Source: HistoryNet.com
0054: Nero succeeds his great uncle Claudius, who was murdered by his wife, as the new emperor of Rome.
1307: Members of the Knights of Templar are arrested throughout France, imprisoned and tortured by the order of King Philip the Fair of France.
1792: President George Washington lays the cornerstone for the White House.
1903: Boston defeats Pittsburgh in baseball's first World Series.
1904: Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is published.
1958: First appearance of Paddington Bear, now a beloved icon of children's literature.
1972: Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes Mountains, near the Argentina-Chile border; only 16 survivors (out of 45 people aboard) are rescued on Dec. 23.
2010: After being underground for a record 69 days, all 33 miners trapped in a Copiapo, Chile, mine are rescued.