Metallica plays a show in Antarctica (2013), and Singapore publishes declassified Albatross file on Proclamation of Singapore (2025). Born on this day: Jim Morrison, Nicki Minaj and Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson. Died: John Lennon, Golda Meir and George Boole.
36 events, 74 births and 65 deaths on this date.
The American metal band played in Antarctica, becoming the first group to have performed on every continent. Their Antarctic gig completed a run that took them across the globe, on the far south of the map.
Kreepin Deth · CC BY-SA 4.0Singapore released its once-secret Albatross file, a collection of papers on the Proclamation of Singapore, which ended its federation with Malaysia. Now declassified, the papers let historians and the public look at the events surrounding that break.
China recorded the first confirmed case of what would become COVID-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Over the following months the virus spread worldwide, turning the outbreak into a global pandemic.
Three former Soviet republics, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, signed the Belovezha Accords, which said the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. The accords replaced the Union with the Commonwealth of Independent States, and eleven former republics had signed on by late December.
Du Fu had fled the capital during the An Lushan Rebellion, leaving the city behind. Now he came back to Chang'an to serve at the court of Emperor Xuanzong.
Bashar al-Assad was overthrown, ending his family's grip on Syria that began in 1970 under his father, Hafez. The fall closed a civil war that had raged for thirteen years, and Assad had been president since 2000.
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Jim Morrison was the lead singer and main lyricist of The Doors, the American rock band behind the hit Light My Fire. His poetic lyrics and volatile stage presence made him one of rock's most controversial frontmen.
Elektra Records · Public domain
Trinidadian rapper, singer and songwriter known as the "Queen of Rap", with a sharp lyrical style and a string of chart-topping albums and singles. She is still active and has sold over 100 million records.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America · CC BY-SA 4.0
Norwegian writer and poet who wrote the words to his country's national anthem, and in 1903 became the first Norwegian to win the Nobel prize for literature. He was also a fierce public debater who shaped Scandinavian cultural arguments for decades.
Anders Beer Wilse · CC BY 2.0
Lennon co-founded the Beatles and wrote many of their best-known songs with Paul McCartney. After leaving the group, he became a leading voice for peace, and he was shot dead in New York City by a fan.
Jack Mitchell · CC BY-SA 3.0
Israel's first and only female prime minister, Meir led the country from 1969 to 1974. A former teacher who had signed the Declaration of Independence, she stepped down after public anger over the Yom Kippur War.
Talmoryair ( talk ) after Marion S. Trikosko · Public domain
English mathematician who turned logic into an algebra of true and false, built on yes-or-no values. His Boolean algebra later underpinned digital electronics and modern computing.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
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