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In 1777, France recognized American independence.

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In 1865, Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8, known as the "Unfinished" (because only two movements had been completed) was first performed publicly in Vienna, 37 years after the composer's death.

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1914, during World War I, Britain declared Egypt an official protectorate.

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In 1925, Col. William "Billy" Mitchell was convicted at his court-martial in Washington of insubordination for accusing senior military officials of incompetence and criminal negligence; he was suspended from active duty.

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In 1939, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled by its crew, ending the World War II Battle of the River Plate off Uruguay.

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In 1944, the U.S. War Department announced it was ending its policy of excluding people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.

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In 1957, the United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.

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In 1964, the film "Zorba the Greek," starring Anthony Quinn, opened in New York and Los Angeles.

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In 1979, Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, was fatally injured after leading police on a chase with his motorcycle in Miami. (Four white police officers accused of beating McDuffie were later acquitted, sparking riots.)

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In 1989, the animated TV series "The Simpsons" premiered on Fox with a Christmas-themed episode.

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In 1994, North Korea shot down a U.S. Army helicopter which had strayed north of the demilitarized zone. The co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon, was killed; the pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Hall, was captured and held for nearly two weeks.

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In 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died after more than a decade of iron rule; he was 69, according to official records, but some reports indicated he was 70.

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Ten years ago: President George W. Bush signed into law the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence-gathering in 50 years, creating a national intelligence center and a powerful new position of national intelligence director. Pfizer Inc. said it had found that Celebrex, an arthritis painkiller, raised the risk of heart attack when taken at very high doses.

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Five years ago: Large pieces of a climate deal fell into place on the next-to-last day of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry, 26, died a day after falling out of the back of a pickup truck in Charlotte, North Carolina. Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Jones, 90, died in Malibu, California.

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One year ago: Germany's Parliament elected Chancellor Angela Merkel (AHN'-geh-lah MEHR'-kuhl) to a third term as the leader of Europe's biggest economic power, nearly three months after an awkward election result forced her to put together a new governing coalition. A suicidal gunman opened fire at a Reno, Nevada, hospital campus, killing one person and critically wounding two others before ending his own life.