Editing December 19 (section)

===1901–present===
*[[1907]] &ndash; Two hundred thirty-nine coal miners die in the [[Darr Mine disaster|Darr Mine Disaster]] in [[Jacobs Creek (Pennsylvania)|Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania]].
*[[1912]] &ndash; William Van Schaick, captain of the [[Steamboat|steamship]] {{PS|General Slocum||2}} which caught fire and killed over one thousand people, is pardoned by U.S. President [[William Howard Taft]] after {{frac|3|1|2}} years in [[Sing Sing]] prison.
*[[1920]] &ndash; [[Constantine I of Greece|King Constantine I]] is restored as [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|King of the Hellenes]] after the death of his son [[Alexander of Greece]] and a [[Referendum|plebiscite]].
*[[1924]] &ndash; The last [[Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost]] is sold in London, England.
*  1924   &ndash; German serial killer [[Fritz Haarmann]] is sentenced to death for a series of murders.
*[[1927]] &ndash; Three Indian revolutionaries, [[Ram Prasad Bismil]], [[Roshan Singh]] and [[Ashfaqulla Khan]], are executed by the [[British Raj]] for participation in the [[Kakori conspiracy]].
*[[1929]] &ndash; The [[Indian National Congress]] promulgates the [[Purna Swaraj]] (the Declaration of the Independence of India).
*[[1932]] &ndash; [[BBC World Service]] begins broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service.
*[[1940]] &ndash; [[Risto Ryti]], the [[Prime Minister of Finland]],  is elected [[President of the Republic of Finland]] in a [[1940 Finnish presidential election|presidential election]], which is exceptionally held by the [[1937 Finnish presidential election|1937 electoral college]].<ref>[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p. 628. {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref><ref>Antti Laine (2003) "Finland At War" (Suomi sodassa), p. 705-707 in Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds., A Small Giant of the Finnish History / ''Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen''. Helsinki:  WSOY. (in Finnish)</ref>
*[[1941]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: [[Adolf Hitler]] appoints himself as head of the ''[[Oberkommando des Heeres]]''.
*  1941   &ndash; World War II: [[Limpet mine]]s placed by [[Italian Navy|Italian]] divers heavily damage {{HMS|Valiant|1914|6}} and {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|6}} in [[Raid on Alexandria (1941)|Alexandria harbour]].
*  1941   &ndash; Twenty-eight men die when [[German submarine U-574]], is struck by [[HMS Stork (L81)]], commanded by Captain [[Frederic John Walker]] of [[Royal Navy]], off [[Ponta Delgada (Azores)|Punta Delgada]], as also by [[depth charge]]s.<ref>[https://uboat.net/boats/u574.htm German submarine U-574]</ref>
*[[1945]] &ndash; [[John Amery]], British [[Fascism|Fascist]], is executed at the age of 33 by the British Government for treason.
*[[1946]] &ndash; Start of the [[First Indochina War]].
*[[1956]] &ndash; Irish-born physician [[John Bodkin Adams]] is arrested in connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 patients. Eventually he is convicted only of minor charges.
*[[1961]] &ndash; India [[Annexation of Goa|annexes]] [[Daman and Diu]], part of [[Portuguese India]].
*[[1967]] &ndash; [[Harold Holt]], the [[Prime Minister of Australia]], is [[Declared death in absentia|officially presumed dead]].
*[[1972]] &ndash; [[Apollo program]]: The last crewed lunar flight, [[Apollo 17]], carrying [[Eugene Cernan]], [[Ronald Evans (astronaut)|Ronald Evans]], and [[Harrison Schmitt]], returns to [[Earth]].
*[[1974]] &ndash; [[Nelson Rockefeller]] is sworn in as [[Vice President of the United States]] under President [[Gerald Ford]] under the provisions of the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution]].
