TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011

Today is Tuesday, December 13, the 347th day of 2011. There are 18 days left in the year.

1642 ― New Zealand discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman

1833 ― HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin arrives in Port Deseado, Patagonie

1843 ― ``A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens published, 6,000 copies sold

1895 ― First complete execution of Gustav Mahler’s 2nd Symphony

1916 ― Avalanche kills 10,000 Austrian and Italian troops in 24 hours in Tyrol

1944 ― Japanese kamikaze crashes into U.S. cruiser Nashville, kills 138

1950 ― James Dean begins his career with an appearance in a Pepsi commercial

1990 ― President De Klerk of South Africa meets with Nelson Mandela to talk of end of apartheid

1991 ― Both Koreas sign an accord calling for reconciliation

1993 ― Deadline for Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, they don't