On this day

December 24th

1783 - USA: General George Washington resigned his commission as commander-chief of the Continental Army.

1851 - USA: A fire at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. destroyed two-thirds of it's collection.

1853 - USA: The steamship San Francisco sank at sea on its way to California. 240 out of 700 passengers were lost at sea.

1888 - USA: The Mississippi steamboat Kate Adams catches fire killing 25 people.

1893 - USA - Henry Ford completed construction of his first successful gasoline engine. His first motor car was assembled in 1896. It made a successful run on June 4 powered by a two-cylinder, four cycle gasoline motor.

1902 - London: Wealthy American attorney W. W. Astor makes a gift of £50,000 to the Great Ormond Street Hospital.

1906 - USA: The first known radio broadcast of voice and music was made by Reginald A. Fessenden, a private radio experimenter, at Branch Rock, Massachusetts. Fessenden had demonstrated his system at Branch Rock on December 11th.

1908 - USA: Early Film censorship was spearheaded in New York City by the Society for the Prevention of Crime, which persuaded Mayor George B. McClellan to revoke the licenses of the city's 550 movie houses. Managers were permitted to re-apply for licenses only after they signed an agreement not to give Sunday performances or show immoral films.

1914 - Europe: Released figures showed the Germans had captured 578,000 Allied prisoners.

1922 - Rome: Pope Pius XI's first encyclical calls for world peace.

1924 - Tirana: Albania is declared a republic.

1939 - Germany: Adolf Hitler spends Christmas with his troops on the Western Front.

1940 - Abbeville, France: In an address to his fighter pilots Hitler tells them that German U-boat successes and the neutralization of the USSR make victory ensured.

1941 - Burma: Japan launches an air offensive on Rangoon.

1942 - USSR: The Russians push the German 4th Panzer Army back from the Myshkova River, where it was halted in its attempt to rescue German Forces trapped in Stalingrad.

1943 - USSR: The Soviet Army launches a major offensive in the Ukraine, intended to destroy the German salient on the Dnieper and open Galicia and Romania.

1943 - USA: General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Commander of Allied forces for the invasion of Europe.

1944 - UK: 45 modified Heinkel He111's launch 31 V1 bombs aimed at Manchester; 17 reach the target area, killing 32 people and injuring 39 others.

1954 - USA: R&B singer Johnny Ace shoots himself dead after a game of Russian Roulette backstage at a concert in Houston.

1962 - Cuba: The government ransoms I,113 exiles, captured in the Bay of Pigs invasion, for $53 million.

1963 - London: The first night of The Beatles Christmas Show at the Finsbury Park Astoria, starred Billy J. Kramer, The Fourmost, and Cilla Black.

1964 - Indian Ocean: A hurricane kills around 7,000 people in Ceylon and the Indian province of Madras.

1967 - UK: The Bee Gees perform their Christmas special live on TV from Liverpool Cathedral.

1971 - UK: The Marquee Club in London held a Christmas Party with a performance by Slade.

1972 - London: David Bowie gives a special Christmas Eve concert at the Rainbow Theatre.

1977 - UK: The Sex Pistols played their last ever UK gig (until 1996), before splitting at Ivanhoes in Huddersfield. It was a charity performance before an audience made up of mainly children.

1988 - USA: Poison began a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Every Rose Has It's Thorn."

1994 - USA: Pearl Jam hit No.1 on the US album chart with Vitalogy.

1997 - UK: Various tribute bands played across the UK. Bi-Jovi at the Wheatsheaf in Stoke, T-Rextasy at Sheffield City Hall, The Silver Beatles at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms, and the Abba tribute band Voulez Vous at The Venue in London.

2003 - USA: Jack White of the White Stripes turns himself in to Detroit police to face aggravated assault charges stemming from a barroom altercation in which he allegedly attacked Jason Stollsteimer of The Von Blonds. White was also fingerprinted and formally booked on the charges before being released on $100 bond.

2009 - Iraq: Bomb attacks in Baghdad and Hilla leave 23 people dead.

2010 - Europe: Large scale disruption continues across Europe due to heavy snowfalls.

2011 - Libya: Libya celebrates its independence for the first time in 42 years.

December 25th

1839 - USA: After the defeat at the "Battle of the Neches" on July 16, 1839, Cherokees under Chief "The Egg" attempted to escape to Mexico. They made it as far as the Colorado River before they met resistance. Colonel Edward Burleson, leading Texan and Tonkawa forces, engaged them in a fight. Seven Cherokee warriors were killed and 24 women and children were captured. The peace lasted a little less than six months.

1875 - USA: The "Chicago Daily News" was founded by elton E. Stone, William Dougherty, and Percy Meggy with a trial issue. Daily publication began in January 1876. In a few months it was purchased by Victor F. Lawson, who hired Stone as Editor and later made him a partner.

