The JAXA space probe Akatsuki entered into orbit around Venus to study the planet's atmosphere, five years after its first attempt failed.
Source7 December 1791
A Wednesday in history
Weekday
Wednesday
Season
Winter (N. Hemisphere)
Century
18th century
Records
362
2015
2014The annual furry convention Midwest FurFest was targeted in an unsolved chlorine gas attack.
Source
2011The United States transferred its last base in the Al Anbar Governorate to the Iraqi government, ending the Anbar campaign.
Source- 1995
The Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.
Source - 1988
A 6.8 Ms earthquake struck the Spitak region of Armenia, killing at least 25,000 people (aftermath pictured).
Source
1975The Indonesian military began a lengthy occupation of East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism.
Source
1972Construction workers found the remains of Martin Bormann near Lehrter Station in Berlin, ending a decades-long search after his conviction in absentia at the Nuremberg trials.
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1942Second World War: A small unit of Royal Marines launched Operation Frankton, in which they damaged six ships in the port of Bordeaux in German-occupied France.
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1936Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton (pictured) became the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
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1862American Civil War: The Battle of Prairie Grove ended a Confederate attempt to regain control of northwestern Arkansas.
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1837British troops swiftly defeated rebels led by William Lyon Mackenzie and Anthony Van Egmond at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, the only major confrontation of the Upper Canada Rebellion.
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574Suffering from mental illness, Eastern Roman emperor Justin II had his general Tiberius proclaimed Caesar, adopting him as his own son.
Source
-43Cicero, widely considered one of ancient Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists, was killed after having been proscribed as an enemy of the state.
Source
Photo archive
24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.
What was life like?
Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.
Sources & fact check
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