Unix Timestamp: 1230163200
Thursday, December 25. 2008, 12:00:00 AM UTC

At least 15 people are killed and dozens more missing after the collapse of a suspension bridge in western Nepal. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7159867.stm (BBC News)

Ethiopian jets have bombed two airports in Somalia in a widening operation against the Islamic Courts Union. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6208549.stm (BBC)

War in Somalia:

A shopping center fire at Luoyang, Henan, China, kills 309.

JonBenét Ramsey, 6, is murdered in the basement of her parents' home in Boulder, Colorado.

Tim Berners-Lee creates the first webpage on the first web server.

Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.

Iron Maiden is formed by Steve Harris.

The Christmas bombing of North Vietnam causes widespread criticism of the U.S. and President Richard Nixon.

The ETA releases Eugen Beihl.

The Yemeni Nasserite Unionist People's Organisation is founded in Taiz.

The Yemeni Nasserite Unionist People's Organisation is founded in Taiz.

Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" (the George Balanchine version) is shown on prime-time television in color for the first time, as an episode of the CBSanthology series "Playhouse 90".

Amami Islands are returned to Japan after 8 years of United States Military occupation.

One West German soldier is killed in a shooting incident in West Berlin.

The first artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in Europe was initiated within the Soviet (Russian) nuclear reactor F-1.

David Lean's "Great Expectations", based on the Charles Dickens novel, and featuring John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Martita Hunt, Alec Guinness, Francis L. Sullivan, Jean Simmons, and Finlay Currie, is released to great acclaim in the UK.

The Flamingo Hotel opens on the Las Vegas Strip.

WWII: The British and Canadians are defeated by the Japanese at Hong Kong.

At the age of 70, legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra on radio for the first time, beginning his successful 17-year tenure with that orchestra. This first concert consists of music by Vivaldi (at a time when he was still seldom played), Mozart, and Brahms. Millions tune in to listen, including U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

IG Farben formed by merger of six chemical companies in Germany.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship's spiritual healing temple "The Ecclesia" is founded at Mount Ecclesia, Oceanside, California.

Hydrocodone, a narcotic analgesic closely related to codeine is first synthesized in Germany.

US PresidentWoodrow Wilson promises eventual independence for Philippines, though subsequent Republican administrations see it as a distant goal.

XWA (now CINW), in Montreal, Quebec, becomes the first public radio station in North America to go on the air.

"Les Chs Magnetiques", the first automatic book, is written by André Breton and Philippe Soupault.

Earl W. Bascom, rodeo cowboy and artist, along with his father John W. Bascom at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, designs and makes rodeo's first reverse-opening side-delivery bucking chute, now the world standard.

The International Astronomical Union is founded in France.

The fictional character Ham Gravy debuts in "Thimble Theatre" Comics.

John Maynard Keynes' book "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" is published in the UK.

John Moses Browning finalizes the design for the M1919 .30 (30-06) caliber medium machine gun, the first widely distributed and practical air cooled medium machine gun introduced to the US Military. It receives an official designation and production is started in the same year, a very uncommon happening. It is later reconfigured to shoot the .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) cartridge and is redesignated the M2 Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun, which is still in use to this day after almost one hundred years of service, with no signs of being de-commissioned in even the far future.

Severe inflation in Germany has seen the Papiermark rise to 47 marks next to a American dollar by December, compared to 12 marks in April.//www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/weimar.htm

Various strikes occur in the United States: Strike of US railroad workers The Longshoreman's strike The Great Steel Strike and a general strike in Seattle, Washington.

Female suffrage is enacted in Germany and Luxembourg.

Cliftonhill Stadium in Coatbridge opens (the home of the Albion Rovers F.C.) They lose the match 2–0 to St. Mirren.

The World League Against Alcoholism is established by the Anti-Saloon League.

"Why Marry?", the first dramatic play to win a Pulitzer Prize, opens at the Astor Theatre in New York City.

