1431 – Hundred Years’ War: Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris.
1497 – Vasco da Gama passes the Great Fish River, where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.
1575 – An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 strikes Valdivia, Chile.
1598 – Seven-Year War: Battle of Noryang: The final battle of the Seven-Year War is fought between the China and the Korean allied forces and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive allied forces victory.
1773 – American Revolution: Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.
1811 – The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri.
1880 – Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire.
1903 – Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel in Bombay first opens its doors to the guests.
1907 – The American Great White Fleet begins its circumnavigation of the world.
.1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.
1946 – Thailand joins the United Nations.
1947 – William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor.
1950 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency, after Chinese troops enter the fight in support of communist North Korea.
1960 – A United Airlines Douglas DC-8 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation collide over Staten Island, New Yorkand crash, killing all 128 people aboard both aircraft and six more on the ground.
1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: The surrender of the Pakistan Army brings an end to both conflicts. This is commemorated annually as Victory Day in Bangladesh, and as Vijay Diwas in India.
1971 – The United Kingdom recognizes Bahrain’s independence, which is commemorated annually as Bahrain’s National Day.
1991 – Kazakhstan declares independence from the Soviet Union.
2014 – Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants attacked an Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 145 people, mostly schoolchildren.