Editing December 18 (section)

===1601–1900===
*[[1622]] &ndash; [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] forces score a military victory over the [[Kingdom of Kongo]] at the [[Battle of Mbumbi]] in present-day [[Angola]].
*[[1655]] &ndash; The [[Whitehall Conference]] ends with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the [[Edict of Expulsion]] of 1290.<ref>{{cite book|author=Avrom Saltman|title=The Jewish Question in 1655: Studies in Prynne's Demurrer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zbZtAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Bar-Ilan University Press|isbn=978-965-226-172-4|page=23}}</ref>
*[[1777]] &ndash; The United States celebrates its first [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]], marking the recent victory by the American rebels over British General [[John Burgoyne]] at [[Battles of Saratoga|Saratoga]] in October.
*[[1787]] &ndash; [[New Jersey]] becomes the third state to ratify the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]].
*[[1793]] &ndash; Surrender of the frigate ''La Lutine'' by French Royalists to [[Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood|Lord Samuel Hood]]; renamed {{HMS|Lutine|1779|6}}, she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
*[[1833]] &ndash; The [[national anthem]] of the [[Russian Empire]], "[[God Save the Tsar!]]", is first performed.
*[[1854]] &ndash; The [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]] abolishes the [[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneurial system]].<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act for the abolition of feudal rights and duties in Lower Canada|abbr =S.Prov.C.|year =1854|chapter = 3|link=https://books.google.com/books?id=jPMPAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA242&ots=csOgk7nl67&pg=RA1-PA10#v=onepage&f=false}}</ref>
*[[1865]] &ndash; US Secretary of State [[William H. Seward|William Seward]] proclaims the adoption of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]], prohibiting [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] throughout the United States. 
*[[1867]] &ndash; A [[1867 Keelung earthquake|magnitude 7.0 earthquakes]] strikes off the coast of [[Taiwan]], triggering a [[tsunami]] and killing at least 580 people.<ref>{{citation|title=Tsunami Event Information |author=National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service |url=https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/tsunami/event-more-info/967 |publisher=NOAA [[National Centers for Environmental Information]]|type = Data Set|access-date=10 June 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610064528/https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/tsunami/event-more-info/967 |archive-date= 10 June 2022 }}</ref>
*[[1878]] &ndash; The [[House of Thani|Al-Thani]] family become the rulers of the state of [[Qatar]].
*[[1892]] &ndash; Premiere performance of ''[[The Nutcracker]]'' by [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]] in [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia.
*[[1898]] &ndash; [[Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat]] sets the first officially recognized [[land speed record]] of {{convert|39.245|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on|order=flip}} in a [[Jeantaud]] electric car.