1906 - London: Suffragettes in Holloway Prison refuse to eat Christmas Dinner.

1911 - China: Revolutionary leader Dr Sun Yat-sen arrives in Shanghai, amid rumours he will be offered the presidency of the Chinese Republic.

1913 - New York: A Couple are arrested for kissing in the street on Christmas Day; a judge fines them $15.

1924 - China: 800 soldiers are shot for looting at Kalgan.

1926 - Japan: Hirohito ascends to the throne on the death of his father Emperor Yoshimito.

1927 - UK: Britain has a white Christmas as freezing blizzards sweep the country.

1932 - London: King George V makes the first royal Christmas Day broadcast to the Empire.

1939 - Finland: Finnish troops enter Russian territory for the first time in the war.

1940 - Atlantic: The British Cruisers Berwick and Bonaventure drive off and slightly damage the German cruiser Admiral Hopper.

1941 - India: Mahatma Gandhi resigns the leadership of the Congress Party when it decides to support the British War effort.

1942 - Burma: Allied troops capture Rathedaung.

1943 - USSR: Soviet troops cut the Vitebsk to Polotsk railroad, serving a major German supply route to the west.

1944 - Philippines: The cream of the Japanese troops on Luzon are transferred to Cebu and Mindanao, after supplies are not guaranteed to get through to them.

1952 - London: The Queen makes her first Christmas broadcast.

1953 - London: In her Christmas speech the Queen vows to devote her life to the Commonwealth ideal.

1954 - UK: 28 people are killed and 8 are rescued when a BOAC Stratocruiser crashes at Prestwick airport.

1959 - Moscow: Nikita Khrushchev calls for an East-West summit meeting for the following spring.

1964 - UK: George Harrison's girlfriend Patti Boyd is attacked by Beatles fans as they arrive at London's Hammersmith Odeon for the evening's Beatle concert.

1965 - UK: The Beatles album "Rubber Soul" begins a nine-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart.

1971 - USA: Melanie begins a three-week stint at No.1 on the US singles chart with "Brand New Key"

1976 - USA: The Eagles start an eight-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with "Hotel California."

1978 - UK: John Lydon's new group Public Image Limited, play their first live gig at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1982 - UK: David Bowie and Bing Crosby had a top three hit "Peace on Earth - Little Drummer Boy.

1993 - USA: Mariah Carey is No.1 on the US album chart with "Music Box."

1995 - Rome: The Pope cuts short his traditional Christmas address in St. Peter's Square, suffering from a bad bout of flu.

2006 - USA: "The Godfather of Soul" James Brown dies from congestive heart failure in Atlanta, Georgia aged 73.

2007 - Nepal: At least 15 people are killed and dozens more are missing after a collapse on a suspension bridge in western Nepal.

2009 - The Queen remembers the dead soldiers of Afghanistan in her Royal Christmas message.

2010 - USA: 500 flights are affected as Atlanta, Georgia has its first white Christmas in 128 years.

2011 - South Pole: The Warmest temperatures ever recorded at the South Pole is set with a figure of -12.3 degrees centigrade at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

December 26th

1620 - USA: The Pilgrims reached Plymouth, Massachusetts, aboard the Mayflower after setting out from England on September 16th. The company consisted of 41 men and their families.

1799 - USA: "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen", forever associated with George Washington, was first said as part of Henry Lee's funeral oration before Congress, after Washington's death Dec 14th. Lee, known as "Light Horse Harry Lee" had served under Washington in the revolution and had become his close friend. He was the father of Robert E. Lee. On the same day as Lee's eulogy, the House of Representatives passed a resolution incorporating Lee's words almost verbatim: "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his fellow citizens."

1862 - USA: 38 Santee Sioux Indians condemned for their actions in the Santee Sioux uprising were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota. This was the largest mass hanging in American history.

1907 - India: The First Indian National Congress session is suspended after moderates and extremists clash.

1908 - Australia: Texan boxer Jack Johnson became the first Negro to hold the world heavyweight champion's title when he defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney. The fight was so severe that police stopped the fight in the 14th round after Burns was knocked out for 8 seconds.

1920 - South America: Thousands are feared dead in an earthquake that struck Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina.

1939 - UK: The Royal Navy begin laying a mine barrier from the Moray Firth to the Thames Estuary.

1940 - New York: "The Philadelphia Story" starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant opens across the city.

1942 - Atlantic: The British destroyers Hesperus and Vanessa on an escort mission sink a U-boat.

1943 - USSR: The Russians retake Ramomyshl and over 150 more places in the Kiev salient.

1944 - Philippines: A Japanese fleet bombards the US beachhead at Mindoro.

1945 - Moscow: Allied foreign ministers end their talks with agreement on UN control of atomic weapons.

1957 - Cairo: Anti-western demonstrations mark the opening of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference.