In WWI, British and German forces declare a Christmas truce, get out of the trenches and have a free-for-all kick-around football game in no-man's land.

John Philip Sousa composes his magnum opus, the "Stars and Stripes Forever", on Christmas Day.

Construction of Spandau Prison in Berlin is completed.

Publication in Barcelona of Enrique Gaspar's "El anacronópete", the first work of fiction to feature a time machine.

Heinrich Hertz discovers the photoelectric effect on the production and reception of electromagnetic (EM) waves (radio). This was an important step towards the understanding of the quantum nature of light.

Zululand becomes a British colony.

Heyl Patterson Inc., a pioneer in coal unloading equipment, is founded by Edmund W. Heyl and William J. Patterson.

The first All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals are held.

Publication begins of Futabatei Shimei's "Ukigumo", the first modern novel in Japan.

Teachers College, later part of Columbia University, is founded.

Antonio Guzmán Blanco ends his term as President of Venezuela.

Laos and Cambodia are added to French Indochina.

A. G. Edwards, Inc., is founded by General Albert Gallatin Edwards.

Franz König publishes Über freie Körper in den Gelenken in the medical journal "Deutsche Zeitschrift für Chirurgie", describing (and naming) the disease Osteochondritis dissecans for the first time.

Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick invents the contact lens, made of a type of brown glass.

"Glenfiddich" single malt Scotch whisky is first produced.

Japan annexes Iwo Jima.

The New Gate is built in Jerusalem.

Scotch whisky distiller "William Grant Sons" is founded.

The village of Skorenovac is founded, mostly by SzékelyHungarians.

The establishment of the Yorkshire Tea merchants.

Father Augustine Tolton, the first Roman Catholic priest from the United States to proclaim himself African American, is ordained in Rome.

Horse-drawn streetcars of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany and Great Britain are carrying c. 900 million riders per year.

Heinz Baked Beans are first launched at the Fortnum Mason department store in London, United Kingdom, although they are manufactured in Canada.

An inexpensive method for refining aluminum, the Hall-Héroult process, is discovered.

Arsenal Football Club is founded.

The Maidenhead Citadel Band of The Salvation Army is founded by William Thomas.

Widespread nationalist rebellion in the Ottoman Empire has resulted in Turkish repression, Russian intervention and Great Power tensions.

Third Carlist War: Two government armies (General Quesada and Martínez Cos) start encroaching on Carlist territory. Both they and their Carlist opponent (Mendiri) drive opposing sympathisers from their homes and burn crops in areas they can not hold. Several Carlist generals (Dorregaray, Savalls, and others) are unjustly put on trial for disloyalty. Mendiri is also removed from his command, and is replaced by the Count of Caserta. Despite having 48 infantry battalions, three cavalry regiments, two engineer battalions, and 100 pieces of artillery at his disposal, Caserta is heavily outnumbered by the government forces opposing him.

The opening of Flushing High School.

The Hibernian F.C. is founded in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Tong warsbegin in San Francisco.

The Birmingham City F.C. is founded, as Small Heath Alliance, in Small Heath, Birmingham, England.

The first Edinburgh derby is played: The Hearts win 1–0 against the Hibs.

The Artisan's and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875 is passed.

Wimbledon: Henry Cavendish Jones convinces the All England Croquet Club to replace a croquet court with a lawn tennis court.

Convent Scandal: During the winter in Montreal, typhoid fever strikes at a convent school. The corpses of the victims are filched by body-snatchers before relatives arrive from America, causing much furor. Eventually the Anatomy Act of Quebec is changed over it.//www.hom.ucalgary.ca/Dayspapers2000.pdf History of Medicine Days, pg 132

The Ottoman state declares partial bankruptcy and places its finances in the hands of European creditors.

Asia's first stock exchange was established. The Native Share Stock Brokers Association now called as the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The Reading Football Club is formed.

U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War rebels.

Brisbane Grammar School is founded, providing the opportunity for secondary education for the first time in the colony of Brisbane in Australia.

