1 – 1st Christmas, according to calendar-maker Dionysus Exiguus.
800 – Pope Leo III crowns Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Roman Emperor.
1066 – William the Conqueror is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, completing the Norman conquest of England.
1741 – Astronomer Anders Celsius introduces Centigrade temperature scale.
1868 – Despite bitter opposition, US President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in Southern rebellion (Civil War).
1914 – Legendary “Christmas Truce’’ takes place on the battlefields of WWI between British and German troops. Instead of fighting, soldiers exchange gifts and play football.
1977 – Charlie Chaplin, the British comedic actor and director who is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in motion-picture history, died in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev formally resigns as President of USSR in a televised speech.
2006 – American singer and songwriter James Brown, known as “the Godfather of Soul,” died in Atlanta.
Film: 1962 – “To Kill a Mockingbird”, a film adaptation of the novel by Harper Lee, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck, is released (Gregory Peck – Best Actor Academy Awards 1963).
Via Britannica / On This Day
