Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted of selling military secrets to Germany on this day in 1894. / On this day in1885, Itō Hirobumi became the first prime minister of Japan.

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A bomb exploded aboard Pan Am Flight 103 on this day in 1988. / On this day in 1826, rebels in the Republic of Fredonia signed their Declaration of Independence from Mexico.

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South Carolina seceded from the Union on this day in 1860. / On this day in 1987, a passenger ferry called Doña Paz collided with an oil tanker, causing the death of more than 4,000 people.

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Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was published for the first time on this day in 1843. / On this day in 1946, the First Indochina War began.

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The "discovery" of the Piltdown Man was announced on this day in 1912. / On this day in 1892, Tchaikovsky's now-famous ballet "The Nutcracker" premiered.

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The observance of Saturnalia begins on December 17, although we don't know precisely which year the first Saturnalia was observed. / On this day in 1790, the Aztec sun stone, a circular stone marked by carvings of calendar signs and images related to the Aztec creation myth, was rediscovered in Mexico City.

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American colonists in Boston protested British rule with the Boston Tea Party incident on this day in 1773. / On this day in 755, Chinese General An Lushan proclaimed himself emperor, marking the beginning of the An Lushan Rebellion against the Tang dynasty.

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Sitting Bull, the Hunkpapa Lakota leader and seminal Native American figure, was killed at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on this day in 1890. / Filipino revolutionary Emilio Jacinto was born on this day in 1875.

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Roald Amundsen and his expedition became the first people to reach the South Pole, beating Robert Falcon Scott's expedition, on this day in 1911. / On this day in 1948, two engineers from DuMont Laboratories received a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device.

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Ibn Battuta, one of the most accomplished travelers of the medieval Islamic world, completed his travelogue known as the Rihla, or Journey, on this day in 1355. / On this day, Ella Baker - an organizer in the Civil Rights Movement who worked with the NAACP, SNCC, and SCLC - was born.

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