The population of Japan reaches c. 30 million.

Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron patents methods of color photography.

Herrenhauser Brewery is established in Hanover, Germany.

Maryland School for the Deaf is established.

Thomas Henry Huxley discovers what he thinks is primordial matter and names it "bathybius haecklii" (he admits his mistake in 1871).

The Académie Julian, a major art school in Paris, France that admits women, is established.

The Dortmunder Actien Brauerei is founded in Germany.

The Roman Catholic See of Tucson is established as the Apostolic Vicariate of Arizona in 1868, taking its territory from the former Diocese of Santa Fe. The Diocese of Tucson is canonically erected on May 8, 1897.

Sir Walter Scott writes "Waverley".

Missionaries attempt to write down the Māori language.

Samuel Marsden of the Church Missionary Society preaches the first sermon in New Zealand at Oihi

The world's first complex machine mass-produced from interchangeable parts, Eli Terry's wooden pillar-and-scroll clock, comes off the production line in Plymouth, Connecticut.

Christmas Day first becomes a Public Holiday on an international scale.

Antoine Lavoisier pioneers quantitative chemistry.

A huge locust swarm hits South Africa.

The North Carolina General Assembly changes the name of Kingston, North Carolina, originally named for King George III of Great Britain, to Kinston.

Emperor Josef II suspends the HungarianConstitution because of a revolution in Transylvania.

The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the town of Morgansborough, named for Daniel Morgan. The town is designated as the county seat for Burke County, North Carolina and is subsequently renamed Morgantown and later shortened to become Morganton.

Britain receives its first bales of imported Americancotton.

The India Act requires that the governor general be chosen from outside the British East India Company and it makes company directors subject to parliamentary supervision.

Carl Friedrich Gauss pioneers the field of summation with the formula summing 1:n as (n(n+1))/2, at the age of 7.

Emmanuel Kant writes "What is Enlightenment?"

Benjamin Franklin tries in vain to persuade the French to alter their clocks in winter to take advantage of the daylight.

King Carlos III of the Spanish Empire authorizes land grants in Alta California.

The Japanese famine continues as 300,000 die of starvation.

Madame du Coudray, pioneer of modern midwifery, retires.

Benjamin Franklin invents bifocalspectacles.

Cholesterol is isolated.

The Methodist Episcopal Church, USA is officially formed at the Christmas Conference led by Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury.

Fort Nashborough, later to become Nashville, Tennessee, is founded by James Robertson.

The spinning mule is perfected by the Lancashire inventor Samuel Crompton.ref name=Cassell's Chronology/

Industrial Revolution in England:

The Iron Bridge is erected across the River Severn in Shropshire, the world's first bridge built entirely of cast iron.

Joint Spanish-Portuguese survey of Amazonia begins to determine the boundary between the colonial possessions in South America. Continues until 1795.

Boulton and Watt's "Smethwick Engine", now the oldest working engine in the world, is brought into service (May).

The city of Tere, Finland, is founded.

American Revolution: Gen. George Washington orders the first issue of "The Crisis" read to his troops on Christmas Eve, then at 6 p.m. all 2600 of them march to McKonkey's Ferry, cross the Delaware River and land on the Jersey bank at 3 a.m.

Carolus Linnaeus publishes the first volume ("Animalia") of the tenth edition of his "Systema Naturae", the starting point of modern zoological nomenclature.

First European settlement in what is now Erie County by the French at the mouth of Buffalo Creek.

Fire destroys part of Oslo, then called Christiania.

The first Isakov family member (Trifun Isakov) is mentioned in "Melenci".

Rudjer Boscovich publishes his atomic theory in "Theoria philosophiae naturalis redacta ad unicam legem virium in nalura existentium".

Halley's Comet appears for the first time after Halley's discovery of it.

The Treaty of Dresden gives Prussia full possession of Silesia.

"Stemmatographia" by Hristofor Zhefarovich, regarded as the first Serbian and Bulgarian secular printed book, is printed in Vienna.

