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An Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane belonging to Aéro-Service, crashes into houses near Maya-Maya Airport during a thunderstorm, killing at least 32 people.
John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York.
British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merge to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.
In Seattle, United States, demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies.
Exxon and Mobil sign a US$73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world's largest company.
U.S. President Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland and speaks in favour of the "Northern Ireland peace process" to a huge rally at Belfast City Hall; he calls terrorists "yesterday's men".
Michael Jackson's sixth solo studio album, Thriller is released worldwide. It will become the best-selling record album in history.
Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe. (The meetings end inconclusively on December 17.)
Vietnam War: White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler tells the press that there will be no more public announcements concerning American troop withdrawals from Vietnam because troop levels are now down to 27,000.
Iran seizes the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from the United Arab Emirates.
Pro-Soviet communists in the Philippines establish Malayang Pagkakaisa ng Kabataan Pilipino as its new youth wing.
The Pakistan Peoples Party is founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who becomes its first chairman.
The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap; this is the only documented case in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space.
Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda is deposed and exiled to London by Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda.
Civil War in Mandatory Palestine begins, leading up to the creation of the state of Israel.
World War II: Battle of Tassafaronga; A smaller squadron of Japanese destroyers led by Raizō Tanaka defeats a U.S. cruiser force under Carleton H. Wright.
Winter War: Soviet forces cross the Finnish border in several places and bomb Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the war.
The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman becomes the first steam locomotive to be authenticated as reaching 100 mph.
Costa Rica signs the Buenos Aires Convention, a copyright treaty.
The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.
A statue of King Charles XII of Sweden is inaugurated in Stockholm's Kungsträdgården.
American Civil War: The Confederate Army of Tennessee suffers heavy losses in an attack on the Union Army of the Ohio in the Battle of Franklin.
Crimean War: Battle of Sinop: The Imperial Russian Navy under Pavel Nakhimov destroys the Ottoman fleet under Osman Pasha at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey.
First Welland Canal opens for a trial run, five years to the day from the ground breaking.
The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate begins an impeachment trial of Federalist Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.
The Balmis Expedition starts in Spain with the aim of vaccinating millions against smallpox in Spanish America and Philippines. In New Orleans, Spanish representatives officially transfer the Louisiana Territory to a French representative. Just 20 days later, France transfers the same land to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase.
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, becomes the first modern state to abolish the death penalty (later commemorated as Cities for Life Day).
American Revolutionary War: Treaty of Paris: In Paris, representatives from the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign preliminary peace articles (later formalized as the 1783 Treaty of Paris).
King Charles XII of Sweden dies during a siege of the fortress of Fredriksten in Norway.
The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida.
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