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An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people.
The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing.
UTAGE Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 151 people.
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union.
Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena, are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
Kilvenmani massacre: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) are burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers.
Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students. It later turns up in Scotland on April 11, 1951.
The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's F-1 nuclear reactor.
Admiral Émile Muselier seizes the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which become the first part of France to be liberated by the Free French Forces.
World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz arrives at Pearl Harbor to assume command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
Regina Jonas is ordained as the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism.
A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans.
Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee.
The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt begins; up to 20% of the island's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom.
The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening.
The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance.
Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay.
Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor.
George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day.
Halley's Comet is sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, confirming Edmund Halley's prediction of its passage. This was the first passage of a comet predicted ahead of time.
Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.
The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch.
John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.
Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily.
Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
Emperor Leo V is assassinated in the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople and is succeeded by Michael II.
The Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.
Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius.
Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicate his title (Caesar). Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.
Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar.
A temple for Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian.
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