Prague is occupied by French-Bavarian armies.

The population of China reaches c. 143 million.

Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale, "Centigrade" the predecessor of the Celsius scale.

Trinity School is founded as the Charity School of Trinity Church in New York City.

"De Nostri Temporis Studiorum Rationae" ("On the Study Methods of Our Times") is published by Neapolitan philosopher Giambattista Vico.

In London, 10 ships leave for the New York colony, carrying over 4,000 people.

Priceless medieval altarpieces by Michael Pacher are destroyed.

The Shogunate confiscates the property of a merchant in Osaka for conduct unbecoming a member of the commercial class. The government seizes 50 pairs of gold screens, 360 carpets, several mansions, 48 granaries and warehouses scattered around the country and hundreds of thoudands of gold pieces.

Taichung City, Taiwan is founded as the village of Dadun.

With the interest paid from daimyo loans, the Konoike buy a tract of ponds and swland, turn the land into rice paddies and settle 480 households numbering perhaps 2,880 peasants on the land.

Construction begins on Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England. It is completed in 1724.

In Munich, capital of Bavaria, 1100 militiamen from the Oberland are killed during the Sendlinger Mordweihnacht, after a failed attempt to break through several gates and capture a depot to seize better weaponry many men were slaughtered by German federal infantry and Hungarian Husars, despite their capitulation to Austrian officers.

The first modern Palio horserace is held in Siena.

"Einkommende Zeitungen" becomes the first Germannewspaper (cancelled 1918).

CaptainJames Hind makes an abortive attempt to seize power in England.

Estimation: Istanbul becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Beijing.//geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm

Thomas Cooper, former Usher of Gresham's School, England, is hanged as a Royalist rebel.

Three-wheeledwheelchairs are used in Nuremberg.

Cafés begin to become popular in Europe.

The town of Sharon, Massachusetts is founded.

Jews are allowed to return to France and England.

Puritans chop down the original Glastonbury Thorn.

The Age of Discovery ends.

Abyssinia deports Portuguesediplomats and missionaries.

Thomas Cooper, former Usher of Gresham's School, England, is hanged as a Royalist rebel.

Ann Greene, who had been hanged for infanticide in Edinburgh, wakes up on an autopsy table she is pardoned.

Jean Bolland publishes the first two volumes of the "Acta Sanctorum" (in Antwerp). This is the beginning of the Bollandists' work.

Roger Williams, a co-founder of Rhode Island, publishes "A Key into the Language of America".

Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve places the first cross atop Mount Royal.

Christmas Island is first sighted, by Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company.

Baden-Baden is pillaged by the French.

Evangelista Torricelli invents the mercury barometer.

Claudio Monteverdi's opera "l'Incoronazione di Poppea" is first performed.

Miyamoto Musashi dictates "The Book of Five Rings" ("Go Rin No Sho") to his student, completing it in 1654 just before his death.

Hong Taiji, Emperor of the Qing Dynasty of the Manchu dies and is succeeded by his 5-year-old son, the later Shunzhi Emperor of China.

An Calbhach mac Aodha O Conchobhair Donn is inaugurated as the last king of Connacht.

The New England Confederation is formed.

Oda Nobunaga wins control of his native province of Owari.

Margaret of Parma becomes Governor of the Netherlands in place of her brother, King Philip II of Spain.

Between 1559 and 1736 almost 1,000 people accused of being witches are executed in England.

Pope Pius IV succeeds Pope Paul IV as the 224th pope.

Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal 1559ndash61, describes the medicinal properties of tobacco which he introduces in the form of snuff to the French court.

The addition of a new section of the Outer City fortifications is completed in southern Beijing, bringing the overall size of Beijing to 18 square miles (4662 hectares).

In Ming Dynasty China:

Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and execute Pedro de Valdivia, the first Royal Governor of Chile.

Tonbridge School founded by Sir Andrew Judde under letters patent of Edward VI of England.

Shanghai is fortified for the first time.

