Canute Lavard was murdered at Haraldsted, Denmark by his cousin, Magnus I of Sweden.

Canute LavardDenmarkMagnus I of Sweden

Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal.

Afonso IV of PortugalPortugal

France takes Calais, the last continental possession of England.

FranceSiege of Calais (1558)Kingdom of England

Pope Pius V is elected.

Pope Pius V

Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.

Jamestown, Virginia

Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day.

Galileo GalileiGalilean moonsGanymede (moon)Callisto (moon)Io (moon)

The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.

Bank of North America

Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.

Jean-Pierre BlanchardJohn JeffriesDoverCalaisBalloon

HMS Beagle drops anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.

HMS BeagleChonos Archipelago

William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film.

William Kennedy DicksonPatentFilm

The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS".

Distress signalCQDSOS

Montenegrin guerrilla fighters rebel against the planned annexation of Montenegro by Serbia, but fail.

MontenegroChristmas UprisingSerbia

The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.

New York State AssemblySocialist Party of America

Dáil Éireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a 64-57 vote.

Dáil ÉireannAnglo-Irish Treaty

The first transatlantic telephone service is established from New York City to London.

TelephoneNew York CityLondon

Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast.

Guy MenziesTrans-TasmanAustraliaNew ZealandWestland District

Benito Mussolini and French Foreign minister Pierre Laval sign the Franco-Italian Agreement.

Benito MussoliniForeign ministerPierre LavalFranco-Italian Agreement

Winter War: The Finnish 9th Division stop and completely destroy the numerically superior Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road.

Winter WarBattle of Raate Road

World War II: The siege of the Bataan Peninsula begins.

World War IIBattle of BataanBataan Peninsula

World War II: British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge.

United KingdomBernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of AlameinBattle of the Bulge

Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of a supposed UFO.

Kentucky Air National GuardMantell UFO incidentUnidentified flying object

Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM.

Georgetown-IBM experimentMachine translationIBM

Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.

Marian AndersonMetropolitan OperaGiuseppe VerdiUn ballo in maschera

The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

CubaFidel Castro

Surveyor Program: Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off from launch complex 36A, Cape Canaveral.

Surveyor ProgramSurveyor 7Spaceport Florida Launch Complex 36Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Mark Essex fatally shoots ten people and wounds 13 others at Howard Johnson's Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, before being shot to death by police officers.

Mark EssexHoward Johnson'sNew Orleans

Third Indochina War: Cambodian-Vietnamese War: Phnom Penh falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Sino-Vietnamese WarCambodian-Vietnamese WarPhnom PenhVietnamPol Pot

U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.

Jimmy CarterChrysler

Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

BruneiAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union.

Japan Aerospace Exploration AgencySakigakeRobotic spacecraftSpace probe