Operatives of the British Special Boat Service boarded the container ship Grande Tema in the Thames Estuary to detain four stowaways who had threatened the crew.
Countries that were part of the Maya civilization celebrated the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.
In accordance with the Oslo II Accord, Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem in preparation for the transfer of control to the Palestinian National Authority.
Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano, dormant for 47 years, began erupting, and is now one of the nation's most active volcanoes.
The world's heaviest aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, made its first flight.
A bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103 detonated over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the primary fighter aircraft of the U.S. Navy for nearly 30 years, made its first flight.
Apollo 8 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a trajectory to the Moon; its crew (pictured) became the first humans to visit another celestial body.
The United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which 88 member states have since signed.
An attempt by Greek Cypriot police to search certain Turkish Cypriot women in Nicosia escalated into island-wide violence, leading to 538 deaths and the displacement of nearly 27,000 people.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length cel-animated feature in film history, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles.
Lieutenant Kijé, one of Sergei Prokofiev's best-known works, premiered.
Nepal and the United Kingdom signed the first treaty that defined the international status of Nepal as an independent and a sovereign nation.
After serving two years in prison for encouraging people to resist military conscription, anarchist Emma Goldman was deported from the United States to Russia.
Moscow's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was consecrated.
HMS Challenger departed Portsmouth on a scientific expedition that laid the foundations of oceanography.
The Rochdale Pioneers opened their store (pictured) in Rochdale, England, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement.
Settlers from the United States in Mexican Texas made the first attempt to secede from Mexico, establishing the short-lived Republic of Fredonia.
The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower landed at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, to establish the Plymouth Colony.
Lamberto Scannabecchi was elected pope, taking the name Honorius II.
Fourteen people are killed and 25 others injured during a mass shooting at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. The perpetrator, a student at the university, kills himself after police arrived; he also killed his father before the shooting.
A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623.
2012 phenomenon: Festivities are held in parts of Mesoamerica to commemorate the conclusion of b’ak’tun 13, a roughly 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar whose passing many New Age spiritualists had earlier held to portend a variety of cataclysmic or transformative events.
Iraq War: A suicide bomber kills 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, Iraq, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers in Iraq.
The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid, Spain.
Cubana de Aviación Flight 1216 overshoots the runway at La Aurora International Airport, killing 18.
The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.
A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The leaders of 11 now effectively autonomous Soviet republics sign the Alma-Ata Protocol establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States in place of the collapsing Soviet Union.
A bomb explodes on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270. This is to date the deadliest air disaster to occur on British soil.
The first flight of Antonov An-225 Mriya, the largest aircraft in the world.
Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia is signed in London by Lord Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and S.C. Mundawarara.
The Geneva Conference on the Arab–Israeli conflict opens.
First flight of F-14 multi-role combat aircraft.
Apollo program: Apollo 8 is launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a human-to-human heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, having lived for 18 days after the transplant.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is adopted.
"Bloody Christmas" begins in Cyprus, ultimately resulting in the displacement of 25,000–30,000 Turkish Cypriots and destruction of more than 100 villages.
An 8.1 Mw earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.
World War II: A Thai-Japanese Pact of Alliance is signed.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre.
First flight of the Junkers Ju 88 multi-role combat aircraft.
Lieutenant Kijé, one of Sergei Prokofiev's best-known works, premiered.
United Kingdom and Nepal formally sign an agreement of friendship, called the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816.
American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.
Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.
The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in Iquique, Chile.
James Naismith, a Canadian-American gym teacher at Springfield College, publishes the first rules for the game now known as basketball and brings it to his class, which then plays the first game of basketball.
The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.
World premiere of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth, England.
Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers commences business at its cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.
Egyptian–Ottoman War: Egyptian forces decisively defeat Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya.
American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declare their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.
Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land near what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.
The Battle of Linuesa is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the forces of the Emirate of Granada and the combined army of the Kingdom of Castile and of Jaén resulting in a Castilian victory.