Aldus Manutius prints Pietro Bembo's "De Aetna" in Venice, considered to be the first book to include the semicolon.

Second Battle of Acentejo: The Spanish crush the native forces of the island of Tenerife, leading to the subjugation of this last bastion of resistance in the Canary Islands.

Na'od succeeds his nephew Amda Seyon II as Emperor of Ethiopia.

Johann Reuchlin publishes "De verbo mirifico".

Aztec forces conquer and sack Mitla.

Na\'od succeeds his nephew Amda Seyon II as Emperor of Ethiopia.

Italy is invaded by Charles VIII of France.

Amda Seyon II succeeds his father Eskender as Emperor of Ethiopia.

John II becomes King of Castile.

Richard, Earl of Cambridge, marries Anne Mortimer.

Eric of Pomerania marries Philippa, daughter of Henry IV of England.

James I becomes King of Scotland, after having been captured by Henry IV of England.

Construction of the Forbidden City begins in Beijing during the Chinese Ming Dynasty.

Pisa is subjugated by Florence.

Mamluk Sultan of Egypt Nasir-ad-Din Shaban II is succeeded by Alah-ad-Din Ali.

Acamapichtli is elected Tlatoani of the Aztec empire after the death of Tenoch, the first Aztec ruler.

The city of Sredets in Bulgaria is renamed Sofia after the Church of St Sophia

Catherine of Siena visits Pope Gregory XI in Avignon to attempt to persuade him to make peace with Florence and move the Papacy back to Rome.

John of Gaunt presents his nephew, Richard of Bordeaux, to the feudatories of the realm and swears to uphold Richard's right to succeed Edward III.

Timur leads his army against troops of the White Horde which have arrived at Sighnaq. However, winter sets in, preventing an immediate battle.

Khan Qamar al-din of Mongolistan unsuccessfully invades Timur’s eastern province of Farghana.

Qutbuddin succeeds his brother, Shahabuddin, as Sultan of Kashmir.

Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow raids Mongol-ruled Volga Bulgaria (now in Russia).

Zhu Yuanzhang, one of the leaders in the Red Turban Rebellion, captures the city of Nanjing from the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty in China from then on it becomes his base of power and the capital of a new dynasty he will establish in 1368, the Ming Dynasty.

The city of Lwów is granted Magdeburg rights by Ricardi Hoganski III of Poland.

Burnt Candlemas: Edward III of England burns down every town and village in Lothian, Scotland.

The Hanseatic League, a trading alliance between many cities in northern Europe, is officially founded.

EmperorCharles IV promulgates the Golden Bull, a sort of medieval constitution for the Holy Roman Empire.

Ghazan II replaces Anusirvan as ruler of the Il-Khanate in Persia.

Probable completion of Castelvecchio Bridge in Verona its main span of 48.7 m is the world's longest arch at this time.

The majority of the Great Pyramid of Giza's limestone casing stones are removed by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan to build fortresses and mosques in the nearby city of Cairo, leaving the first of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in the step-stone condition in which it remains today.

First cases of the plague recorded in the city of Split in Croatia.

The Lithuanian city of Klaipėda ("Memel") is founded by the Teutonic Knights.

The first European gold coins are minted in the Italian city of Florence, and are known as florins.

The Swedish city of Stockholm is founded by Birger Jarl.

The Polishland of Lebus is incorporated into the German state of Brandenburg, marking the start of Brandenburg's expansion into previously Polish areas (Neumark).

In astronomy, work begins on the recording of the Alfonsine tables.

Thomas Aquinas travels to the University of Paris to begin his studies there for a masters degree.

The town and monastery of Orval Abbey in Belgium burn to the ground rebuilding takes 100 years.

The Chinese era "Chunyou" ends.

Christopher I of Denmark is crowned King of Denmark in Lund Cathedral

The Mongols take the westernmost province of the Song Dynasty empire.

The classic Japanese text "Jikkunsho" is completed.

Seljuq dynasty of Hamadan ends.

