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December 31, 1946, U.S. President Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II

December 30, 1924. Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galactic systems

December 29, 1888, The first performance of Macbeth took place at the Lyceum Theatre, England

December 28, 1908, an earthquake kills over 75,000 people at Messina in Sicily

December 27, 1960, France explodes its third atomic bomb, in the Sahara desert

December 27, 1985, gunmen kill at least 16 people at two European airports;  more than 100 are injured during twin terrorist attacks in Rome and Vienna.

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December 26, 2004, 10,000 plus killed in Asian Tsunami

December 25, 1989, deposed Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena are shot after being found guilty of crimes against the state

December 24, 1968, The Apollo 8 spacecraft and its crew of three astronauts become the first manned space mission to orbit the Moon

December 23,1972 an earthquake rips through the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, causing fears that ten thousand people have been killed

December 22, 1990, Lech Walesa was sworn in as Poland's first popularly elected president

December 21, 1620, The "Mayflower", and its passengers, pilgrims from England, land at Plymouth Rock

December 20, 1973, the Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco killed in a bomb attack

December 19,1932 The BBC World Service began broadcasting, as the BBC Empire Service

December 18,1956, Japan was admitted to the United Nations

​December 17, 2010 Tunisian man Mohamed Bouaziz, sets himself on fire, in an act which will lead to the fall of the Tunisian regime

Tommy Patten died in the defence of Madrid on this day December 16/17 1936.

Thomas Patten (1910 - 16/17 December 1936) was an Irish volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. He was born in Dooega, Achill Island, in the County Mayo gaeltacht, one of a family of fourteen children. Irish was his first language. Patten emigrated to England as a teenager, working in Blackpool and London. In London he became involved with the Republican Congress, a socialist republican group. In October 1936, after the outbreak of the war in Spain, Patten left England to travel to Spain on his own, before the formation of the International Brigades. Upon his arrival in Madrid, he enlisted in the militia to assist in the defence of the city from insurgent fascist forces during the Siege of Madrid. He was killed at Boadilla del Monte on the night of 16/17 December 1936, the first person from an English-speaking country and the first Irishman of 74 killed in the conflict.

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December 16,1969 UK MPs vote by a big majority for the permanent abolition of the death penalty for murder

December 15, 1961,Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann sentenced to death in Jerusalem by an Israeli court

December 14, 2003,Saddam Hussein is captured

December 13, 1995, riots flare in Brixton, UK

December 12,1982, 20,000 women encircled Greenham Common air base in Britain, in protest against proposed siting of U.S. Cruise missiles

December 11, 1936, Edward VIII abdicates to be with "the woman he loves", Wallis Simpson

December 10, 1915,President Woodrow Wilson marries Edith Galt

December 9,1941,China declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy

December 8, 1980, John Lennon is assassinated and the world mourns a special guy

December 7, 1941, Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbour

December 6, 2005, David Cameron becomes leader of the UK Conservative Party

December 5, 1945, Aircraft Squadron lost in Bermuda triangle

December 4,1991,last US hostage freed in Lebanon

December 3, 1992, two bombs rock the centre of Manchester, UK

December 2, 1995, rogue trader Nick Leeson jailed for 6 years

December 2, 1977, South African police cleared of Biko death

December 1,1955, black woman Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white person, ultimately her action changes the law