn, declares war on Germany and Italy.
• 1946 - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established.
• 1958 - Upper Volta gains self-government from France, and becomes an autonomous republic in the French Community.
• 1960 - A violent clash occurred with French forces cracking down on protesters in French Algeria during a visit by French president Charles de Gaulle.
• 1964 - Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. An unknown terrorist fires a mortar shell at the building during the speech.
• 1971 - The Libertarian Party of the United States is formed.
• 1972 - Apollo 17 becomes the sixth mission to land on the Moon.
• 1980 - The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (known as either CERCLA or Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
• 1981 - El Mozote massacre: Salvadoran armed forces kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the country's civil war.
• 1993 - Forty-eight people are killed when a block of the Highland Towers collapses near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• 1994 - First Chechen War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders Russian troops into Chechnya.
• 1997 - The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opens for signature.
• 1998 - A Thai Airways Airbus A310-200 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101.
• 2001 - The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization.
• 2005 - The Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead is rocked by explosions, causing a huge oil fire.
• 2005 - Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese (and many who were not) in Cronulla Sydney. These are followed up by ethnic attacks on Cronulla.
• 2006 - The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• 2007 - Two car bombs go off at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers and the United Nations office. An estimated 45 people are killed in the bombings.

Births

• 1465 - Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (d. 1489)
• 1475 - Pope Leo X (d. 1521)
• 1566 - Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese composer (d. 1650)
• 1680 - Emanuele d'Astorga, Italian composer (d. 1736)
• 1709 - Louise Elisabeth of Orléans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1742)
• 1712 - Francesco Algarotti, Italian philosopher (d. 1764)
• 1725 - George Mason, American statesman (d. 1792)
• 1761 - Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian physicist (d. 1835)
• 1781 - Sir David Brewster, Scottish physicist (d. 1868)
• 1801 - Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German writer (d. 1836)
• 1803 - Hector Berlioz, French composer (d. 1869)
• 1810 - Alfred de Musset, French poet (d. 1857)
• 1830 - Kamehameha V, Hawaiian king (d. 1872 on his birthday)
• 1838 - John Labatt, Irish-Canadian brewer (d. 1915)
• 1843 - Robert Koch, German bacteriologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1910)
• 1856 - Georgi Plekhanov, Russian revolutionary and Marxist theoretician (d. 1918)
• 1858 - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian theatre director (d. 1943)
• 1863 - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (d. 1941)
• 1873 - Josip Plemelj, Slovenian mathematician (d. 1967)
• 1880 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
• 1882 - Subramanya Bharathy, Indian poet (d. 1921)
• 1882 - Max Born, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1970)
• 1882 - Fiorello La Guardia, American statesman (d. 1947)
• 1883 - Victor McLaglen, English-born American actor (d. 1959)
• 1889 - Walter Knott, American farmer (d. 1981)
• 1890 - Carlos Gardel, tango singer (d. 1935)
• 1890 - Mark Tobey, American painter (d. 1976)
• 1905 - Robert Henriques, English writer (d. 1967)
• 1905 - Gilbert Roland, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1908 - Elliott Carter, American composer
• 1909 - John Wyer, English sports car racing team manager (d.1989)
• 1910 - Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (d. 1937)
• 1911 - Val Guest, English film director (d. 2006)
• 1911 - Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2006)
• 1912 - Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (d. 2007)
• 1913 - Jean Marais, French actor (d. 1998)
• 1916 - Dámaso Pérez Prado, Cuban-born bandleader (d. 1989)
• 1918 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer, Nobel laureate
