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1997–The original lineup of The Zombies (Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White, Hugh Grundy, and Paul Atkinson) play onstage for the first time in 30 years. The reunited members perform their hits She's Not There and Time of the Season to a cheering crowd at the Jazz Cafe, in London, England.


BC 571–Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his vicory over the Etruscans.

885–Viking forces sail the Seine River with a fleet of 300 longships and lay siege to Paris, France.

1034–Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, is murdered. His grandson, Donnchad, son of Bethóc and Crínán of Dunkeld, inherits the throne.

1075–Emperor Taizong of Jin is born Wanyan Sheng in China.

1120–The White Ship sinks in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son and heir of Henry I of England.

1177–Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Châtillon defeat Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard.

1343–A tsunami, caused by an earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastates Naples and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other locations.

1487–Elizabeth of York is crowned Queen of England.

1491–The siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, ends with the Treaty of Granada.

1667–A deadly earthquake rocks Shemakha in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people.

1755–King Ferdinand VI of Spain grants royal protection to the Beaterio de la Compañia de Jesus, now known as the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.

1758–In the French and Indian War:, British forces capture Fort Duquesne from French control. Later, Fort Pitt will be built nearby and grow into present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1759–An earthquake hits the Mediterranean, destroying Beirut and Damascus and killing 30,000 to 40,000 people.

1783–The British evacuate New York, their last military position in the United States during the Revolutionary War.

1826–The Greek frigate, Hellas, arrives in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy.

1833–A massive undersea earthquake, estimated magnitude between 8.7 and 9.2, rocks Sumatra, producing a massive tsunami all along the Indonesian coast.

1835–Steel industrialist, Andrew Carnegie is born in Scotland. He will endow numerous philanthropic organizations associated with the arts and an extensive city-library system in America.

1839–A cyclone slams India with high winds and a 40-foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (which has never been completely rebuilt). The storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000 ships and killing an estimated 300,000 people.

1844–Automobile engineer, Karl (Friedrich) Benz, is born in Mühlburg (Karlsruhe), German Confederation. He is generally regarded as the inventor of the first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, and together with Bertha Benz, a pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. Although others were independently working along the same lines, Benz received a patent for his work first, and subsequently patented all the processes that made the internal combustion engine feasible for use in an automobile.

1846–Temperance movement activist, Carry Nation, is born Carrie Amelia Moore in Garrard County, Kentucky. She is particularly noteworthy for attacking alcohol-serving establishments (most often taverns) with a hatchet.

1863–At Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant break the Siege of Chattanooga by routing Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg.

1864–A group of Confederate operatives, calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan, starts fires in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City.

1874–The United States Greenback Party is established as a political party consisting primarily of farmers affected by the Panic of 1873.

1876–In retaliation for the American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, U.S. Army troops sack Chief Dull Knife's sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River.

1881–Pope John XXIII is born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in Sotto il Monte, Bergamo, Kingdom of Italy.

1881–Theobald Boehm, inventor of the modern flute, dies in Germany, at age 87. He was a Bavarian court musician, a virtuoso flautist, and a celebrated composer for the flute.

1882–Mystic and writer, Harvey Spencer Lewis, is born in in Frenchtown, New Jersey. He was a noted Rosicrucian occultist and the founder and first Imperator of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC) in America. Lewis built several scientific devices, among them the Luxatone, the Cosmic Ray Coincidence Counter, and the Sympathetic Vibration Harp. His books incude Rosicrucian Principles for the Home and Business, Rosicrucian Questions and Answers with Complete History of the Order, and Rosicrucian Manual.

1901–Rudolf Höss, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, is born Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss in Baden-Baden, Germany. He was the longest-serving concentration camp commandant in World War II. Höss introduced pesticide, Zyklon B, containing hydrogen cyanide to the killing process, thereby allowing soldiers at Auschwitz to murder 2,000 people every hour. He created the largest installation for the continuous annihilation of human beings ever known. He was tried for murder in 1947, and when he was accused of murdering three and a half million people, Höss replied, "No. Only two and one half million: the rest died from disease and starvation."

1905–Prince Carl of Denmark arrives in Norway to become King Haakon VII of Norway.

1915–Albert Einstein presents the field equations of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

1918–Vojvodina, formerly Austro-Hungarian crown land, proclaims its secession from Austria-Hungary to join the Kingdom of Serbia.

1925–Football player and coach, Bud Riley, is born Edward J. Riley, Jr. in Guin, Alabama. He served as an assistant football coach for the University of Idaho and Oregon State University. He also spent 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League, most notably as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1974 to 1977, and as a front office executive for the Calgary Stampeders from 1985 to 1987.

