1783

George Washington resigned as commander in chief of the Continental Army and retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

1823

The poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published in the Troy Sentinel; the verse, more popularly known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.

1997

A federal jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to find him guilty of murder. (Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)