1620: The Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, aboard the Mayflower.

1840: The Isle of Man decided to give the vote to selected widows and spinsters.

1891: James Naismith invented basketball.

1913: The first crossword puzzle was published in the New York World.

1939: In New York, the film critic for the Daily Worker was sacked when his criticism of Gone With The Wind was not deemed harsh enough. The paper consider the film "an apology for slavery".

1946: Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life premiered.

1958: Charles De Gaulle became President of France.

1988: A Pan Am jet blew up in mid-flight over Lockerbie in Scotland.

1990: In a German television interview, Sadam Hussein declared that he would not withdraw from Kuwait by the UN deadline.

2000: Bob the Builder was asking Can We Fix It? at the top of the hit parade.