Uncovering the Surprising Events of December 16 in History

December 16 is a busy day in history! In this video, we'll take a look at some of the most notable events that took place on this day in history. From JFK's assassination to the Beatles' debut on Ed Sullivan, this video is a great way to get to know December 16 better!

1431 King Henry VI of England crowned King of France (only English monarch to wear both crowns)

1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama is 1st European to sail along Africa's East Coast, names it Natal

1620 Military Leader Myles Standish and a group of 18 Pilgrim settlers are confronted by 30 Native Americans, which became known as the "First Encounter"

1631 Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts, burying many villages under lava flows and killing around 3,000 people

1689 English Parliament passes Bill of Rights establishing limits on crown powers and requirement for regular elections

1707 Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.

1773 Boston tea party incident - Sons of Liberty protesters throw tea shipments into Boston harbor in protest against British imposed Tea Act

1777 Virginia becomes 1st state to ratify Articles of Confederation (US 1st constitution)

1835 Fire consumes over 600 buildings in NYC

1863 Braxton Bragg is replaced by Joseph E. Johnston as commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee

1897 1st submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated

1907 As a gesture of the US's new presence as a world power, President Theodore Roosevelt sends the 'Great White Fleet' on a round-the-world cruise, visiting ports internationally

1908 1st credit union in US forms (Manchester NH)

1944 German V-2 strikes Antwerp bioscope (638 kill)

1950 Child star Shirley Temple announces her retirement from films aged 22

1950 US President Harry Truman proclaims state of emergency against "Communist imperialism”

1965 Gemini 6 returns to Earth

1965 Pioneer 6 launched into solar orbit

1972 Miami Dolphins become 1st undefeated NFL team (14-0-0)

1975 1st broadcast of "One Day at a Time" on CBS TV

1978 Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter's recognition of People's Republic of China

1993 Shannen Doherty (Brenda) is fired from TV series Beverly Hills 90210

1993 Television series MTV Unplugged broadcasts American rock band Nirvana performing a mostly acoustic set NYC

1997 US President Bill Clinton names his Labrador retriever “Buddy"

2004 NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is the 1st to cross the termination shock, where solar and interstellar winds merge

2009 Ben Bernanke, Chair of the US Federal Reserve is named Time's Person of the Year for rescuing the global economy from the Great Recession

2010 Final episode of TV talk show "Larry King Live" airs on CNN

2019 Mariah Carey's single "All I Want For Christmas Is You" reaches No. 1, 25 years after release