in History
The pope who would crown Charlemagne
On the day after Christmas, Leo III was elected Bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States. His pontificate would prove transformative: just five years later, he would place the imperial crown on Charlemagne's head, creating the Holy Roman Empire and forging the alliance between papal and secular power that would define European politics for centuries to come.
The first woman to earn Britain's CMG
In England, Evelyn Bark was born, destined to become a leading figure in the British Red Cross and the first woman to receive the Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Her decades of humanitarian service across conflict zones and disaster areas demonstrated that compassion in action could break barriers of gender and tradition alike.
Six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.
Six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.