• 1919 - Marie Windsor, American actress (d. 2000)
• 1922 - Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer (d. 2005)
• 1922 - Dilip Kumar, Indian actor
• 1922 - Grace Paley, American writer (d. 2007)
• 1923 - Betsy Blair, American actress
• 1925 - Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist, Nobel laureate
• 1926 - Big Mama Thornton, American singer (d. 1984)
• 1927 - John Buscema, American comics artist (d. 2002)
• 1930 - Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress
• 1930 - Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor
• 1931 - Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress
• 1931 - Pierre Pilote, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1931 - Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian guru (d. 1990)
• 1932 - Anne Heywood, English actress
• 1933 - Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Filipino politician
• 1935 - Ron Carey, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1935 - Pranab Mukherjee, Indian politician
• 1935 - Elmer Vasko, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1998)
• 1936 - Taku Yamasaki, Japanese politician
• 1937 - Jim Harrison, American writer
• 1938 - Enrico Macias, Algerian-born French singer
• 1938 - McCoy Tyner, American jazz pianist
• 1939 - Tom Hayden, American politician and activist
• 1939 - Thomas McGuane, American writer
• 1940 - David Gates, American musician (Bread)
• 1941 - Max Baucus, American politician, senior senator of Montana
• 1941 - J.P. Parise, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1942 - Donna Mills, American actress
• 1943 - John Kerry, American politician
• 1944 - Teri Garr, American film actress
• 1944 - Jon Garrison, American tenor
• 1944 - Lynda Day George, American actress
• 1944 - Brenda Lee, American singer
• 1948 - Stamatis Spanoudakis, Greek composer
• 1950 - Christina Onassis, American heiress (d. 1988)
• 1953 - Bess Armstrong, American actress
• 1954 - Jermaine Jackson, American singer
• 1954 - Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Icelandic engineer
• 1954 - Santiago Creel, Mexican politician
• 1956 - Lani Brockman, Playwright
• 1958 - Nikki Sixx, American musician (Mötley Crüe)
• 1959 - Lisa Gastineau, American reality show star
• 1960 - Rachel Portman, English film composer
• 1961 - Marco Pierre White, English chef and restaurateur
• 1962 - Ben Browder, American actor
• 1962 - Paul Haslinger, Austrian-born composer
• 1962 - Nele Karajli?, Bosnian singer
• 1963 - Jon Brion, American musician/record producer
• 1964 - Michel Courtemanche, Quebec comedian
• 1964 - John Mark Karr, American who claimed involvement in JonBenét Ramsey case
• 1964 - David Schools, American musician (Widespread Panic)
• 1964 - Cosy Sheridan, American singer
• 1964 - Carolyn Waldo, Canadian synchronized swimmer
• 1966 - Gary Dourdan, American actor
• 1966 - Leon Lai, Cantonese singer/actor
• 1967 - Mo'Nique, American actress/comedienne
• 1967 - DJ Yella, American DJ and music producer (N.W.A)
• 1969 - Vishwanathan Anand, Indian chess grandmaster
• 1969 - Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Norwegian footballer
• 1969 - Sean Grande, American sportscaster
• 1971 - Willie McGinest, NFL Linebacker
• 1972 - Daniel Alfredsson, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1972 - Sami Al-Jaber, Saudi Arabian footballer
• 1972 - Dana Macsim, Romanian television news reporter
• 1973 - Mos Def, American rapper and actor
• 1974 - Rey Mysterio, American professional wrestler
• 1974 - Ben Shephard, English TV personality
• 1975 - Gerben de Knegt, Dutch cyclist
• 1975 - Tomoka Kurotani, Japanese actress
• 1976 - Shareef Abdur-Rahim, American basketball player
• 1977 - Mark Streit, Swiss ice hockey player
• 1979 - Rider Strong, American actor
• 1980 - Arya, Indian actor
• 1981 - Nikki Benz, Ukraine-born Canadian pornographic actress
• 1981 - Hamish Blake, Australian comedian
• 1981 - Paul Medhurst, Australian rules footballer
• 1981 - Javier Saviola, Argentine footballer
• 1981 - Zacky Vengeance, American musician (Avenged Sevenfold)
• 1982 - Pablo Pérez Companc, Argentine racing driver
• 1983 - Yoh Miyamori, Japanese Musician (Orange Range)
• 1984 - Leighton Baines, English footballer
• 1987 - Natalia Gordienko, Moldovan singer and dancer
• 1988 - Murugan Thiruchelvam, English chess prodigy
• 1988 - Tim Southee, New Zealand Cricket Player
• 1993 - Gina Miele, American singer and actress.