The city of Ryazan is sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan.
After a siege of several weeks, the city of Weinsberg and its castle surrender to Conrad III of Germany.
Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning of Pope Celestine II.
The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors.
Cooper Flagg, American basketball player
Clara Tauson, Danish tennis player
Madelyn Cline, American actress and model
Charlie McAvoy, American ice hockey player
Ben Chilwell, English footballer
Kaitlyn Dever, American actress
Luke Brooks, Australian rugby league player
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, American football player
Jamie Oleksiak, Canadian ice hockey player
Nic Maddinson, Australian cricketer
Otis, American wrestler
Riccardo Saponara, Italian footballer
Mark Ingram II, American football player
Tamannaah, Indian actress
Danny Duffy, American baseball player
Perri Shakes-Drayton, English sprinter and hurdler
Khris Davis, American baseball player
Tom Sturridge, English actor
Taylor Teagarden, American baseball player
Steven Yeun, American actor
Primo Colón, Puerto Rican wrestler
Philip Humber, American baseball player
Tom Payne, English actor
Marta Fernández, Spanish basketball player
Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer
Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2015)
Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
Charles Dera, American pornographic actor, dancer, model, and mixed martial arts fighter
Shaun Morgan, South African musician, singer, and guitarist
Rutina Wesley, American actress
Buddy Carlyle, American baseball player
Corey Collymore, Barbadian cricketer
Leon MacDonald, New Zealand rugby player
Emmanuel Macron, French politician, 25th President of France
Freddy Sanchez, American baseball player
Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballerina
Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
Irakli Alasania, Georgian colonel and politician, Georgian Minister of Defense
Matías Almeyda, Argentine footballer and manager
Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, Indian Politician, 17th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
Matthieu Chedid, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
Natalie Grant, American singer-songwriter and author
Julie Delpy, French model, actress, director, and screenwriter
Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer, coach, and manager
Terry Mills, American basketball player and coach
Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Georgia
Michelle Hurd, American actress
William Ruto, 5th President of Kenya
Kiefer Sutherland, British-Canadian actor, director, and producer
Glenn Coleman, Australian rugby league player
Andy Dick, American actor and comedian
Anke Engelke, Canadian-German actress, director, and screenwriter
Kunihiko Ikuhara, Japanese director and illustrator
Joe Kocur, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Govinda, Indian actor, singer, and politician
Ryuji Sasai, Japanese bass player and composer
Sherry Rehman, Pakistani journalist, politician, and diplomat, 25th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter and actress (died 1998)
Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer
Tamara Bykova, Russian high jumper
Ray Romano, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
Tony Lewis, English singer and songwriter (died 2020)
Dave Laut, American shot putter (died 2009)
Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
Chris Evert, American tennis player and coach
András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor
Betty Wright, American singer-songwriter (died 2020)
Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player (died 2015)
Dennis Boutsikaris, American actor
Steve Furniss, American swimmer
Steve Perryman, English footballer and manager
Jeffrey Katzenberg, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation
Max Maven, American magician and mentalist (died 2022)
Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024)
Thomas Sankara, Burkinabé captain and politician, 5th President of Burkina Faso (died 1987)
Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek lawyer and politician
Barry Gordon, American actor and voice artist; longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild (1988–95)
Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer
Dave Kingman, American baseball player
Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 2014)
Roy Karch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
Carl Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1998)
Doug Walters, Australian cricketer
Michael Tilson Thomas, American pianist, composer, and conductor
Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese diplomat (died 2007)
Albert Lee, English guitarist and songwriter
Walter Spanghero, French rugby player
Hu Jintao, Chinese engineer and politician, 5th Paramount leader of China
Carla Thomas, American singer
Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer (died 1993)
Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian academic and politician, 2nd Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Wafic Saïd, Syrian-Saudi Arabian financier, businessman and philanthropist
Larry Bryggman, American actor
Jane Fonda, American actress and activist
John G. Avildsen, American director, producer, and cinematographer (died 2017)
Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racing driver (died 1967)
Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer (died 2024)
Stela Popescu, Romanian actress (died 2017)
Edward Schreyer, Canadian academic and politician, Governor General of Canada
Janet Metcalf, American politician (died 2025)
Giuseppina Leone, Italian sprinter
Hanif Mohammad, Pakistani cricketer (died 2016)
Jackie Hendriks, Jamaican cricketer
Robert Worcester, American businessman and academic, founded MORI
U. R. Ananthamurthy, Indian author, poet, and critic (died 2014)
Edward Hoagland, American author and critic
Phil Roman, American animator
Arnošt Lustig, Czech author and playwright (died 2011)
Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (died 2012)
Wat Misaka, American basketball player (died 2019)
Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (died 1989)
Cécile DeWitt-Morette, French mathematician and physicist (died 2017)
Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (died 2005)
Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and choreographer, founded the Cuban National Ballet (died 2019)
Adele Goldstine, American computer programmer (died 1964)
Iris Cummings, American swimmer and aviator (died 2025)
Doug Young, American voice actor (died 2018)
Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (died 2003)
Kurt Waldheim, Austrian colonel and politician; 9th President of Austria (died 2007)
Heinrich Böll, German novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1985)
Frank Fenner, Australian microbiologist and virologist (died 2010)
Arnold Friberg, American illustrator and painter (died 2010)
Josh Gibson, American baseball player (died 1947)
Seichō Matsumoto, Japanese journalist and author (died 1992)
Käte Fenchel, German mathematician (died 1983)
Anthony Powell, English author (died 2000)
Luis Arturo González López, Guatemalan supreme court judge and briefly acting president (died 1965)
Konstantin Rokossovsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union during World War II (died 1968)
Walter Hagen, American golfer (died 1969)
Rebecca West, English journalist and author (died 1983)
John William McCormack, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1980)
Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1967)
Sewall Wright, American geneticist and biologist (died 1988)
Jean Bouin, French runner and rugby player (died 1914)
Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1960)
María Cadilla, Puerto Rican writer, educator, women's rights activist (died 1951)
Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish-Irish mathematician and philosopher (died 1956)
Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (died 1954)
Jack Lang, Australian lawyer and politician, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (died 1975)
Trevor Kincaid, Canadian-American zoologist and academic (died 1970)
Lorenzo Perosi, Italian priest and composer (died 1956)
Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (died 1942)
George W. Fuller, American chemist and engineer (died 1934)
Maud Gonne, Irish nationalist and political activist (died 1953)
Gustave Kahn, French poet and critic (died 1936)
Joseph Carruthers, Australian politician, 16th Premier of New South Wales (died 1932)
Thomas Chipman McRae, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Arkansas (died 1929)
Zdeněk Fibich, Czech composer and poet (died 1900)
Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealander journalist, poet, and politician (died 1898)
Ernest de Munck, Belgian cellist and composer (died 1915)
Namık Kemal, Turkish journalist, playwright, and activist (died 1888)
John H. Ketcham, American general and politician (died 1906)
Bartolomé Masó, Cuban soldier and politician (died 1907)
William H. Osborn, American businessman (died 1894)
Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (died 1879)
Archibald Tait, Scottish-English archbishop (died 1882)
Thomas Graham, Scottish chemist and academic (died 1869)
Benjamin Disraeli, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1881)
Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (died 1894)
Jack Russell, English priest, hunter, and dog breeder (died 1883)
Leopold von Ranke, German historian, author, and academic (died 1886)
Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Danish jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Denmark (died 1860)
Hermann Raupach, German harpsichord player and composer (died 1778)
John Bradstreet, Canadian-English general (died 1774)
Benjamin Schmolck, German pastor and composer (died 1737)
Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colonial governor (died 1678)
