On December 7, 2004, Afghanistan made a historic stride towards democracy as Hamid Karzai was sworn in as the nation’s first popularly elected president.

Ocean’s Eleven, a caper film featuring an all-star ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts, opens in theaters.

On December 7, 1996, first-time-offender-turned-fugitive Glen Godwin appears on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List.

On December 7, 1989, the boxer Sugar Ray Leonard triumphs over a lackluster Roberto Duran in a unanimous 12-round decision at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

Two earthquakes hit Armenia on December 7, 1988, killing 60,000 people and destroying nearly half a million buildings.

Early in the morning, Indonesian forces launch a massive invasion of the former Portuguese half of the island of Timor, which lies near Australia in the Timor Sea.

Apollo 17: America’s Final Lunar Expedition On December 7, 1972, the United States launched its last mission to the moon, Apollo 17, from Cape Canaveral.

Historic Moment in Sports Broadcasting: The First Instant Replay in 1963 In a groundbreaking moment for sports broadcasting, the 1963 Army-Navy game marked the debut of videotaped instant replay during a live sports telecast.

Having spied the Pacific Ocean for the first time a few weeks earlier, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark cross to the south shore of the Columbia River (near modern-day Astoria) and begin building the small fort that would be their winter home.

In a pivotal moment in American history, the year 1796 saw the election of John Adams as the second president of the United States, following George Washington’s unanimous presidency.