1963 - UK: Stevie Wonder arrives in the UK for appearances on "Ready Steady Go!" and "Thank Your Lucky Stars."

1966 - UK: John Lennon appeared as a men's room attendant in Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's BBC TV show "Not Only...But Also.

1967 - UK: The world TV premiere of The Beatle's film "Magical Mystery Tour" is shown on BBC TV in the UK.

1968 - USA: Led Zeppelin began their first US tour supporting Vanilla Fudge and The MC5, at the Denver Auditorium in Colorado.

1970 - USA: George Harrison begins a four-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with "My Sweet Lord" making him the first Beatle to score a No.1 hit.

1973 - UK: Paul and Lynda McCartney present BBC TV's "Disney Time"

1974 - Australia: A cyclone shatters the city of Darwin.

1976 - UK: The Sex Pistol's record "God Save The Queen" at the Wessex Studios in London.

1981 - USA: AC/DC begin a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with "For Those About To Rock We Salute You."

1988 - UK: Three North Sea oilfields are shut down when a storage vessel breaks free in gale-force winds.

1989 - Ireland: U2 begin a five night stint at Dublin's Point Depot.

1993 - Berlin: Actress Marlene Dietrich's grave is desecrated by neo- Nazis.

1998 - UK: The Spice Girls achieve their eighth UK No.1 single with "Goodbye" giving them the Christmas No.1 for the third year in succession.

2006 - USA: Former US President Gerald Ford dies at his home in Rancho Mirage, California aged 93.

2009 - Indian Ocean: Countries around the Indian Ocean hold commemorations on the 5th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that killed around 250,000 people.

2010 - South Africa: Cape Town announces it is to name a street after the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela.

2011 - Brazil: Brazil surpasses the UK to become the worlds 6th largest economy.

December 27th

1858 - USA: Twenty Texans, led by Indian Fighter Peter Garland, attacked a peaceful group of Anadarko and Caddo Indians camped on Keechi Creek near the Brazos River Reservation. The Texans killed seven Indians while they were sleeping. According to some reports, Texas Rangers refused to arrest Garland for the unprovoked murders. A grand jury set up to investigate the murders charged Anadarko Chief Jose Maria, with horse stealing instead.

1909 - London: Thomas Lewis of the University College Hospital gives a detailed description of auricular fibrillation of the heart.

1926 - UK: Imperial Airways announces the first scheduled air service to India beginning in the New Year.

1927 - USA: "Showboat" a musical by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern, adapted from Edna Ferber's 1926 novel of the same name, opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City.

1934 - Tehran: The government decrees that Persia will now be known as Iran.

1939 - Poland: After two German officers are killed after a scuffle in a bar in Wawer, the authorities round up and shoot dead 107 men and boys selected at random.

1940 - Pacific: The disguised German raider Komet, flying the Japanese flag, bombards phosphate plants on the Australian protectorate of Nauru.

1942 - Smolensk: Lieutenant-General Andrei Vlasov, under German protection, forms a committee to organize opposition to Stalin.

1943 - London: Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder is appointed deputy supreme commander of the Allied Invasion forces, headed by General Eisenhower.

1944 - Atlantic: The Canadian ship St. Thomas, escorting convoy HX-327, sinks the U-boat U877.

1946 - UK: 12 cotton mills close and a four-day week is planned in the Midlands due to coal shortages.

1947 - USA: A record-breaking snowstorm struck the Northeast, dumping a record 25.8in of snow on New York City, and causing almost 80 deaths in the North Atlantic states.

1951 - USA: US film critics Vote "A Streetcar Named Desire" best film of the year.

1952 - Singapore: Ten Moslems are killed after their car is mined by Malay terrorists.

1955 - USA: Traffic fatalities hit a new record over the Christmas weekend, numbering 609 deaths.

1960 - Africa: France explodes a third atomic device in the Sahara Desert.

1965 - Rhodesia: Petrol rationing is introduced.

1969 - USA: "Led Zeppelin II was No.1 on the US album charts. It went on to sell over six million copies in the US.

1975 - UK: "The Faces" officially split. Rod Stewart went solo, Ron Wood was on permanent loan to the Rolling Stones, Ronnie Lane went on to form "Slim Chance", and drummer Kenny Jones joined "The Who".

1984 - UK: The Granada TV music show "Brighton Rock" saw appearances by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Madness, Nik Kershaw, Gloria Gaynor, Spandau Ballet, The Flying Pickets, and Helen Terry.

1989 - USA: A former chef at the Chuck Berry owned restaurant "Southern Air" started court proceedings against Berry, alleging that the singer had installed secret video cameras in the ladies toilets. A further 200 women also took action, claiming that the recordings were used for improper sexual fetishes.

1991 - Sweden: All 129 passengers escape when their SAS DC-9 crashes after take-off.

1992 - New York: Harry Connick Jnr was arrested at Kennedy Airport after police discovered a 9mm pistol in his hand luggage.

