2005 - Darrell Russell, American football player (b. 1976)
2006 - Clay Regazzoni, Swiss Formula One driver (b. 1939)
2007 - John Berg (actor), American actor (b. 1949)
2007 - Julia Carson, U.S. Congresswoman from Indiana (b. 1938)
2010 - Blake Edwards, American film director (born 1922)
2011 - Christopher Hitchens, British-American writer (b. 1949)
Events
533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Ticameron.
1167 - Sicilian chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion.
1256 - Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia.
1467 - Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia.
1791 - The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia legislature.
1863 - Romania is using for the first time a mountain railway (from Anina to Oravita).
1864 - In the Battle of Nashville, Union forces under George H. Thomas almost completely destroy the Army of Tennessee under John B. Hood.
1868 - Shogunate rebels found Ezo Republic in Hokkaid¨.
1891 - James Naismith introduces the first version of basketball, with thirteen rules, a peach basket nailed to either end of his school's gymnasium, and two teams of nine players.
1905 - The Pushkin House is established in St. Petersburg to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin
1913 - Nicaragua becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
1914 - World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.
1914 - Gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hojyo coal mine, Ky¨±sh¨±, Japan, 687 killed. This accident is the worst coal mine disaster in Japanese history.
1917 - World War I: An armistice is reached between the new Bolshevik government and the Central Powers.
1939 - Gone with the Wind premiered at Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta, GA, USA.
1941 - The American Federation of Labor adopts a no-strike policy in war industries.
1942 - The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal campaign.
1945 - Occupation of Japan: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as state religion of Japan.
1960 - Richard Paul Pavlick is arrested for attempting to blow up and assassinate the U.S. President-Elect, John F. Kennedy only four days earlier.
1961 - In Jerusalem, Adolph Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and membership of an outlawed organization.
1965 - Gemini program: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieved the first space rendezvous with Gemini 7.
1967 - The Silver Bridge collapses, killing 46 people.
1970 - Illinois State Constitution is adopted at a special election.
1970 - South Korean ferry Namyong Ho capsized off Korean Strait, 308 killed.
1973 - John Paul Getty III, grandson of J. Paul Getty, American billionaire is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10, 1973
1995 - The European Communities Court of Justice hands down the "Bosman ruling", giving EU footballers the right to a free transfer at the end of their contracts, with the provision that they are transferring from one UEFA Federation to another.
1995 - South Korean football club Suwon Bluewings F.C. founded.
1997 - A chartered Tupolev TU-154 from Tajikistan crashes in the desert near Sharja, United Arab Emirates airport killing 85.
1997 - The Treaty of Bangkok is signed allowing the tranformation of Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone.
2001 - The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean.
2005 - Latvia amends its constitution to eliminate possibility of same-sex couples being entitled to marry.
2005 - Argentina's president N¨¦stor Kirchner announces the early repayment of its external debt to the IMF.
2005 - Introduction of the F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.
