1602: The Spanish commander Del Aguila, sent to Ireland with an expeditionary force to help the Ulster rebel Hugh O'Neill, surrendered after being besieged at Kinsale by the English forces of Lord Mountjoy. The Spanish were granted a free evacuation back home. O'Neill, who had marched south to attempt a rescue of his ally, was forced to retreat north again, and, eventually realising his cause was hopeless, came to terms with the English the following year.

1757: A small force of only 2,400 British and Indian troops under Colonel Robert Clive recaptured Calcutta, where Nawab Surak-ud-Daula had imprisoned the European residents in the infamous "Black Hole".

1777: As the Amercian War of Independence continued, forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.

1779: The chapel of the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich was destroyed by fire. James "Athenian" Stuart was commissioned to rebuild it, and ten years later his Rococo masterpiece was completed.

1858: Lieutenant Roberts of the Bengal Artillery won the Victoria Cross during an action in the Indian Mutiny when he successfully recovered a standard captured by mutineers, then rescued a loyal Indian soldier under attack. Roberts enjoyed a spectacularly successful military career, rising to the rank of Field Marshal and enoblement as Earl Roberts of Kandahar. His son also won the Victoria Cross, posthumously, 41 years later in the Boer War.

1859: Towards the end of the Indian Mutiny, Private Addison of the 43rd Regiment stood over a wounded officer during an action near Kurrereah, defending him against overwhelming numbers. Both men survived, but Addison was himself seriously wounded and lost a leg. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1900: US Secretary of State John Hay announced an "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China

1905: Japanese General Nogi received from Russian General Stoessel at 9 p.m. a letter formally offering to surrender, ending the Russo-Japanese War

1920: On the North West Frontier, Lieutenant Kenny, 39th Garhwal Rifles, commanded a small force deployed in an exposed position, which came under sudden very heavy attack from tribesmen. Kenny and his men held their position for over four hours, defeating three successive assaults. At length, they were forced to withdraw. Pressed hard by their opponents, the evacuation of the wounded proved difficult; to win them sufficient time to get clear, Lieutenant Kenny and a few men turned back and counter-attacked their pursuers. Kenny and his small party were all killed, but the rest of his men escaped. Lieutenant Kenny was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: The Distinguished Flying Cross was awarded to two Canadian officers serving in the Royal Air Force; Pilot-Officer S.R. Henderson and Wing-Commander J.F. Griffiths. They were the first Canadians to be decorated during the Second World War

1941: The SS Nalgora, dispersed from convoy OB-261 on 22 December, was hit by one stern torpedo from U-65 about 350 miles north of the Cape Verde Islands and was sunk 20 minutes later by 70 rounds from the U-Boats deck gun.

The master, 101 crewmembers and three passengers were rescued after eight days adrift in lifeboats. 52 survivors were picked up by the British merchantman Nolisement and landed at Freetown, while 34 survivors were picked up by the British merchant Umgeni and landed in Glasgow on 13 January. 19 crewmembers in a lifeboat reached shore at San Antonio, Cape Verde Islands

A 100-mile swathe of ‘neutral’ Irish territory was bombed by German aircraft for the second time in 48 hours. It is thought that they might be intended to intimidate the Irish into remaining neutral in spite of Anglo-American pressure for the use of Irish bases to protect convoys

German bombing severely damaged Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales

The U.S. government announced its Liberty ship programme to build freighters in support of the war effort.

1942: The Philippine capital of Manila and the nearby naval base of Cavite were captured by Japanese forces

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation successfully optained the conviction of 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history

1943: Australian and US troops retook Buna in New Guinea after weeks of very heavy fighting that earned the settlement the sobriquet "Bloody Buna"

1944: German U-539 was the first U-boat to depart on a combat patrol equipped with the Snorkel breathing device

1945: Admiral Sir Bertram Home Ramsay KCB, KBE, MVO, an important inovator in the field of amphibious warfare, was killed when his plane crashed on takeoff at Toussus-le-Noble. He was on route to a conference with General Montgomery in Brussels

1946: Unable to resume rule after World War II, King Zog of Albania abdicated but retained his claim to the throne.

1951: Chinese Army units broke the UN lines north of Seoul forcing ROK Divisions to retreat

2000: Admiral. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., known early in his career for modernizing the USN and later for ordering the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam, died