1999 - USA: Sean "Puff" Daddy Combs and his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were arrested after a gun was found in their car as they left a Manhattan night club. Police were investigating a shooting at the club.

2006 - Taiwan: An Earthquake near Taiwan damages undersea cables and disrupts phone and internet services in Asia and the US.

2009 - China: A tomb believed to be that of "Cao Cao" a Chinese leader during the Three Kings period is discovered in Henan province.

2011 - Australia: Floods caused by Tropical cyclone Grant, causes the derailment of a train near the town of Katherine in Australia's Northern Territory.

December 28th

1791 - USA: Cherokee Chief "Bloody Fellow" and a party of his fellow Cherokees arrived in Philadelphia to meet with President George Washington. The meeting was delayed by the Secretary of War Henry Knox, until the Cherokees had been outfitted in "more proper clothing". The eventual meeting led to an addenda to the Holston Treaty that was signed on February 17, 1792.

1846 - USA: Iowa was admitted to the Union, becoming the 29th state.

1856 - USA: Woodrow Wilson the 28th President of the United States was born at Staunton, Virginia.

1904 - London: The first weather forecasts by wireless telegraphy are published.

1906 - Scotland: 13 people are killed when a train is derailed by snow, north of Dundee.

1925 - London: Hendon Aerodrome is bought by the government.

1939 - France: The first Indian troops arrive to join the British expeditionary force.

1941 - Pacific: Japanese paratroopers land on Sumatra.

1942 - Tirana: 600 Italian soldiers are reported to have been killed by Albanian freedom fighters.

1943 - Burma: The Chinese 38th Division captures Japanese positions in the Tarung Valley.

1956 - Egypt: Divers start to remove a sunken ship blocking the Suez Canal.

1961 - UK: Danny Williams was No.1 on the UK singles charts with "Moon River."

1968 - USA: The Beatles went to No.1 on the US album chart with the "White Album", the groups 12th US No.1 album.

1971 - UK: Mott The Hoople appeared at the Plymouth Guildhall.

1974 - USA: Helen Reddy went to No.1 on the US singles chart with "Angie Baby"

1980 - London: Southern TV and Westward TV lose their IBA franchises; TV-AM wins the breakfast TV franchise.

1985 - UK: Shakin' Stevens was at No.1 on the UK singles charts with "Merry Christmas Everyone."

1996 - UK: The Spice Girls score their third UK No.1 single with "2 Become 1."

1998 - UK: BBC Radio 1 aired the 100 National Anthems as voted for by their listeners. The top 5 in reverse order were:
5. Radiohead - "Creep"
4. Underworld - "Born Slippy."
3. The Verve - "Bitter Sweet Symphony."
2. Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
1. Massive Attack - "Unfinished Sympathy."

2003 - USA: 50 Cent's debut album "Get Rich Or Die Trying was named the Biggest-Selling album on the year in the US, going Platinum six times over.

2009 - China: Construction begins on China's largest civil aircraft final assembly base in Shanghai.

2010 - Germany: A late Bronze-Age grave of a Celtic Princess is unearthed in Heuneberg, Germany. Grave goods of Celtic jewellery made of gold, bronze, coal, and amber are also discovered.

2011 - USA: "The Silence Of The Lambs" the 1991 film starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins is preserved in the US Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry.

December 29th

1812 - Brazil: The U.S frigate Constitution destroyed the British frigate Java in a fight off the coast of Brazil.

1837 - USA: The "Caroline Affair" (1837- 1842) began when, on the U.S shore of the Niagara River, near Buffalo, Canadian authorities seized and burned the American vessel Caroline. The ship was leased to run supplies to Navy Island for support of Canadian revolutionaries led by William Lyon MacKenzie. In the fracas an American was killed by a Canadian militiaman. Ultimately the Canadian was acquitted.

1876 - USA: A railroad accident killed 84 people when the Pacific Express plunged into a gorge at Ashtabula, Ohio. The accident occurred when the bridge spanning the gorge cracked in the centre as the passenger train passed over it.

1891 - USA: An early patent for wireless telegraphy was issued to Thomas Edison for a "means of transmitting signals electrically... without the use of wires. The Patent was the result of experiments conducted in 1885. On November 15 1883, Edison had received a patent for his two-element vacuum lamp, the fore-runner of the vacuum tube rectifier.

1905 - Japan: As famine worsens in the country, reports state that around 680,000 people are starving.

1914 - Belgium: Belgium newspapers halt printing in protest at German censorship.

1924 - USA: John D. Rockefeller Jnr gives $I,000,000 to New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

1933 - Bucharest: Liberal premier Ion Duca is murdered by a Fascist.

1939 - Germany: Police issue a warrant for the arrest of the tycoon Fritz Thyssen who once funded, but now opposes the Nazis. He was believed to be in Portugal.

1941 - Burma: British attacks push Japanese troops at Bokpyin back into Thailand.

1942 -USSR: Soviet troops re-capture Kotelnikovo, south-west of Stalingrad.

1943 - Berlin: RAF aircraft kill around 182 people in a bombing raid, with the loss of 81 crewman.

1944 - Hungary: Soviet tanks roll into Budapest; German troops shoot dead two Russian envoys sent over to negotiate surrender terms.

1951 - USA: The US Atomic Energy Commission states it can produce useful electric power from nuclear energy.

1953 - Laos: Viet Minh troops reach the Mekong River along the Thai border.

1956 - USA: Elvis Presley makes chart history by having ten songs on Billboard's Top 100 for the week ending December 29.

1960 - UK: Cliff Richard was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with "I Love You"

1966 - UK: The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their debut on "Top of The Pops" performing "Hey Joe."

1969 - UK: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band appeared at The Lyceum in London.

1972 - USA: Life Magazine, a pioneer in photojournalism suspended publication after 36 years of weekly publication.

1974 - USA: "All Over Town", a comedy by Murray Schisgal and directed by Dustin Hoffman, opened at the Booth Theatre in New York City. It's cast included Cleavon Little, Barnard Hughes, and Zane Lasky.

1975 - USA: An airport bombing in the main passenger terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killed 11 people and injured 70.

1981 - USA: Reprisals against the USSR for its role in the imposition of martial law in Poland and the outlawing of the Solidarity movement were announced by President Ronald Reagan. The measures included a halt on all US-bound flights by the Soviet airline Aeroflot, cessation of sales of equipment that could be used for the Siberian gas pipeline, and stopping of negotiations on a new long-term agreement on grain purchases.

1982 - Jamaica: Jamaica issues a set of commemorative stamps in memory of Bob Marley.

1984 - India: Rajiv Gandhi wins a landslide general election.

1990 - UK: Cliff Richard gains his 12th UK No.1 single with "Saviour's Day."

1997 - Algeria: 97 civilians are massacred as part of the conflict between government security forces and Islamic extremists.

1999 - UK: The Melody Maker Music of the Millennium Poll placed The Smith's "The Queen Is Dead" at No.1.

2006 - UK: The UK pays off the last of its debts from World War II by paying the US and Canada $100 million.

2008 - Congo: An Ebola outbreak takes place in West Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2010 - Melbourne: England retain the Ashes for the first time in 24 years, after victory in the fourth test against Australia.

2011 - USA: The U.S sells 84 F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

December 30th

1853 - USA: The "Gadsden Purchase" negotiated by James Gadsden, U.S minister to Mexico was signed. By it's terms the U.S acquired 29,644 square miles of territory, comprising the southern-most portions of present-day Arizona and New Mexico, for $15,000,000 (later reduced to $10,000,000). The purchase established the final boundaries of the contiguous United States. The treaty, amended with consent of the Mexican government was ratified on June 30, 1854. The territory had been sought for a route for the Southern Pacific Railroad.

1890 -USA: While pursuing Sioux Indians at White Clay Creek, South Dakota, elements of the Seventh Cavalry engaged in a skirmish. Captain Charles Varnum, Company B, First Sergeant Theodore Ragner, Company K, and farrier Richard Nolan, Company I, won the Medal of Honour for bravery.

1900 - UK: Over 50 people are killed as lashing gales and flooding sweep the country.

1903 - USA: A theatre fire at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, during a performance by Eddie Foy, killed 588 people. Public reaction led to new theatre codes in many U.S cities: more fire walls, more exits, unobstructed alleyways, and fireproof scenery.

1915 - Mediterranean: 400 people are killed after a German submarine sinks the P & O liner Persia

1930 - Germany: The Nazis are victorious in municipal elections in Bremen.

1936 - USA: "High Tor", a dramatic fantasy in verse by Maxwell Anderson, opened at the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.

1940 - London: Many of London's most cherished buildings were gutted in a series of German incendiary raids on the capital.

1941 - USSR: The Red Army retakes Kaluga on the Moscow front, and mounts a heavy attack in the Crimea.

1943 - USSR: Soviet Troops capture Kazatin, south-west of Kiev.

1944 - New Mexico: New Mexico Scientists at Los Alamos, working on the "Manhattan Project" predicted that the first atomic bomb would be ready for the end of July 1945.

1948 - USA: "Kiss Me Kate", a hit musical comedy based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter opened at the New Century Theatre in New York City.

1950 - USA: A constitution and bylaws for the Eskimos of the Native Village of Buckland, Alaska, were ratified by a vote of 17-13.

1954 - Paris: The French parliament approves West German re-armament and NATO membership.

1962 - USA: Ike and Tina Turner, Jimmy Thomas, and Mary Brown, appeared at Coconut Grove, Sacramento, California.

1965 - Manila: Ferdinand Marcos is sworn in as the sixth President of the Philippines.

1967 - USA: The Beatles score their 15th US No.1 single with "Hello Goodbye."

1969 - UK: The Race Relations Board finds Wolverhampton Council guilty of racial discrimination.

1975 - USA: The New York Film Critics Awards were voted to Nashville for best film, Jack Nicholson as best actor for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and Isabelle Adjani as best actress for The Story of Adele H.

1978 - USA: XTC play their first live U.S debut show in Philadelphia.

1982 - Melbourne: England beat Australia by three runs in the fourth Test, one of the smallest margins in a Ashes match.

1985 - USA: Nine men and women accused of conspiracy to start a racial revolution were convicted in Seattle, Washington, on racketeering charges. Members of a white supremacist gang called the "Order", they were said to have committed crimes in a coast-to-coast spree to finance their plan to create a homeland free of Jews, blacks, and white traitors.

1988 - UK: Scottish detectives fly to Germany as the hunt begins for the bombers responsible for the Lockerbie air disaster.

1994 - Israel: The Jewish Agency announces that 78,000 immigrants, 66,000 of them from the former Soviet Union had settled in Israel that year.

1996 - Chechnya: The last Russian troops withdraw, effectively surrendering control of the republic to the rebel Chechen government.

1999 - UK: Noddy Holder receives an MBE and Mark Knopfler an OBE in the Queen's Millennium Honours List.

2006 - Spain: A 67-year old Spanish woman becomes the oldest birth mother after giving birth to twins in Barcelona.

2009 - Italy: Italian police discover a guitar sculpture created by Pablo Picasso for his daughter Paloma, in a shoebox in a businessman's apartment in the town of Pomezia, south of the capital.

2010 - North Korea: North Korean state TV broadcasts its first western film "Bend It Like Beckham."

2011 - Damascus: Clashes between Syrian forces and protesters in Damascus result in 12 deaths.

December 31st

1781 - USA: The Bank of North America was established by Congress. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not tax, so the Bank of North America was founded with a capitalization of $400,000 to supply the federal government with money.

1862 - USA: The Union ironclad "Monitor" sank in a gale off Cape Hatteras North Carolina.

1873 - USA: Indians fought with soldiers from the Fifth Cavalry in the Sunflower Valley near Fort Reno, Arizona. Seven Indians were killed and eleven were captured.

1909 - USA: The Manhattan Bridge, the fourth span across the East River in New York City was opened to traffic.

1918 - London: The coalition War Cabinet held its final meeting.

1922 - Paris: The French Government rejects a German offer of a non-aggression pact.

1927 - UK: Food supplies are air-dropped into villages cut off by snow.

1931 - Moscow: Sergei Rachmaninov's music is banned on the basis of it being too "decadent."

1938 - Berlin: The German Navy announces it is planning to double it's U-Boat fleet.

1939 - London: Police arrest New Year revellers shining torches in the blackout onto the statue of Eros in Piccadilly.

1940 - UK: With German incendiary bombs causing ever increasing damage night-time fire-watching is made compulsory.

1941 - Colditz, Germany: At the news of German setbacks in the USSR, PoW's break into a chorus of national anthems.

1942 - Rastenburg: In a meeting with Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler informs him that during August and September 363,211 Jews were "executed" in occupied Europe.

1943 - Poland: The Germans burn 59 villagers from Karpiowka to death for helping partisans.

1944 - Versailles: Eisenhower orders Montgomery to abandon the strategy of allowing the German Army to exhaust itself and mount an attack on the north of the Ardennes front.

1946 - USA: The state of hostilities was officially ended by President Truman, who reminded the nation that a state of war still existed and that the state of emergency proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt was not yet rescinded.

1953 - New Delhi: A British-led expedition to search for the "Abominable Snowman" arrives on its way to Nepal.

1958 - Africa: Ivory Coast, Niger, Central Africa, Upper Volta, and Dahomey became French Republics.

1961 - USA: The Beach Boys make their live debut at the Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California.

1964 - Australia: Donald Campbell sets a world water speed record of 276.33 mph.

1968 - London: The Alexandra Palace saw performances from Joe Cocker, Amen Corner, John Mayell's Bluesbrakers, The Small Faces, The Free, and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.

1970 - UK: Paul McCartney files a suit against the rest of the Beatles to dissolve their partnership.

1972 - USA: A near-total ban on DDT use, ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency, went into effect.

1979 - UK: Blondie's gig from the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, is shown live on BBC 2's Old Grey Whistle Test.

1983 - Brussels: The EEC lifts the sanctions imposed on the USSR after martial law was declared in Poland.

1984 - UK: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen crashed his Corvette Stingray on the A57 outside Sheffield. Allen lost his arm in the accident.

1987 - Worldwide: 1987 is shortened by one second to allow for an adjustment of the Gregorian calendar.

