Ruins of Fountains Abbey

Around June 1447, John Greenwell was poisoned by a monk, William Downom. The abbot of Fountains Abbey (ruins pictured), Greenwell led the richest abbey in England; his office made him an important figure in Yorkshire. The first half of the century saw the abbey wracked with internal strife, including a disputed election which had violent repercussions as well as, possibly, embezzlement. Greenwell appears to have brought a degree of peace to the abbey upon his election, but he does not seem to have been popular. Downom poisoned a dish of pottage, which he attempted to feed to Greenwell while he was sick. He survived the poisoning, and the case became notorious. Although it took over a year and discussions with Fountains' motherhouse of Cîteaux Abbey, Downom was eventually expelled. Greenwell remained controversial and was both accused and accuser in local lawsuits, and incurred the distrust of King Edward IV for his political leanings. (Full article...)

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Traum von Monte Carlo

• ... that Traum von Monte Carlo (pictured) depicts a casino transformed into an allegorical vision of destruction and moral decay?
• ... that Waverly W. Wray was a quarter-inch (0.6 cm) from death?
• ... that a senator once brought fake dynamite into an Australian budget estimates hearing to make a point about parliamentary security arrangements?
• ... that Charlie Mitchell's path to Michelin-starred kitchens started in the valet lot?
• ... that 70 high-ranking party officials were disciplined under the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam?
• ... that Jan Świerc and eight other Catholic priests murdered at Auschwitz and Dachau were recognized as martyrs by Pope Leo XIV?
• ... that the 2001 Biggin Hill Airshow featured two separate fatal aircraft crashes?
• ... that Edward Lloyd died in 1713, but his name is still used in Lloyd's of London and the Lloyd's List?
• ... that scientists at the University of Chicago achieved a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction under the stands of a football stadium?

Rob Reiner

• Filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner (pictured) and his wife, Michele, are found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home.
• Sixteen people, including a gunman, are killed in a mass shooting attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
• Bulgarian prime minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and his government resign after two weeks of protests.
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December 17: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Aztec calendar stone

• 1790 – The Aztec sun stone (pictured), now a modern symbol of Mexican culture, was excavated in the Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
• 1939 – World War II: After sustaining moderate damage in the Battle of the River Plate two days earlier, the German cruiser Graf Spee was scuttled by its commander, Hans Langsdorff, to avoid its internment by Uruguay.
• 1945 – The modern flag of Kurdistan was raised for the first time in Mahabad, Iran.
• 1990 – American gay rights activist William E. Woods brought three same-sex couples to fill out marriage licenses in Honolulu, leading to the eventual legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.