Deaths

• 384 - Pope Damasus I
• 1121 - Al-Afdal Shahanshah, Caliph of Egypt (b. 1066)
• 1226 - Robert de Ros, English politician (b. 1177)
• 1282 - Llywelyn the Last, Prince of Gwynedd
• 1282 - Michael VIII Palaiologos, Greek Byzantine Emperor (b. 1225)
• 1532 - Pietro Accolti, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1455)
• 1582 - Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (b. 1508)
• 1694 - Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1630)
• 1688 - James II of England, King of England, King of Scotland, King of Ireland and Duke of York
• 1737 - John Strype, English historian (b. 1643)
• 1747 - Edmund Curll, English bookseller (b. ca. 1675)
• 1797 - Richard Brocklesby, English physician (b. 1722)
• 1840 - Emperor Kokaku of Japan (b. 1771)
• 1872 - Kamehameha V, Hawaiian king (b. 1830)
• 1880 - Oliver Fisher Winchester, American businessman and politician (b. 1810)
• 1892 - William Milligan, Scottish theologian (b. 1821)
• 1909 - Innokenty Annensky, Russian poet (b. 1855)
• 1918 - Ivan Cankar, Slovenian writer (b. 1876)
• 1920 - Olive Schreiner, South African writer (b. 1855)
• 1938 - Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1869)
• 1941 - John Gillespie Magee, Jr., American poet and aviator (b. 1922)
• 1941 - Charles Émile Picard, French mathematician (b. 1856)
• 1945 - Charles Fabry, French physicist (b. 1867)
• 1950 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1893)
• 1957 - Musidora (Jeanne Roques), French actress (b. 1889)
• 1959 - Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (b. 1900)
• 1964 - Sam Cooke, American singer (b. 1931)
• 1964 - Percy Kilbride, American actor (b. 1888)
• 1971 - Maurice "Mac" McDonald, American fast-food pioneer (b. 1902)
• 1975 - Lee Wiley, American jazz singer (b. 1908)
• 1978 - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist and Nobel laureate (b. 1901)
• 1978 - Paul O'Dea, American baseball player (b. 1920)
• 1979 - James J. Gibson, American perceptual psychologist (b. 1904)
• 1983 - Sir Neil Ritchie, British General (b. 1897)
• 1984 - Oskar Seidlin, German-born American scholar (b. 1911)
• 1987 - G. A. Kulkarni, Indian (Marathi) writer (b. 1923)
• 1989 - Louise Dahl-Wolfe, American photographer (b. 1895)
• 1991 - Robert Q. Lewis, American game show host and actor (b. 1921)
• 1991 - Artur Lundkvist, Swedish author and critic (b. 1906)
• 1992 - Michael Robbins, English actor (b. 1930)
• 1993 - Elvira Popescu, Romanian-born French actress (b. 1894)
• 1994 - Philip Phillips, American archaeologist (b. 1900)
• 1995 - Arthur Mullard, English comedy actor (b. 1910)
• 1996 - Willie Rushton, English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor, performer and co-founder of the Private Eye satirical magazine. (b. 1937)
• 1998 - André Lichnerowicz, Polish-French physicist (b. 1915)
• 1998 - Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot) (b. 1968)
• 2000 - Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, Pakistani politician, diplomat and author (b. 1915)
• 2000 - David Lewis, American actor (b. 1916)
• 2003 - Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian writer (b. 1927)
• 2004 - José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1962)
• 2004 - Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand running coach (b. 1917)
• 2004 - M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian singer (b. 1916)
• 2006 - Elizabeth Bolden, American, oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death (b. 1890)
• 2007 - Christie Hennessy, Irish singer (b. 1945)
• 2007 - Grace Paley, American writer (b. 1922)
• 2007 - Ashleigh Aston Moore, Canadian Actress (b. 1981)

Holidays and observances

• Roman festivals - One of the four Agonalia, this day in honour of Sol Indiges; also the Septimontium festival
• R.C. Saints - Pope Damasus I: optional memorial; Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian
• Argentina - Tango Day, Buenos Aires
• Burkina Faso - Republic Day (1958, Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community.)
• USA - Admission day for Indiana (19th state, 1816)
• Wales - Remembrance Day of Llywelyn II
• Philippines - Pampanga Day, local official holiday

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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