1993 - London: French Premier Edouard Balladur is named Man of the Year by the Financial Times.

1994 - Europe: At midnight Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the European Union, bringing its membership to 15.

1996 - UK: Paul McCartney becomes a Sir in the Queens New Years Honours List.

1998 - London: The New Year's Honours List included 12 Northern Ireland campaigners, including former prime minister John Major.

2003 - UK: Ringtones.co.uk announced that Beyoncé's No.1 hit "Crazy In Love" was the bestselling mobile ringtone of the year.

2007 - Kenya: Between 100-120 people are reported killed in rioting following the disputed result of the presidential election.

2009 - UK: Actor Patrick Stewart receives a Knighthood in the Queens New Year's Honours List.

2010 - Estonia: Estonia adopts the Euro as its official currency, becoming the 17th country to do so.

2011 - California: 35 fires burned within a 5 hour period in Hollywood, causing $350,000 in damage.

January 1st

1673 - USA: The first regular mounted mail service was inaugurated between New York and Boston. A postman rode without a change of horse from New York to Hartford. The road was little more than a trail but it would become the Boston Post Road, the first important highway in the colonies.

1818 - USA: The White House, as the restored Executive Mansion in Washington D.C, was now called because of its gleaming new coat of white paint, was opened for a general reception. Burned out by the British in 1814, the building was ready for occupancy in the fall of 1817, but lacked proper furnishings.

1892 - USA: Ellis Island in upper New York Bay became the receiving station for immigrants. On November 12 1954, it was closed after 62 years and the processing of 20 million immigrants. It is now part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

1905 - Russia: The Trans-Siberian Railway officially opens allowing travel from Paris to Vladivostok in a mere 21 days.

1907 - China: Four million people are feared to be starving due to heavy rains and crop failures.

1912 - UK: The National Telephone Company is taken over by the Post Office.

1917 - Mediterranean: The Cunard liner Ivernia is sunk by a German submarine, 153 people are feared dead.

1925 - Norway: The capital Christiania is renamed Oslo.

1927 - UK: The British Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts its first programmes.

1930 - Palestine: It was reported that the site of the biblical city of Sodom had been found five miles north of the Dead Sea.

1931 - UK: The Road Traffic Act came into force, introducing traffic policeman and compulsory third party insurance.

1934 - Germany: The Law for sterilisation of "inferior" citizens came into effect.

1938 - London: Gracie Fields receives a CBE in the New Years Honours.

1939 - Berlin: All women under the age of 25 are ordered to do one year's civilian service for the Reich.

1940 - London: Two million 19 to 27 year-olds are called up for service.

1941 - Italy: The RAF bombs Taranto and Naples, as well as Italian bases in Libya.

1942 - USA: Sales of new cars and trucks are banned in order to save steel.

1943 - Pacific: The Japanese begin their withdrawal from Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

1945 - Western Front: In Operation Bodenplatte 1,035 German fighters attack allied bases in Belgium and southern Holland destroying 156 aircraft, but lose 277 of their own.

1947 -London: Actor Ralph Richardson receives a Knighthood in the New Year's Honours.

1950 - London: Sir Adrian Boult is appointed principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

1952 - UK: British headmasters criticise the new GCE exams, claiming the standards are too high for some pupils.

1955 - USA: Foreign aid to South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos was begun by the U.S Foreign Operations Administration. Around $216,000,000 was spent during 1955.

1957 - Cairo: Egypt abrogates the 1954 Anglo-Egyptian treaty, denying Britain use of the Suez Canal in war.

1962 -Lebanon: The Lebanese army arrests 400 people for plotting to overthrow the government.

1964 - UK: The first edition of the BBC TV show "Top Of The Pops" was transmitted from an old church hall in Manchester. Introduced by Jimmy Saville, acts miming to songs included, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, and The Swinging Blue Jeans.

1965 - UK: Stanley Matthews becomes the first ever professional footballer to be knighted.

1968 - USA: "Billboard" magazine reported that for the first time ever albums had outsold singles in the U.S. with sales of over 192 million units.

1969 - UK: Sir Learie Constantine became Britain's first black life peer.

1972 - UK: Marc Bolan signed with EMI to release records in the UK on his own T.Rex Wax Co. Label.

1973 - Europe: Britain, Ireland, and Denmark become members of EEC.

1977 - London: The Clash played the opening night at punk's first real venue, The Roxy Club in London.

1982 - UK: Three ITV stations, Central, TV South and TV South West, go on air for the first time.

1983 - London: Britain bans Danish trawlers from fishing in British waters.

1987 - Beijing: Thousands of students march on Tienanmen Square in the biggest demonstration since 1976.

1995 - Birmingham: Accused serial killer Frederick West, awaiting trial for the murder of 12 young women, is found hanged in his cell at Winson Green Prison.

