This was the Christmas when all hell broke loose at West Point Military Academy.
All in War
NUTS!
It was on this day that American forces in Bastogne, Belgium were surrounded by the Germans during what has become known as the Battle of the Bulge.
The Plot to Burn New York
Southerner Jacob Thompson hatched a desperate plan to set the Big Apple ablaze.
Bones of the Magi
Cologne Cathedral would take over 600 years to complete. The main purpose was to provide a suitable home for the Shrine of the Three Kings.
Nelson's Right Arm
In 1797, Today was the day that Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson lost his right arm during his attack on the Spanish port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Trinity Test
In the first successful test of an atomic weapon, the concrete and steel of the testing tower was vaporized instantly and the floor of the desert was turned into a bowl of glass 10 feet thick and 1000 feet wide.
Yagan's Head
The Aboriginal warrior's head was severed so it could be sent to claim a bounty offered by the British. Thus began a 177-year odyssey.
Death in the Mess
Dale Buis and Chester Ovnand are the first of over 58,000 names on the Vietnam War Memorial.
Sickles' Leg
During the Battle of Gettysburg, a Confederate cannonball mangled the right leg of General Daniel Sickles. He would go on to lead an illustrious and controversial life.
Attack on Fort Stevens
No lives were lost in the Fort Stevens attack but it goes down in history as the only attack on a mainland military installation during World War II.
Sgt. Bleak
He's probably the only Medal of Honor recipient whose citation that includes the phrase, "smacked their heads together."
Burst of Joy
Associated Press photographer, Slava "Sal" Veder snapped a photo that would become an iconic symbol of America's healing in the wake of the Vietnam War.
Bad Day at Boroughbridge
This was the day that Humphrey de Bohun, the 4th Earl of Hereford met his particularly gruesome fate.
Amy Spain
The last "legally" executed slave in America was a seventeen-year-old girl named Amy Spain.
U.S.S Princeton
An exploding cannon killed 8 people, including members of President John Tyler's cabinet.
The Emperor's Collar
János Libényi was executed on this day, a little over a week after he tried to kill Austrian Emperor Franz Josef.
The Battle of Los Angeles
At around 3 o'clock in the morning, residents were rattled out of bed by the loud thumps of anti-aircraft guns lobbing 12-pound shells into the sky.
Japanese Sub Attacks Santa Barbara
This was the night that a Japanese submarine attacked an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California.
The White Rose
"...what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?"
Tecún Umán
On this day the last King of the K'iche' Maya people was killed during a battle in what is now Guatemala.