BBC ON THIS DAY

1995: Bosnia peace accord ends three-year war

Leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia sign the Dayton Accord in Paris to end more than three years of bitter conflict.

2003: Saddam Hussein captured
The ousted President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, is under arrest after being found by US soldiers hiding in a cellar.

Orange soil on the Moon (copyright: Nasa)

1972: Last Moon mission returns
Apollo 17, the last manned space mission to the Moon, returns to Earth, bringing an end to America's programme of lunar exploration.

1959: Makarios elected president of Cyprus
Archbishop Makarios is elected the first president of the future Cyprus Republic.

1955: Gaitskell elected Labour leader
The Labour party elects Hugh Gaitskell as its new leader to succeed Clement Attlee.

1962: 'Music of spheres' hails Venus fly-by
The unmanned spacecraft, Mariner 2, makes the first ever fly-by of the planet Venus and sends back radio signals over tens of millions of miles of space.

1984: Court fines Scargill for obstruction
Miners' leader Arthur Scargill is found guilty of obstruction during a picket at a Yorkshire coal works earlier this year.

Around this Day

11 December

Top Story1941: Germany and Italy declare war on US

12 December

Top Story1988: 35 dead in Clapham rail collision

13 December

Top Story1995: Riots break out in Brixton

15 December

Top Story2004: Blunkett resigns over visa accusations

16 December

Top Story1984: Gorbachev visit to Britain a 'success'

17 December