Triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, the tsunami struck 14 countries with waves up to 100 feet high. It became one of the...
The Supreme Soviet met for the final time and formally dissolved the USSR, ending 69 years of Soviet rule. The red hammer and sickle flag was lowered...
The costumed intruder turned out to be the homeowner's brother-in-law attempting a surprise Christmas visit. He survived the shooting but learned a va...
William Friedkin's demonic possession thriller opened on December 26 and immediately caused a sensation, with reports of viewers fainting, vomiting, a...
Armstrong received a patent for frequency modulation (FM) radio transmission, which would revolutionize broadcasting with its superior sound quality a...
Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia, to claim the title, shattering racial barriers in sports. His victory so outraged white America tha...
The husband-and-wife team revealed their isolation of the radioactive element radium, which glowed in the dark and was a million times more radioactiv...
The future founder of the People's Republic of China was born to a peasant family in Hunan province. He would go on to lead the Communist revolution a...
Thirty-eight Dakota men were hanged simultaneously in Mankato following the Dakota War of 1862. President Lincoln personally reviewed the cases and re...
Washington died on December 14 and was buried in a family vault on his Virginia estate 12 days later. His death at age 67 was likely caused by acute e...
Ten men were court-martialed for their role in the famous mutiny against Captain William Bligh aboard HMS Bounty. Four were acquitted, three were pard...
After crossing the icy Delaware River on Christmas night, Washington's troops surprised and captured nearly 1,000 Hessian soldiers in Trenton, New Jer...
After more than two months at sea and initially landing at Provincetown, the Pilgrims finally disembarked at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The timing prove...