1492-First Spanish settlement in the New World, La Navidad, is founded by Christopher Columbus (modern Môle-Saint-Nicolas in Haiti)
1792-Trial of French King Louis XVI, court hears the kings defense brought by Raymond Desèze
1825-Decembrist uprising in Russia against Tsar Nicholas I begins [O.S. Dec.14]
1865-James H Mason (Mass) patents 1st US coffee percolator
1944-Battle of Bastogne: US General George S. Patton's 3rd Army repulses German forces
1973-Horror film "The Exorcist" based on book and screenplay by William Peter Blatty, starring Linda Blair, rated X, premieres - 1st horror film to be nominated for Best Picture
1982-TIME's Man of the Year is a computer
2004-A 9.3 magnitude earthquake creates a tsunami, causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives, and the edges of the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people