Jan van Riebeeck departed for Cape of Good Hope to found the first permanent European settlement.
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James Cook visited Christmas Island.
The Christmas carol 'Silent Night' composed by Franz Xaver Gruber was first sung at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria.
A plot to blow up Napoleon Bonaparte with a barrel of gunpowder failed.
Walt Disney's 'Aristocats' was released.
The Treaty of Ghent was signed, which ended the War of 1812 between the US, the UK, and their allies.