Henry VI is crowned king of Sicily.

The city of Portsmouth is awarded its Royal Charter.

The Yellow River of China experiences a major course change, taking over the Huai River drainage system for the next 700 years.

The Danes attack Estonia.

Henry Marshal becomes Bishop of Exeter.

The Carmelite Order is established.

Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy founds and fortifies Moscow.

A rebellion breaks out against William II of Sicily, and the Byzantine Empire, encouraged by Pope Adrian IV, invades Apulia. William II crushes the rebellion, defeats the Byzantine armies at Brindisi, and humbles the Pope at Benevento. The city of Bari is laid to waste for the coming ten years.ref name=encyclopedia

King Sverker the Elder is murdered on his way to church and is soon succeeded as king of Sweden by his rival Eric Jedvardsson.

The "Privilegium Minus" elevates Austria to the status of a duchy ruled by the Babenburgs family.

Reginald of Chatillon sacks Cyprus.

Mosan artists create the Stavelot Triptych, a masterpiece of goldsmithing, as a reliquary to house purported pieces of the True Cross.

Baldwin III is crowned King of Jerusalem, succeeding his father Fulk.

Magnus the Strong is deposed as king of Gothenland, when Sverker the Elder proclaims himself king of Sweden.

Magnus the Blind and Harald Gille become joint kings of Norway, starting the civil war era in Norway.

Antipope Anacletus crowns Roger II of Sicily king.

Checkers is invented (approximate date).

Foundation of the Diocese of Faroe (approx.)

Frederick I of Schwarzburg becomes archbishop of Cologne and begins the construction of the castle of Volmarstein.

Foundation of the abbey near Sankt Georgen am Längsee (Austria).

Philip I of France associate his son to the government of the realm.

Baldwin I becomes King of Jerusalem in replacement of his late brother Godefroy de Bouillon.

Dagobert of Pisa becomes Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

At the death of antipope Clement III, the supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor in Rome choose Theodoric as his successor.

Philip I of France conquers the Vexin area and adds the city of Bourges and the province of Berry to his estate.

Intense urbanistic activity in north and central Europe: Kalmar (Kungälv) and Varberg (Sweden) are chartered creation of the cities of Aach (southern Germany) and Nakléřov (in Bohemia, German: Nollendorf) and construction of the castle of Burgg Eppstein (central Germany).

In Iceland, the Althing decides that the laws should be transferred to a written form.

CountDirk V reconquers most of West Frisia (historical) from the bishop of Utrecht.

Polish King Bolesław II the Bold (Polish: "Bolesław Śmiały") is crowned in Gniezno.

The Trial of Penenden Heath is thought to have been held, with an important ruling regarding land rights subsequent to the Norman Conquest of England.

The Almoravids capture the Ghanaian capital of Kumbi.

Lý dynasty Vietnamese troops hold invading Song DynastyChinese forces at the Battle of Như Nguyệt River and a truce is concluded.

Anselm of Canterbury completes "Monologion".

Dmitar Zvonimir of Croatia donated the town of Vrana and Benedictine monastery of St. Gregory, as a sign of loyalty to Pope Gregory VII.

Vikramaditya VI deposes his older brother Somesvara II, and becomes king of the Western Chalukya.

Munjong of Goryeo, crowned 11th King of Koryŏ (Korea).

Pope Clement II succeeds Pope Gregory VI as the 149th pope.

Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II.

The first contact occurs between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuks.

Song Dynasty Chinese judge and magistrate Bao Qingtian writes a memorial to the throne, warning about governmental corruption and a foreseeable bankruptcy of the Chinese iron industry, if increasingly poorer families continued to be listed on the register for iron-smelting households (while more rich households avoid being listed for fear of financial calamity). Apparently the government heeds the warning, and produces more iron product by the year 1078 than China ever had before.

Vatha Pagan Revolt in Hungary: Gerard Sagredo is martyred in Budapest.