Roger Williams, English minister, theologian, and politician, 9th President of the Colony of Rhode Island (died 1684)
Peter Mohyla, Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan and saint (died 1646)
Man Singh I, Mughal noble (died 1614)
Thomas Allen, English mathematician and astrologer (died 1632)
Luigi d'Este, Catholic cardinal (died 1586)
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (died 1550)
William Conyers, 1st Baron Conyers, English baron (died 1524)
Masaccio, Italian painter (died 1428)
Minamoto no Yorinobu, Japanese samurai (died 1048)
Michelle Botes, South African actress (born 1962)
Art Evans, American actor (born 1942)
Andrew Clennel Palmer, British engineer (born 1938)
Bruce McCandless II, US astronaut who conducted the first untethered spacewalk (born 1937)
Udo Jürgens, Austrian-Swiss singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1934)
Sitor Situmorang, Indonesian poet and author (born 1923)
Billie Whitelaw, English actress (born 1932)
Edgar Bronfman Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (born 1929)
John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (born 1922)
Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager (born 1927)
Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
Christos Lambrakis, Greek journalist and businessman (born 1934)
Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (born 1940)
Autar Singh Paintal, Indian physiologist and neurologist (born 1925)
Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician (born 1904)
Stella Adler, American actress and educator (born 1901)
Albert King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1924)
Nathan Milstein, Russian-American violinist and composer (born 1903)
Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1907)
Paul de Man, Belgian-born philosopher, literary critic and theorist (born 1919)
Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jullundhri, Pakistani poet and composer (born 1900)
Richard Long, American actor and director (born 1927)
Vittorio Pozzo, Italian footballer, coach, and manager (born 1886)
Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (born 1891)
Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (born 1880)
Jack Hobbs, English cricketer and journalist (born 1882)
Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, engraver, and painter (born 1883)
H.B. Warner, English actor (born 1875)
Lion Feuchtwanger, German-American author and playwright (born 1884)
Eric Coates, English viola player and composer (born 1886)
Kaarlo Koskelo, Finnish-American wrestler and businessman (born 1888)
Kenneth Edwards, American golfer (born 1886)
Władysław Witwicki, Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian (of philosophy and art) and artist (born 1878)
George S. Patton, American general (born 1885)
F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist and short story writer (born 1896)
Violette Neatley Anderson, American judge (born 1882)
Ted Healy, American comedian and actor (born 1896)
Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1856)
Ted Birnie, English footballer and manager (born 1878)
Kurt Tucholsky, German-Swedish journalist and author (born 1890)
Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic anthropologist and explorer (born 1879)
I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (born 1859)
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, leader of the Dervish movement (born 1856)
Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (born 1809)
Francis Garnier, French admiral and explorer (born 1839)
Friedrich Ernst Scheller, German jurist and politician (born 1791)
James Parkinson, English physician and paleontologist (born 1755)
John Newton, English soldier and minister (born 1725)
Sir Hugh Paterson, Baronet of Bannockburn (born 1659)
Catherine Vasa, Swedish princess (born 1539)
William Davison, secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England (born c. 1541)
Peter Canisius, Dutch priest and saint (born 1521)
Jean de la Cassière, 51st Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (born 1502)
Marguerite de Navarre, queen of Henry II of Navarre (born 1492)
John Seymour, English courtier (born 1474)
Berthold von Henneberg, German archbishop (born 1442)
Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian author and poet (born 1313)
Constantine III, king of Armenia (born 1313)
Thomas Hemenhale, bishop of Worcester
Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (born 1244)
Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid, Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq of Tayyibi Isma'ilism (born c. 1128)
Hugh of Tuscany, Italian margrave (born 950)
Al-Mu'izz, Fatimid caliph (born 932)
Sun Sheng, Chinese chancellor
Hincmar, French archbishop and historian (born 806)
Thomas the Apostle, Roman martyr and saint (born 1 AD)
Armed Forces Day (Philippines)
Christian feast day: O Oriens
Christian feast day: Peter Canisius
Christian feast day: Thomas the Apostle
Christian feast day: December 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)