20th December 1917: Establishment of the Cheka, the Russian Bolshevik secret police
Established following a decree by Lenin on 19 December, the Cheka’s focus was on defending the revolution by removing internal threats to the communist ...
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19th December 1777: George Washington leads the Continental Army into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
By the time the Continental Army left Valley Forge in June 1778 it was smaller in number but stronger in organisation and confidence, establishing the foundations of its eventual success against Briti...
19 Des 20250s
18th December 1892: Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker receives its première performance at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg
Composed in the Romantic style, the score received good reviews although responses to the ballet itself were mostly negative. The fortunes of the ballet only turned around with a new staging in New Yo...
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17th December 497 BCE: The first Saturnalia festival celebrated in ancient Rome
The Saturnalia festival was dedicated to Roman god, ...
17 Des 20250s
16th December 1431: Henry VI became the only English monarch to be crowned King of France
Henry was crowned by the Bishop of Paris, as the Archbishop of Reims was aligned with the French crown. Attendance was limited, and the event failed to generate significant support among the French .....
16 Des 20250s
15th December 1851: The Forest Creek Monster Meeting of Australian gold miners protests taxes
Over 14,000 Australian gold miners gathered at Forest Creek in Victoria for a protest known as the Monster ...
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14th December 1911: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen becomes the first to reach the South Pole
Amundsen’s team arrived five weeks ahead of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova ...
14 Des 20250s
13th December 1577: Francis Drake departs Plymouth on his circumnavigation of the globe
Drake’s fleet consisted of five ships, with the flagship Pelican later renamed Golden Hind, and it departed Plymouth on 13 ...
13 Des 20250s
