Events in History Dec 17 Russian army of Grigory Potemkin occupies Ocharov Dec 19 Chinese troops occupy capital Thang Long Vietnam Dec 21 Hue Tay Son becomes emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam Dec 23 Maryland votes to cede a 10 square mile area for District of Columbia Birthdays in History Dec 29 Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, Danish antiquarian (named the stone/iron/bronze ages), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1865) Deaths in History Dec 6 Jonathan Shipley, British bishop and politician (b. 1714) Dec 14 Carlos III, King of Spain (1759-88) & King of Naples and Sicily (1734-59), dies at 72 Dec 22 Percivall Pott, English physician and surgeon (b. 1714) Dec 30 Francesco Zuccarelli, Italian rococo painter and etcher, dies at 86 1787 On This Day in History 1789