Ealdred, Bishop of Worcester, leads troops from England on an unsuccessful punitive raid against Welsh leaders Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, Rhys ap Rhydderch and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

Pope John XVIII succeeds Pope John XVII as the 141st pope.

Iceland adopts Christianity as its official religion.

The archdiocese in Gniezno is founded the first archbishop is Gaudentius (Radim), from Slavník's dynasty.

Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India, is built. Chandela dynasty, Early Medieval period (approximate date).

Persian Muslim scientist, Abu Rayhan al-Biruni publishes his influential "The Canon of Medicine" and "The Book of Healing".

Paper has largely replaced vellum and parchment in Islamic realm, encouraging the proliferation of increasingly elaborate and decorative cursive scripts.

Sancho III of Navarre becomes King of Aragon and Navarre.

Kingdom of England annexes Kingdom of Cornwall.

Arab Muslim scientist, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), writes his influential "Book of Optics".

Sweyn I establishes Danish control over part of Norway.

Stephen I becomes King of Hungary, which is established as a Christian kingdom.

Oslo, Norway is founded (the exact year is debatable, but the 1,000 year anniversary was held in the year 2000).

Arab Muslim mathematician and astronomer, Ibn Yunus, publishes his astronomical treatise "Al-Zij al-Hakimi al-Kabir" in Cairo.

ArabMuslim physician, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) publishes his influential 30-volume medical encyclopedia the "Al-Tasrif".

Gunpowder is invented in China.

Emperor Otto III makes a pilgrimage from Rome to Aachen and Gniezno (Gnesen), stopping at Regensburg, Meissen, Magdeburg, and Gniezno. The Congress of Gniezno (with Bolesław I Chrobry) is part of his pilgrimage. In Rome, he builds the basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola, to host the relics of St. Bartholomew.

Persian Muslim astronomer and mathematician, Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi, invents the astronomical sextant and first states a special case of Fermat's last theorem.

The Château de Goulainevineyard is founded in France.

The Diocese of Kołobrzeg is founded.

The Bellfoundry is founded in Italy by Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli.

Scientific achievements in the Arab civilization reach their zenith.

World population: 310,000,000.

EmperorOtto III makes a pilgrimage from Rome to Aachen and Gniezno (Gnesen), stopping at Regensburg, Meissen, Magdeburg, and Gniezno. The Congress of Gniezno (with Bolesław I Chrobry) is part of his pilgrimage. In Rome, he builds the basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola, to host the relics of St. Bartholomew.

Charlemagne is coronated emperor in Rome.

Tarasius is elected Patriarch of Constantinople.

Clovis I is baptized into the Catholic faith at Rheims, by Saint Remigius. The conversion strengthen the bonds between his Gallo-Roman subjects, led by their Catholic bishops.

Thrasamund succeeds his brother Gunthamund after his death and becomes king of the Vandals. He ends under his rule the persecution of the Catholics.

Emperor Xiao Wen Di of Northern Wei starts the Sinicization process by changing his clan name to the Han Chinese surname Yuan.

King Kavadh I of Persia is deposed and exiled to Susiana by his younger brother Djamasp. He is installed by the nobles to the Sassanid throne.

Christmas is celebrated for the first time in Alexandria (approximate date).

Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and assembled the troops. He is forced to abdicated his title and Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.

The city of Anbar (Iraq) is founded by king Shapur II.

About this time the Huns begin to invade the Sassanid Empire.Roberts, J: History of the World.. Penguin, 1994.

The church of Santa Constanza in Rome is finished.

The Wei-Jie war breaks out in North China.

Shi Hong succeeds his father Shi Le as Emperor of the Later Zhao Empire, in the Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms.

Constantine I elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of "Caesar" at Constantinople.

s introduced as the birthday of Jesus.

Aurelian has a temple dedicated to Sol Invictus on the third day after the solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun. This religion, which is in essence monotheistic, becomes the state religion of Rome.

The Kingdom of Aksum attains great prosperity thanks to its control of Red Sea trade.

Britain rebels over the value of coinage.