What happened on 11 December?

18 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1936 Reign of George VI Reign of George VI (1936-1952) as king of the United Kingdom.
2. 1282 Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd The last native Prince of Wales is killed near Builth; his death ends Welsh political independence.
3. 1931 Statute of Westminster 1931 Parliament grants full legislative independence to the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland — turning empire into a commo
4. 1241 Death of Ögedei Khan The Great Khan's death is traditionally credited with prompting the Mongol armies to withdraw from Europe to elect a successor, sparing the West.
5. 2001 China joins the WTO Beijing's accession to the World Trade Organisation accelerates globalisation.
6. 1936 Abdication of Edward VIII Edward VIII abdicates to marry Wallis Simpson; brother George VI takes the throne.
7. 1997 Kyoto Protocol adopted First binding international treaty to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.
8. 1941 Germany declares war on the United States Four days after Pearl Harbor, Hitler declares war on America unprompted — turning two separate wars into one world war and dooming the Reich to fight the world's greatest industria
9. 1878 Frere's ultimatum to the Zulus Without London's authorisation, High Commissioner Bartle Frere hands King Cetshwayo's envoys an ultimatum designed to be refused: disband the Zulu army within thirty days. The Colo
10. 2015 Founding of OpenAI OpenAI founded by Altman, Musk and others.
11. 1978 Two million march against the Shah On the holy day of Ashura, the largest crowds in Iranian history fill Tehran demanding the Shah go and Khomeini return — a march so vast the army simply watches. Soldiers begin des
12. 1920 The Black and Tans burn Cork After an IRA ambush, British auxiliaries and Black and Tans set the centre of Cork ablaze — five acres of the city, its City Hall and library — then wear burnt corks in their caps.
13. 1972 Apollo 17: the last Moon landing Cernan and Schmitt — the only scientist to reach the Moon — spend three days in the Taurus-Littrow valley; no one has been back since.
14. 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg Crushing Confederate defensive victory in Virginia: Burnside's repeated assaults on Lee's prepared positions on Marye's Heights cost the Union 12,600 casualties to the Confederates
15. 1845 Anglo-Sikh Wars Britain annexes the Punjab after two wars with the Sikh Empire.
16. 1803 Born: Hector Berlioz French Romantic composer of programmatic orchestral works like the Symphonie fantastique.
17. 1718 Charles XII killed at Fredriksten Besieging the Norwegian fortress of Fredriksten, the warrior king is shot through the head in the trenches; Sweden abandons the war and its age as a great power ends.
18. 1851 Victor Hugo's exile After resisting Louis-Napoléon's coup, Hugo flees to Brussels, then Jersey and Guernsey, thundering against 'Napoléon le Petit' for nineteen years and writing Les Misérables in exi