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627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeated Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.

1098 - First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan - Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism.

1531 - Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in Mexico City.

1719 - The Boston Gazette is published for the first time.

1781 - American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant - A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory, defeats a French fleet.

1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd state to ratify the United States Constitution.

1862 - USS Cairo sunk on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.

1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman.

1897 - Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is inaugurated.

1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.

1903 - The city of Fairfield, California is incorporated.

1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.

1914 - The largest one-day percentage drop in the history of Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 24.39%.

1915 - President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai, reinstates the monarchy and proclaims himself Emperor of China.

1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.

1925 - The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.

1936 - Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.

1937 - Panay incident: Japanese aircraft shell and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China.

1939 - Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi - Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.

1940 - Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid.

1941 - Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.

1941 - World War II: Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.

1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.

1946 - A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.

1948 - Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre - 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.

1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.

1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

1964 - Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya.

1969 - Strategia della tensione: Piazza Fontana bombing - The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.

1972 - Two million people filled the streets of Azadi Square (Then Shahyad Square) in Tehran to protest against the Shah.

1979 - Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean military officer Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.

1979 - Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.

1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe.

1982 - Women's peace protest at Greenham Common - 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 km (9 mi) perimeter fence.

1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.

1988 - Clapham Junction rail crash killed 35 and injured 100's after two collisions of three commuter trains. One of the worst train crashes in Britain.

1990 - Pakistan became the 37th country in the world to send an expedition to Antarctica.

1996 - Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.

2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore

2003 - Paul Martin, Jr. is sworn-in as the 21st Prime Minister of Canada.

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1298 - Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)

1418 - Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463)

1574 - Anne of Denmark, wife of James I of England (d. 1619)

1610 - Saint Vasilije (d. 1671)

1712 - Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (d. 1780)

1724 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (d. 1816)

1745 - John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)

1779 - Madeline Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865)

1783 - Ner Alexander Middleswarth, American politician (d. 1865)

1786 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857)

1799 - Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)

1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)

1806 - Stand Watie, American Confederate general (d. 1871)

1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)

1845 - Bruce Price, American architect (d. 1903)

1849 - William Kissam Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1920)

1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian expressionist painter (d. 1944)

1864 - Paul Elmer More, American critic and essayist (d. 1937)

1866 - Alfred Werner, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)

1870 - Walter Benona Sharp, American oil baron (d. 1912)

1875 - Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (d. 1953)

1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, Olympic gold medalist (d. 1928)

1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974)

1892 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Austro-Hungarian-born rocket engineer (d. 1929)

1893 - Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)

1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)

1903 - Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer and pianist (d. 1976)

1903 - Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963)

1904 - Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981)

1905 - Mànes Sperber, Austro-Hungarian-born writer (d. 1984)

1907 - Roy Douglas, British composer and orchestrator

1914 - Patrick O'Brian (Richard Patrick Russ), British author (d. 2000)

1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)

1918 - Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)

1919 - Olivia Barclay, British astrologer (d. 2001)

1923 - Bob Barker, American television game show host

1924 - Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City

1927 - Honor Blackman, British actress

1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)

1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer

1929 - John Osborne, British dramatist (d. 1994)

1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician

1930 - Bill Beutel, American Journalist (d. 2006)

1931 - Lionel Blair, British actor, choreographer, tap dancer and television presenter

1932 - Bob Pettit, American basketball player

1934 - Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico

1938 - Connie Francis, American singer

1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician

1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer

1943 - Dickey Betts, American guitarist and singer (The Allman Brothers)

1943 - Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)

1946 - Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver

1949 - Rajnikanth (Shivaji Rao Gaekwad), Indian actor

1952 - Cathy Rigby, American gymnast

1954 - Liz Claman, American television anchor

1956 - Johan Van der Velde, Dutch cyclist

1957 - Sheila E., American musician

1962 - Tracy Austin, American tennis player

1964 - Sabu, American professional wrestler

1966 - Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist

1967 - John Randle, American football player

1968 - Laurie Williams, Indian cricket player

1970 - Jennifer Connelly, American actress

1970 - Madchen Amick, American actress

1972 - Hank Williams III, grandson of Hank Williams

1972 - Nicky Eaden, English footballer

1974 - Rey Mysterio, Jr., American wrestler

1974 - Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer

1975 - Mayim Bialik, American actress

1975 - Craig Moore, Australian footballer

1976 - Dan Hawkins, British guitarist (The Darkness)

1977 - Orlando Hudson, American baseball player

1977 - Bridget Hall, American supermodel

1978 - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress

1978 - Evren Genis, Turkish composer

1979 - Garrett Atkins, American baseball player

1979 - Nate Clements, American football player

1981 - Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier

1981 - Ronnie Brown, American football player

1981 - Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricket player

1981 - Stephen Warnock, British footballer

1982 - Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player

1983 - Katrina Elam, American singer

1983 - Brad Smith, American football player

1989 - Harry Eden, British actor

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884 - Carloman, King of the West Franks

1212 - Geoffrey, Archbishop of York

1569 - Metropolitan Philip of Moscow (b. 1507)

1574 - Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1524)

1586 - Stefan Batory, King of Poland (b. 1533)

1685 - John Pell, English mathematician (b. 1610)

1751 - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (b. 1678)

1754 - Wu Jingzi, Chinese writer (b. 1701)

1766 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (b. 1700)

1789 - John Ponsonby, Irish politician (b. 1713)

1790 - Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and writer (b. 1733)

1843 - King William I of the Netherlands, (b. 1772)

1889 - Robert Browning, British poet (b. 1812)

1889 - Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1804)

1894 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)

1913 - Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (b. 1844)

1923 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)

1926 - Jean Richepin, French poet (b. 1849)

1929 - Charles Goodnight, American cattle baron (b. 1836)

1939 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883)

1952 - Bedřich Hrozný, Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak orientalist and linguist (b. 1879)

1963 - Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (b. 1903)

1968 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902)

1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)

1971 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born American General Manager of RCA (b. 1891)

1976 - Vinko Zganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (b. 1890)

1985 - Anne Baxter, American actress (b. 1923)

1985 - Ian Stewart, Scottish musician (b. 1938)

1993 - József Antall, Hungarian politician (b. 1932)

1994 - Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (b. 1933)

1996 - Vance Packard, American author (b. 1914)

1997 - Yevgeniy Landis, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)

1998 - Lawton Chiles, U.S. Senator from Florida and Governor of Florida (b. 1930)

1999 - Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923)

2001 - Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)

2002 - Dee Brown, American author (b. 1908)

2002 - Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted murderer (b. 1965)

2003 - Geidar Aliev, President of Azerbaijan

2003 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)

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R.C. Saints - optional memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Also see December 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Masá'il (Questions) - First day of the 15th month of the Bahá'í Calendar

Kenya - Jamhuri Day: Independence Day (from Britain, 1963)