Editing December 13 (section)

===1901–present===
*[[1937]] &ndash; [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]: [[Battle of Nanking]]: The city of [[Nanjing]], defended by the [[National Revolutionary Army]] under the command of General [[Tang Shengzhi]], falls to the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]]. This is followed by the [[Nanking Massacre]], in which Japanese troops rape and slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians.
*[[1938]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: The [[Neuengamme concentration camp]] opens in the [[Bergedorf]] district of [[Hamburg]], Germany.
*[[1939]] &ndash; The [[Battle of the River Plate]] is fought off the coast of Uruguay; the first naval battle of [[World War II]]. The [[Kriegsmarine]]'s [[Deutschland-class cruiser]] (pocket battleship) ''[[German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee|Admiral Graf Spee]]'' engages with three [[Royal Navy]] cruisers: {{HMS|Ajax|22|6}}, {{Ship|HMNZS|Achilles|70|6}} and {{HMS|Exeter|68|6}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bidlingmaier |first=Gerhard |title=Warship Profile 4 |chapter=KM Admiral Graf Spee |publisher=Profile Publications |location=Windsor |year=1971 |pages=88–91 |oclc=20229321}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Jackson |editor-first=Robert |title=Kriegsmarine: The Illustrated History of the German Navy in WWII |publisher=MBI Publishing Company |location=Osceola |year=2001 |pages=64–67 |isbn=978-07-60310-26-7}}</ref>
*[[1943]] &ndash; World War II: The [[Massacre of Kalavryta]] by German occupying forces in Greece.
*[[1949]] &ndash; The [[Knesset]] votes to move the capital of [[Israel]] from [[Tel Aviv]] to [[Jerusalem]].
*[[1957]] &ndash; The {{M|w}} 6.5 [[1957 Farsinaj earthquake|Farsinaj earthquake]] strikes Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII, causing at least 1,119 deaths and damaging over 5,000 homes.<ref name="AMBRASEYS">{{cite journal |last1=Ambraseys |first1=N. N. |last2=Moinfar |first2=A. A. |last3=Peronaci |first3=P. |title=The Seismieity of Iran the Farsinaj (Kermanshah) earthquake of 13 December 1957 |journal=Annals of Geophysics |date=1973 |volume=26 |issue=4 |doi=10.4401/ag-5030 |url=https://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/view/5030|doi-access=free }}</ref>
*[[1959]] &ndash; [[List of archbishops of Cyprus|Archbishop]] [[Makarios III]] becomes the first [[President of Cyprus]].
*[[1960]] &ndash; While [[Emperor of Ethiopia|Emperor]] [[Haile Selassie]] of [[Ethiopia]] visits Brazil, his [[Kebur Zabagna|Imperial Bodyguard]] [[1960 Ethiopian coup attempt|seizes the capital]] and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince [[Amha Selassie|Asfa Wossen]], Emperor.
*[[1962]] &ndash; [[NASA]] launches ''[[Relay program#Relay 1|Relay 1]]'', the first active repeater communications [[satellite]] in orbit.
*[[1967]] &ndash; [[Constantine II of Greece]] attempts an unsuccessful [[Greek military junta of 1967–74#The King's counter-coup|counter-coup]] against the [[Greek military junta of 1967–74|Regime of the Colonels]].
*[[1968]] &ndash; Brazilian President [[Artur da Costa e Silva]] issues [[AI-5]] (Institutional Act No. 5), enabling government by decree and suspending [[habeas corpus]].
*[[1972]] &ndash; [[Apollo program]]: [[Eugene Cernan]] and [[Harrison Schmitt]] begin the third and final [[extra-vehicular activity]] (EVA) or "Moonwalk" of ''[[Apollo 17]]''. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.
*[[1974]] &ndash; [[Malta]] becomes a republic within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
*  1974   &ndash; In the [[Vietnam War]], the [[North Vietnam]]ese forces launch their [[1975 Spring Offensive]] (to 30 April 1975), which results in the final capitulation of [[South Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Viên |first=Cao Văn |title=The Final Collapse |publisher=University Press of the Pacific |location=Honolulu |year=1983 |pages=59–60 |isbn=978-14-10219-55-8}}</ref>
*[[1977]] &ndash; [[Air Indiana Flight 216]] crashes near [[Evansville Regional Airport]], killing 29, including the [[Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball|University of Evansville basketball team]], support staff, and boosters of the team.
*[[1981]] &ndash; General [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] declares [[Martial law in Poland|martial law]] in Poland, largely due to the actions by ''[[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]]''.
*[[1982]] &ndash; The 6.0 {{M|s}} [[1982 North Yemen earthquake|North Yemen earthquake]] shakes southwestern [[Yemen]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of VIII (''Severe''), killing 2,800, and injuring 1,500.
*[[1988]] &ndash; [[Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO Chairman]] [[Yasser Arafat]] gives a speech at a [[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]] meeting in [[Geneva]], Switzerland, after United States authorities refused to grant him a [[Visa (document)|visa]] to visit UN headquarters in New York.
*[[1989]] &ndash; [[The Troubles]]: [[Attack on Derryard checkpoint]]: The [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] launches an attack on a [[British Army]] temporary vehicle checkpoint near [[Rosslea|Rosslea, Northern Ireland]]. Two British soldiers are killed and two others are wounded.
*[[1994]] &ndash; [[Flagship Airlines Flight 3379]] crashes in [[Morrisville, North Carolina]], near [[Raleigh–Durham International Airport]], killing 15.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident British Aerospace 3201 Jetstream 32 N918AE Raleigh/Durham Airport, NC (RDU)|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19941213-0|access-date=2021-12-01|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]}}</ref>
*[[1995]] &ndash; [[Banat Air Flight 166]] crashes in [[Sommacampagna]] near [[Verona Villafranca Airport]] in [[Verona]], [[Italy]], killing 49.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Antonov An-24V YR-AMR Verona Airport (VRN)|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19951213-0|access-date=2021-12-12|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network}}</ref>
*[[2001]] &ndash; [[2001 Indian Parliament attack]]: [[Sansad Bhavan]], the building housing the [[Parliament of India|Indian Parliament]], is attacked by 5 [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]] terrorists. Twelve people are killed, including the terrorists.
*[[2002]] &ndash; [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|European Union enlargement]]: The EU announces that [[Cyprus]], [[Czech Republic|the Czech Republic]], [[Estonia]], [[Hungary]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Malta]], [[Poland]], [[Slovakia]], and [[Slovenia]] will become members on May 1, 2004.
*[[2003]] &ndash; [[Iraq War]]: [[Operation Red Dawn]]: Former Iraqi President [[Saddam Hussein]] is captured near his home town of [[Tikrit]].
*[[2007]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Lisbon]] is signed by the [[Member state of the European Union|EU member states]] to amend both the [[Treaty of Rome]] and the [[Maastricht Treaty]] which together form the constitutional basis of the EU. The Treaty of Lisbon is effective from 1 December 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/5/the-treaty-of-lisbon |title=The Treaty of Lisbon |series=Fact Sheets on the European Union |publisher=European Parliament |location=Brussels |access-date=16 January 2021}}</ref>