On this day :

1956 First gorilla born in captivity, 1775 Continental Congress creates a Continental Navy, 1900 First Mercedes is delivered to its buyer, 1864 Sherman presents Lincoln with a Christmas gift, 1990 Lech Walesa sworn in as president of Poland, 1978 John Wayne Gacy confesses, 1939 Express trains collide in Germany, 1894 Dreyfus affair begins in France, 1971 Waldheim elected UN secretarygeneral, 1984 The Bernhard Goetz subway shooting, 1989 Romanian government falls, 1979 Hollywood mogul Darryl Zanuck dies, 1849 Dostoevsky reprieved at last minute, 1808 Beethovens Fifth Symphony given world premiere in Vienna, 1884 John Chisum dies in Arkansas, 1968 Julie Nixon marries David Eisenhower, 1971 LA Lakers break pro sports winning streak record, 1971 Soviet Union attacks Chinese policy toward Vietnam, 1972 Washington announces Linebacker II raids will continue, 1917 RussianGerman peace talks begin at BrestLitovsk, 1941 Churchill and Roosevelt discuss war and peace,