*[[1977]] &ndash; The {{M|s}} 5.8 [[1977 Bob–Tangol earthquake|Bob–Tangol earthquake]] strikes Kerman Province in Iran, destroying villages and killing 665 people.<ref>{{cite report |last1=Ambraseys |first1= N.N. |authorlink1=Nicholas Ambraseys |last2=Arsovski |first2= M. |last3=Moinfar |first3= A.A.|title=The Gisk earthquake of 19 December 1977 and the seismicity of the Kuhbanan fault-zone: Iran |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |year=1979 |pages= 47 |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000036434 }}</ref>
*[[1981]] &ndash; Sixteen lives are lost when the [[Penlee lifeboat disaster|Penlee lifeboat]] goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas.
*[[1983]] &ndash; The original [[FIFA World Cup]] trophy, the [[FIFA World Cup Trophy#Jules Rimet Trophy|Jules Rimet Trophy]], is stolen from the headquarters of the [[Brazilian Football Confederation]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil.
*[[1984]] &ndash; The [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]], stating that China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997, is signed in Beijing by [[Deng Xiaoping]] and [[Margaret Thatcher]].
*[[1985]] &ndash; [[Aeroflot Flight 101/435]] is hijacked to China by its first officer.<ref name="Iams">{{Cite news |last=Iams |first=John |date=26 December 1985 |title=Soviets confirm hijack of Aeroflot plane to China |pages=7 |work=[[The Sacramento Bee]] |agency=[[United Press International]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114752302/the-sacramento-bee/ |access-date=17 December 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
*[[1986]] &ndash; [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], leader of the [[Soviet Union]], releases [[Andrei Sakharov]] and his wife from [[exile]] in [[Nizhny Novgorod|Gorky]].
*[[1995]] &ndash; The United States Government restores federal recognition to the [[Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi]] Native American tribe.
*[[1997]] &ndash; [[SilkAir Flight 185]] crashes into the [[Musi River (Indonesia)|Musi River]], near [[Palembang]] in [[Indonesia]], killing 104.
*[[1998]] &ndash; President [[Bill Clinton]] is [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|impeached]] by the [[United States House of Representatives]], becoming the second president of the United States to be [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeached]].
*[[1999]] &ndash; [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']] is launched on [[STS-103]], the third [[Hubble Space Telescope]] servicing mission.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harwood |first1=William |date=19 December 1999 |title=Discovery finally rockets into orbit |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/STS-103_Archive.txt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024435/http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/STS-103_Archive.txt |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=30 August 2009 |work=CBS News |format=TXT}}</ref>
*[[2000]] &ndash; The Leninist Guerrilla Units wing of the [[Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist]] attack a [[Nationalist Movement Party]] office in [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]], killing one person and injuring three.
*[[2001]] &ndash; A record high [[Atmospheric pressure|barometric pressure]] of {{convert|1085.6|hPa|inHg|lk=on}} is recorded at [[Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl]], [[Mongolia]].
*  2001   &ndash; [[1998–2002 Argentine great depression|Argentine economic crisis]]: [[December 2001 riots in Argentina|December riots]]: Riots erupt in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]].
*  [[2005]] &ndash; [[Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101]] crashes into the [[Government Cut]] channel immediately after takeoff from [[Miami Seaplane Base]], killing 20.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ovalle |first1=David |last2=Fantz |first2=Ashley |last3=Matthew I. |first3=Pinzur |date=December 20, 2005 |title=Port to reopen as investigation begins into Chalk's plane crash |work=[[Miami Herald]] |url=http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13449191.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=2016-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051223130715/http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13449191.htm |archive-date=2005-12-23}}</ref>
*[[2012]] &ndash; [[Park Geun-hye]] [[2012 South Korean presidential election|is elected]] the first female [[president of South Korea]].
*[[2013]] &ndash; Spacecraft ''[[Gaia (spacecraft)|Gaia]]'' is launched by the [[European Space Agency]].
*[[2016]] &ndash; Russian ambassador to Turkey [[Andrei Karlov]] is [[Assassination of Andrei Karlov|assassinated]] while at an art exhibition in [[Ankara]]. The assassin, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, is shot and killed by a Turkish guard. 
*  2016   &ndash; [[2016 Berlin truck attack|A vehicular attack]] in Berlin, Germany, kills 12 and injures 56 people at a [[Christmas market]].
<!--Do NOT add video games, video game consoles, movie, TV or album releases, as they WILL be deleted-->