1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
1860 – South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States.
1946 – The film It’s a Wonderful Life is first released in New York City.
1968 – The so-called Zodiac Killer killed his first two confirmed victims in Vallejo, California. He would go on to kill at least five people, though he took credit for three dozen deaths.
1971 – The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded in Paris.
1989 – The U.S. invaded Panama to oust Manuel Noriega and install the duly elected civilian government.