1926–The deadliest November tornado outbreak in U.S. history kills 76 people and injures more than 400 others.

1936–Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact in Berlin, Germany, agreeing to consult on measures "to safeguard their common interests" in the case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation. The pact is renewed on the same day five years later, with additional signatories.

1940–Soul singer, Percy (Tyrone) Sledge, is born in Leighton, Alabama. He had a big hit with When A Man Loves a Woman.

1941–The HMS Barham is sunk by a German torpedo during World War II.

1943–Statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina is re-established at the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1945–Miles Davis makes his first recordings as part of Charlie Parker's band.

1947–The "Hollywood Ten" are blacklisted by Hollywood movie studios for standing against the “Red Scare” (concern about Communists) in the entertainment business.

1947–New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom.

1950–The Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950 impacts 22 American states, killing 353 people, injuring over 160, and causing $66.7 million in damages.

1952–Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play, The Mousetrap, opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London, England. It will become the longest continuously-running play in history.

1952–During the Korean War, after 42 days of fighting, the Battle of Triangle Hill ends as American and South Korean units abandon their attempt to capture the "Iron Triangle."

1955–The Interstate Commerce Commission bans racial segregation on interstate trains and buses in the U.S. On the same day, a black seamstress from Alabama, Rosa Parks, refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in the segregated south. This event is widely considered to be the trigger that launched the Civil Rights movement.

1957–Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps perform Lotta Lovin’ and Dance to the Bop on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1957–According to Billboard magazine, most rock ‘n’ roll performers are beginning to shun package tours in favor of playing hops, where they receive a large percentage of ticket receipts.

1957–Mexican muralist painter, Diego Rivera, dies of heart failure.

1958–French Sudan gains autonomy as a self-governing member of the French Community.

1960–The Mirabal sisters, of the Dominican Republic, are assassinated.

1960–John F. Kennedy, Jr., is born in Washington, D.C. He was the son of President John F. Kennedy.

1961–The Everly Brothers are inducted into the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, reporting to Camp Pendleton, California, for duty.

1963–The body of President John F. Kennedy is laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, three days after his assassination.

1965–In London, England, Harrod’s department store stays open for two additional hours so the Beatles can do their Christmas shopping.

1966–The first television link is made between Australia and the United Kingdom.

1966–The Beatles record their fourth Christmas record in a small studio in the office of their music publisher, Dick James, in London, England. The record is distributed to members of The Beatles Fan Club.

1966–Actor and musician, Billy Burke, is born William Albert Burke in Bellingham, Washington. He is best known for the role of Charlie Swan in the Twilight movies, and as Gary Matheson in the TV series 24. He appeared in the films Along Came a Spider, After Image, Ladder 49, and Feast of Love.

1968–The Beatles’ double LP The Beatles (“The White Album”) is released in the U.S.

1968–Actress and musician, Jill Hennessy, is born Jillian Noel Hennessy in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She is best known for the roles of prosecutor Claire Kincaid in the TV series Law & Order, and as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., on the series Crossing Jordan.

1969–John Lennon returns his MBE to Queen Elizabeth, with his accompanying letter stating, “I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts.” The letter is signed, “With love, John Lennon of Bag.”

1970–In Japan, author Yukio Mishima and one compatriot commit ritualistic seppuku after an unsuccessful coup attempt.

1970–Saxophonist, Albert Ayler, dies of drowning in New York's Hudson River, at age 34.

1973–George Papadopoulos, head of the military Regime of the Colonels in Greece, is ousted in a hardliners' coup led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis.

1973–Serial killer, Albert DeSalvo, dies of stab wounds at the prison infirmary in Walpole, Massachusetts, at age 42. No one was ever convicted for his murder. He confessed to being the "Boston Strangler," the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. It is still not known if he actually was the killer. DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison in 1967.

1973–Actor, Laurence Harvey, dies of stomach cancer in London, England, at age 45. He appeared in the films Romeo and Juliet, I Am a Camera, Room at the Top, Expresso Bongo, The Alamo, BUtterfield 8, Two Loves, Summer and Smoke, Walk on the Wild Side, The Manchurian Candidate, The Running Man, Of Human Bondage, The Outrage, Darling, Life at the Top, A Dandy in Aspic, and The Magic Christian.

1974–The Irish Republican Army is outlawed in Britain, following the deaths of 21 people in a pub bombing in Birmingham, England.

1975–Suriname gains independence from the Netherlands.

1977–Former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. is found guilty by the Philippine Military Commission No. 2 and is sentenced to death by firing squad.

