Events in History
- 1170 English Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket assassinated before the high altar of Canterbury Cathedral by four knights
- 1503 Battle of Garigliano: Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba defeats French forces in Italy, giving Spain control of the Kingdom of Naples
- 1539 St Jacob's Church burns after being hit by lightning
- 1541 Isabella of Poland and King Ferdinand of Austria sign Treaty of Gyalu
- 1558 Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, buried in El Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
- 1566 Danish student and future astronomer Tycho Brache loses part of his nose in a sword duel over who is the better mathematician (he wore a prosthetic nose the rest of his life)
- 1653 Dutch painter Jan Vermeer becomes a member of the Guild of Saint Luke for painters in Delft
- 1705 Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon's play "Idoménée" premieres in Paris
- More Events in History
Elizabeth of Russia
Charles Goodyear
Andrew Johnson
William Gladstone
Tom Bradley
Carles PuigdemontWeddings in History
- 1954 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin (24) weds Joan Archer
- 1994 Billionaire J. Paul Getty Jr marries Victoria Holdsworth in Barbados
More Weddings in History
Thomas Becket
Harold Macmillan
Vivienne WestwoodDecember in History
Oh Tragedy! What Could Be Worse? – McGonagall’s Verse!
Suffering a tragedy such as happened on this day was bad enough: what made it worse was having self-declared poet William McGonagall compose a rhyme about it.
December 28, 1879
'Hitler Will Have to Break Us or Lose the War'
The German Luftwaffe were hammering the British RAF until a furious and frustrated Hitler changed the plan and possibly the outcome of the war.
December 29, 1940
Wounded Knee Massacre
Mass grave for the dead after the massacre
December 29, 1890
The Taming of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill made an emotional speech to the Canadian Parliament on this day, December 30, 1941. His photograph from that day is just as memorable.
December 30, 1941