1998 - Pakistan: Pakistan's new President Mohammed Rafiq Ra, is sworn in.

2007 - UK: Raymond Van Barneveld defeats Phil Taylor 7-6 in sets to win the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, collecting £100,000.

2010 - North Korea: North Korea calls for the end of hostilities with the U.S, and a nuclear free Korean Peninsula in its annual New Year editorial.

2011 - UK: Two people are killed when a hot air balloon crashes onto a bowling green in Midsomer Norton in Somerset.

January 2nd

1788 - USA: Georgia ratified the constitution, and became the fourth state of the union.

1870 - USA: Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began. It was to span the East River from Park Row, Manhattan, to Sands and Washington streets in Brooklyn.

1907 - France: Latest anti-clerical laws come into force, forbidding the crucifix in schools.

1913 - Balkans: During peace talks Turkey agrees to give up all its European territories except the area west of Constantinople.

1919 - Turkey: 1.5 million Armenians are alleged to have been massacred by the Turks.

1921 - Spain: 160 passengers are feared drowned when the ship "Santa Isabel" sinks off Villa Garcia.

1924 - Paris: The City's main railway stations are closed as the water level of the River Seine rises due to flooding.

1925 - Australia: Australia score a record 600 runs in their first innings against England; Jack Hobbs gets his record 2,000th test run in England's first innings.

1928 - USA: Pan-American Airways become the first airline to use male stewards.

1935 - London: Britain agrees to buy more Irish cattle in return for selling more coal to the Irish Free State.

1939 - Spain: Nationalists arrest Ernest Golding, the British Consul in San Sebastian, for alleged spying.

1940 - Finland: Russian forces launch a major offensive in the Karelian isthmus.

1941 - UK: "The Twenty Committee" formed to co-ordinate the activities of double agents based in Britain, meets for the first time.

1942 - Philippines: Japanese troops occupy Cavite naval base and Manila as the U.S withdraws to the Bataan Peninsula.

1943 - Guadalcanal: U.S infantry troops attack Gifu on Mount Austen, but fail to overcome Japanese resistence.

1944 - Saidor: U.S Sixth army troops made landings on Saidor, on New Guinea's north coast cutting off Japanese rear-guard forces from the main Japanese base Madang 55 miles away.

1950 - Saudi Arabia: The American Oil Company agrees to share its profits with the Saudi government.

1953 - UK: The RAF's first supersonic fighters, 400 U.S designed Sabres, arrive at RAF Abingdon.

1960 - USA: The age of the solar system was estimated by Dr. John H. Reynolds of the University of California (Berkeley) to be 4,950,000,000 years. His estimate was based on study of a meteorite found 41 years previously, near Richmond N.D.

1963 - Vietnam: 50 U.S troops are killed when Vietcong Guerrillas shoot down five U.S helicopters in the Mekong delta.

1969 - USA: Led Zeppelin played the first of four nights at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles during their first U.S tour, supported by the Alice Cooper Band.

1970 - UK: The FA suspends Manchester United star George Best for a month for disreputable behaviour.

1971 - USA: The Omnibus Crime Control Act, authorizing $3,600,000,000 in federal aid for state and local law enforcement agencies, was signed by President Richard Nixon.

1974 - UK: 18 national museums and galleries begin charging for admission.

1976 - UK: Hurricane force winds up to 105mph cause wide-spread damage and havoc, leaving 22 people dead.

1979 - New York: Sex Pistol's base player Sid Vicious went on trial in New York accused of murdering his girlfriend Nancy Spungen.

1980 - UK: The first national steel strike since 1926 began.

1986 - London: England's cricket tour to Bangladesh is cancelled at the last minute in a row over ties with South Africa.

1988 - USA: One of the largest inland oil spills ever, 20 miles up the Monongahela River from Pittsburgh, dumped 860,000 gallons into the stream when a 40 year-old tank of the Ashfield Oil Co. collapsed. Flowing into the Ohio River, the spill caused extensive damage to water supplies and wildlife before dissipating.

1991 - UK: Fewer drivers than the previous year were found positive in Christmas holiday alcohol tests.

1992 -Moscow: State controls on food prices are lifted, causing sharp rises in the cost of bread, milk, and meat.

1995 - Belfast: The main debating chamber of Stormont, Northern Ireland's former parliament is gutted by fire.

2004 - New Zealand: Singer Daniel Bedingfield suffered two fractured vertebrae in his neck after the jeep he was driving rolled over and crashed while on holiday in New Zealand. Emergency workers had to cut the singer free before he could be taken to hospital.

2009 - Baghdad: A Swedish charter aircraft carrying 150 passengers lands at Baghdad airport, becoming the first commercial flight to land their since 1990.

2011 - South Africa: Ten people are crushed to death in a bar packed with New Year revellers in Ipelegeng.

2012 - Chile: Fire-fighters battle three large wildfires which have seen the death of one person.