1977–Actor, Richard Carlson, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Encino, California, at age 65. He appeared in the films No, No, Nanette, The Little Foxes, Presenting Lily Mars, King Solomon's Mines, The Magnetic Monster, It Came from Outer Space, Riders to the Stars, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Helen Morgan Story, The Doomsday Flight, The Valley of Gwangi, and Change of Habit.

1981–Pope John Paul II appoints Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

1981–Actor, Jack Albertson, dies of cancer in Hollywood, California, at age 74. He is best known for his starring role in the TV sitcom Chico and the Man. He appeared in the films Miracle on 34th Street, The Harder They Fall, The Eddy Duchin Story, Man of a Thousand Faces, Don’t Go Near the Water, Monkey on My Back, Teacher’s Pet, Never Steal Anything Small, The Shaggy Dog, Lover Come Back, Period of Adjustment, Days of Wine and Roses, Son of Flubber, Kissin’ Cousins, Roustabout, The Subject Was Roses, Rabbit, Run, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and The Poseidon Adventure.

1984–Thirty-six top musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio in London, England, and record Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

1986–U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

1986–The King Fahd Causeway is officially opened in the Persian Gulf.

1987–Typhoon Nina pummels the Philippines with winds of 165 mph and a surge that destroys entire villages. At least 1,036 people are killed.

1992–The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia votes to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as of January 1, 1993.

1993–Sci-fi writer, Anthony Burgess, dies. He wrote A Clockwork Orange.

1996–An ice storm strikes the central area of the United States, killing 26 people.

1997–The original lineup of The Zombies (Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, Chris White, Hugh Grundy, and Paul Atkinson) play onstage for the first time in 30 years. The reunited members perform their hits She's Not There and Time of the Season to a cheering crowd at the Jazz Cafe, in London, England.

1998–Comedian, Flip Wilson, dies of liver cancer in Malibu, California, at age 64. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series The Flip Wilson Show. He is best known for his character of “Geraldine Jones.”

1999–A five-year-old Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, is rescued by fishermen while floating in an inner tube off the Florida coast.

1999–The United Nations establishes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.

2000–A 7.0 earthquake leaves 26 people dead in Baku, Azerbaijan, becoming the strongest earthquake in the region in 158 years.

2008–Cyclone Nisha strikes northern Sri Lanka, killing 15 people and displacing 90,000 others. The storm brought the region its highest rainfall in nine decades.

2009–Freak rains swamp the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during an ongoing Hajj pilgrimage. Three thousand cars are swept away, 122 people are killed, and 350 others go missing.

2012–Earl Carroll, of The Cadillacs and The Coasters, dies from a stroke in a nursing home in New York, New York, at age 75.

2015–The French Senate votes 325-0 to extend the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

2015–Ukraine bans all Russian planes from using its airspace.

2015–The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions Syrian businessman, George Haswani, who "serves as a middleman" for oil purchases by the Syrian government from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

2015–Pope Francis makes his first official visit to Africa.

2015–The new 20 euro note, the third in the Europa series, enters into circulation. The European Central Bank says the banknote has a “refreshed look and more vibrant colours,” and includes a new kind of security feature: a “portrait window” near te top of the hologram stripe which becomes transparent when seen against the light.

2015–An 18th-century pink Indian diamond, worth at least $5 million, and a Cartier diamond tiara are discovered in the jewelry recovered from Imelda Marcos.

2015–Former World Cruiserweight Boxing Champion, O'Neil Bell, is shot to death in a robbery in Atlanta, Georgia.

2016–Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to open Turkey's borders to allow refugees and migrants to reach Europe, after the European Parliament votes to temporarily freeze talks of Turkey's accession to the EU.

2016–WikiLeaks releases 500 internal documents and emails allegedly from the American Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen.

2016–Legal sales of recreational-use marijuana, authorized by Alaska ballot measure 2 in 2014, begin in Juneau, the state capital.

2016–Former Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, dies in Havana, Cuba, at age 90. He was a politician and revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976, and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Politically a Marxist-Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 to 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party socialist state: industry and business were nationalized and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society. The New York Times says, “Fidel held on to power longer than any other living national leader, excluding Queen Elizabeth II.”

2016–Actor, Ron Glass, dies of respiratory failure in Los Angeles, California, at age 71. He is best known for the role of Detective Ron Harris in the sitcom Barney Miller. He appeared in the films The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder, Deep Space, Houseguest, and Death at a Funeral.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots; Andrew Carnegie; Harvey Spencer Lewis; Percy Sledge; John F. Kennedy, Jr.; Jill Hennessy; Laurence Harvey; Jack Albertson; Flip Wilson; the new 20 euro note, issued in 2015; and Fidel Castro.
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