2012: 2012 phenomenon: this day was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, leading to widespread expectations of cataclysmic events]] (which failed to happen).
2004: [Iraq](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq) War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, Iraq, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers.
1999: The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid, Spain.
1995: The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.
1992: A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56.
1988: The first flight of Antonov An-225 Mriya, the largest aircraft in the world.
1970: First flight of F-14 multi-role combat aircraft.
1968: Apollo program: Apollo 8 is launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
1967: Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, having lived for 18 days after the transplant.
1963: "Bloody Christmas" begins in Cyprus, ultimately resulting in the displacement of 25,000-30,000 Turkish Cypriots and destruction of more than 100 villages.
1946: An 8.1 Mw earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.