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
1831-Vincenzo Bellini's opera "Norma" premieres in Milan
1919-Yankees and Boston Red Sox reach agreement to move future Baseball Hall of Fame pitching slugger Babe Ruth to New York
1934-Yomiuri Giants, Japan's 1st professional baseball team forms
1941-Winston Churchill becomes first British Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, warning that Axis would "stop at nothing"
1982-TIME's Man of the Year is a computer
1991-Militant Sikhs kill 55 and wounds 70 in India
1994-French commandos terminate Air France hijacking in Marseille
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