4 Nero ascended to the Roman throne.
1332 Rinchinbal Khan, Emperor Ningzong of Yuan became the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, reigning for only 53 days.
1775 The United States Continental Congress orders the establishment of the Continental Navy (later renamed the United States Navy).
1777 British General John Burgoyne’s Army at The Battles of Saratoga was surrounded by superior numbers, setting the stage for its surrende which inspired France to enter the American Revolutionary War against the British.
1792 The cornerstone of the United States’ Executive Mansion (known as the White House ) was laid.
1812 War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights – As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer were repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock.
1843 Henry Jones and 11 others founded B’nai B’rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world).
1845 A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approved a proposed constitution, that if accepted by the U.S. Congress, would make Texas a U.S. state.
1862 Mary Kingsley, English writer and explorer, was born (d. 1900).
1885 The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) was founded in Atlanta.
1904 Wilfred Pickles, English actor and broadcaster, ws born (d. 1978).
1915 The Battle for the Hohenzollern Redoubt marked the end of the Battle of Loos in northern France, World War I.
1917 The “Miracle of the Sun” was witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal.
1918 Mehmed Talat Pasha and the Young Turk (C.U.P.) ministry resigned and signed an armistice, ending Ottoman participation in World War I.
1923 Ankara replaced Istanbul as the capital of Turkey.
1925 Lenny Bruce, American comedian (d. 1966)
1925 – Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, was born.
1934 Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician, was born.
1941 Paul Simon, American singer and musician (Simon & Garfunkel), was born.
1943 World War II: The new government of Italy sided with the Allies and declared war on Germany.
1946 France adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
1959 Marie Osmond, American entertainer, was born.
1962 The Pacific Northwest experienced a cyclone the equal of a Cat 3 hurricane. Winds measured above 150 mph at several locations; 46 people died.
1968 Carlos Marin, Spanish baritone (Il Divo), was born.
1969 Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater, was born.
1970 Paul Potts, British opera singer, was born.
1972 An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 crashed outside Moscow killing 176.
1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes mountains. By December 23, only 16 out of 45 people were still alive to be rescued.
1975 Dame Whina Cooper led a land march to parliament.
1976 A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashed in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, killing 100 (97, mostly children, killed on the ground).
1976 The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy.
1977 Four Palestinians hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 to Somalia and demanded the release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
1983 Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois.
1990 End of the Lebanese Civil War. Syrian forces launched an attack on the free areas of Lebanon removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
1992 An Antonov An-124 operated by Antonov Airlines crashed near Kiev.
1999 – The United States Senate rejected ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
2010 – The 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Copiapó, Chile came to an end as all 33 miners arrived at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue.
Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia