Todays History

First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.

LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lighting and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91

The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, surviving by cannibalism.

The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., burns

The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

Richard I of England is captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after the Third Crusade.

Start of the First Indochina War.

The Chadian Civil War begins when rebel groups, allegedly backed by neighbouring Sudan, launch an attack in Adré.

First flight of the Douglas DC-3.

In Rugby Union, The “Match of the Century” is played between Wales and New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park.