| 476 | BC | the gens Fasbius was annihilated by the Veintines in the Battle of the Cremerea -- Learn More |
| 0 | | Feast of Saint Polyeuctus of Melitene, Roman soldier and martyr, Patron of Treaties |
| 1021 | | Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, c. 36, Caliph of Eygpt (996-1021), noted scientist, bibliophile, and eccentric, takes a solo walk into the desert and disappears |
| 1130 | | Gregorio Papareschi elected Pope as Innocent II (1130-1143) |
| 1503 | | Tournament of Barletta: 13 Italian knights defeat 13 French knights |
| 1544 | | William "the Silent" of Nassau, 11, becomes Prince of Orange (1544-1584), later leader of the Dutch Revolt |
| 1672 | | The Massacre of Glencoe: The Protestant Williamite Campbells slaughter the Catholic Jacobite MacDonalds, perhaps 100 die |
| 1689 | | Mary II (1689-1694) and her husband William III (1689-1702) ascend the throne of England |
| 1706 | | Battle of Fraustadt: Swedes defeat a Russo-Saxon army |
| 1779 | | Battle of Kettle Creek: American militia defeats Tory militia |
| 1809 | | French take Zaragoza after a long and bloody siege |
| 1853 | | Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph is seriously wounded by knife wielding Hungarian nationalist, János Libényi |
| 1854 | | Fourth Great Fire of New Orleans: 25 die as steamboats burn dockside |
| 1861 | | 1st Medal of Honor action: Asst Surg Bernard Irwin, Apache Pass, Az (awarded 1894) |
| 1861 | | Neapolitan Royalists surrender Gaeta (besieged since Nov 12) to Italy, confirming the unification of Italy |
| 1864 | | Meridian Campaign: Skirmishes at Chunky Creek & Wyatt |
| 1924 | | Japanese Adm. Kenji Ide and his aide, Capt. Isoruku Yamamoto, visit the U.S. Naval War College |
| 1937 | | Nocturnal raid by Italian cruisers and destroyers on Barcelona and Valencia in support of the Spanish Nationalists |
| 1941 | | Francisco Franco and Benito Mussolini confer at Bordighera, on the Riviera |
| 1942 | | American-British-Dutch-Australian cruiser-destroyer force sorties from Batavia. |
| 1942 | | Bataan: Fil-Am troops eliminate Japanese at Canas Point |
| 1942 | | Hitler finally cancels "Operation Seelöwe", the invasion of Britain |
| 1942 | | Japanese light forces sink the British gunboat 'Scorpion' in Banka Strait |
| 1942 | | US and Canada agree to construct the ALCAN Highway |
| 1943 | | Japanese 41st Div arrives at Wewak, New Guinea from China |
| 1944 | | Marines take possession of Arno Atoll in the Marshall islands |
| 1945 | | USAAF & the RAF begin two nights of heavy bombardment of Dresden, 50,000-100,000 die -- Learn More |
| 1945 | | The Red Army captures Budapest after a 49-day battle |
| 1950 | | A B-36 bomber on a routine training exercise developes engine trouble and jetisons a 30-kiloton Mark 4 (Fat Man) nuclear bomb into the Pacific |
| 1951 | | Battle of Chipyong-ni: the Chinese attempt to break the UN front in Korea, US & French troops beat then off by the 15th; the high water mark of Chinese penetration into South Korea |
| 1960 | | France explodes its first atomic bomb, in Algeria |
| 1989 | | Salvadoran troops attack Encuentros Hospital, rape, kill patients |
| 1990 | | Natal, South Africa: Inkatha-UDF rioting, c. 300 die |
| 711 | BC | Jimmu, first Emperor of Japan (660-585 BC) [Trad] |
| 1516 | | Bayinnaung, King of Burma (1551-1581) |
| 1599 | | Fabio Chigi - Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667) |
| 1718 | | George Brydges Rodney, British admiral, d. 1792 -- Learn More |
| 1734 | | Yves Joseph Christophe de Kerguelen-Trémarec, French naval officer and explorer, d. 1797 |
| 1768 | | Adolphe Édouard Casimir Joseph Mortier, Marshal of France, Prime Minister (1834-1835), assassinated |
| 1783 | | Guglielmo Pepe, Italian patriot and general, Napoleonic Wars, Revolutions of 1820 & 1848, d. 8 agosto 1855 |
| 1811 | | François Achille Bazaine, legionnaire, Marshal of France, who lost the big one in 1870, d. 1888 -- Learn More |
| 1831 | | John A. Rawlins, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1869 |
| 1833 | | William Whedbee Kirkland, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1915 |
| 1843 | | Isaac Hull, 69, Commodore, USN, who commanded the 'Constitution' in her fight with HMS ' Guerriere' |
| 1849 | | Lord Randolph Churchill, who had a famous son, d. 1895 |
| 1887 | | Alvin York, who captured "the whole damned German Army", d. 1964 |
| 1913 | | King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Sauid Arabia (1975-1982) |
| 1915 | | Aung San, Burmese general, politician, resistance leader, father of a more famous daughter, murdered, d. 1947 |
| 1919 | | Ernest "Tennessee Ernie" Ford, sometime B-29 bombardier, entertainer, d. 1991 |
| 1922 | | Harold Gregory "Hal" Moore, Jr., American soldier, who led the heroes of the Ia Drang Valley, d. 2017 |
| 1923 | | Chuck Yeager, airman extraordinaire , WW II ace, X-craft pilot, first man to break Mach 2, etc. |
| 858 | | Cináed mac Ailpín, King Kenneth I of Scots (843-858) |
| 1130 | | Pope Honorius II - Scannabecchi Lamberto (1124-30), c. 95 |
| 1141 | | King Béla II of Hungary (1131-1141), c. 32 |
| 1219 | | Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo of Japan (1203-1219), 26 |
| 1332 | | Andronikos II Palaiologos, 72, former Byzantine Emperor (1282-1328) and monk (1328-1332) |
| 1515 | | Count Carlo II Malvezzi della Selva, strangled at 28 |
| 1542 | | Catherine Howard, c. 18. Mrs Henry VIII No. 5 (July 28, 1540-Nov 23, 1541), chopped |
| 1571 | | Benvenuto Cellini, 70, Italian artist, rake, soldier, musician, memoirist -- Learn More |
| 1580 | | Pommier, French peasant rebel leader, murdered |
| 1660 | | King Charles X of Sweden (1654-1660), 37 |
| 1818 | | George Rogers Clark, 65, Patriot, who secured the northwest for the Republic |
| 1883 | | Richard Wagner, 70, composer ("The Flying Dutchman") |
| 1891 | | David D Porter, naval officer and reformer, U.S., at 77 |
| 1950 | | Rafael Sabatini, 74, Italian-born English novelist ("The Sea Hawk", "Captain Blood") |
| 1976 | | General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, 37, Head of the Nigerian Military Junta (1975-1976), killed during a coup |