Once Upon A Time – December 16 – 1689 – English Parliament Passes Bill Of Rights Establishing Limits On Crown Powers

755 An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during Chinese Tang Dynasty

1598 Seven Year War: Battle of Noryang Point – in the final battle of the war Korean navy decisively defeats the Japanese

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts

1653 Parliamentarian General Oliver Cromwell appointed as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland

1773 Boston tea party incident – Sons of Liberty protesters throw tea shipments into Boston harbour in protest against British imposed Tea Act

1920 8.5 earthquake rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000

1944 Nazi Germany launches a counteroffensive against the Allies in the Ardennes region of Belgium, beginning the ‘Battle of the Bulge’

1998 Iraq disarmament crisis: Operation Desert Fox – the United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq

Historical Events Today
Today in Film & TV
1967 “Playtime”, French film directed by Jacques Tati, starring himself, is released

Today in Music
1893 Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 – “New World Symphony” premieres at Carnegie Hall, New York

Today in Sport
1930 Golfer Bobby Jones is the first to win the James E. Sullivan Award (best US amateur athlete)

1689 English Parliament passes Bill of Rights establishing limits on crown powers and requirement for regular elections

1937 Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from American federal prison Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again.

Famous Weddings
1771 Chemist Antione Lavoisier (28) marries Marie-Anne Paulze (13), the couple go on to make major discoveries in chemistry together

1944 General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s clerk Rickey marries corporal Pearlie

1950 American child actress Shirley Temple (22) weds 2nd husband US naval officer Charles Alden Black (31), at his parents’ home, Del Monte, California