89BC Triumph of Pompeius Strabo for the capture of Asculum

47BC Caesar sails from Lilybauem, Sicily, for Africa

350 At Naissus (Nis, Serbia), Constantius II presides over the abdication of the Emperor-Aspirant Vetranio (Mar 1-Dec 25, 350), who retires to an estate in Anatolia, where he dies about six years later

354 First confirmed celebration of the Birth of Jesus on December 25th [Philocalian Calendar]

800 Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor (800-814), at Rome

875 Charles II "the Bald" crowned Holy Roman Emperor (875-877) by Pope John VIII

969 John I Tzimiskes, crowned Byzantine Emperor (969-976)

1003 Consecration of Pope John XVIII [XIX] (1003-1009)

1046 Accession of Pope Clement II (1046-1047)

1066 Coronation of William the Conqueror as King of England (1066-1087)

1100 Crusader Baldwin I of Boulogne is crowned King of Jerusalem (1100-1118)

1130 Coronation at Palermo of Roger II de Hauteville as King of Sicily and Italy (1130-1154)

1194 HRE Henry VI von Hohenstaufen is crowned King of Sicily (1194-1197), at Palermo

1260 Emperor of Nicaea John IV Lascaris (1258-1260) is deposed and blinded by his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaeologus. [see Births]

1553 Battle of Tucapel (Chile): Mapuche Indians defeat the Spanish

1745 Treaty of Dresden: ends Second Silesian War between Frederick the Great and Maria Teresa

1776 Washington crosses the Delaware river to begin the Trenton Campaign

1826 "Egg Nog" Riot at West Point: Cadets (including Jefferson Davis) indulging in illicit pre-dawn holiday cheer get out of hand

1837 Battle of Okeechobee: Zachary Taylor defeats the Seminole

1842 Battle of Mier: Mexican troops ambush a Texian invasion, initiating a two-day battle before the surviving raiders surrender, many of whom are later executed.

1862 Hilton Head, SC: 40,000 watch Union troops play baseball

1914 The Christmas Truce: Sporadic local cease-fires and some fraternization occurs across the Western Front; The Royal Welch Fusiliers play soccer with the 133rd Saxon Infantry and Prussian 6th Jager Battalion

1926 Hirohito becomes the Showa Emperor of Japan (1926-1989)

1941 British attempt to stabilize their lines in Malaya north of Jahore

1941 British-Canadian garrison of Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese 38th Division

1941 Dutch sub 'K-XVI' is sunk by Japanese sub 'I-66'

1941 Fil-Am South Luzon Force begins withdrawing northwards

1941 Luzon: Japanese dislocate Fil-Am defense line

1941 Manila is heavily bombed by Japanese aircraft

1941 First performance of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," by Bing Crosby, on his NBC radio program The Kraft Music Hall

1942 Guadalcanal: Americal Div bogged down before the Gifu

1942 U.S. a/c continue bombing Munda, to hamper Japanese airfield construction

1943 German SS 'Bogota' resupplies the Japanese sub 'I-29' in the Indian Ocean

1943 USS 'Skate' (SS-305) torpedoes the battleship 'Yamato' about 180 miles north of Truk

1943 U.S. carrier aircraft raid Kavieng, New Ireland, sink or damage several ships

1944 Burma: British advance in the Akyab peninsula, the Japanese withdraw

1959 Cologne, Germany: A synagogue is desecrated with swastikas

2016 Airplane crash in the Black Sea kills 92, including the Russian Army Chorus

2016 54,000 citizens of Augsburg, Germany, are evacuated after the discovery of an unexploded RAF 1.8 ton bomb dropped during World War II.