Sir Isaac Newton 1642 (Old Style) - Physicist, mathematician
- 1776 - Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ.
- 1818 - "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
- 1868 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War.
- 1896 - John Philip Sousa finally titled the melody "The Stars and Stripes Forever."
- 1914 - During World War I, British and German troops observed an unofficial truce and even playing football together on the Western Front.
- 1972 - The Nicaraguan capital Managua was hit by an earthquake. Over 10,000 people were killed.
- 1979 - The USSR invaded Afghanistan in a bid to halt civil war and protect USSR interests.
- 1989 - Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed following a popular uprising.
- 1991 - Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on television to announce his resignation as leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
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