December 26

1898 – Polish-French scientist Marie Curie discovers the radioactive element radium while experimenting with other minerals.
1980 – Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England - an incident called "Britain's Roswell".
1982 – For the first time, Time magazine's "Man of the Year" is a non-human. The computer received the honor as the year's "greatest influence for good or evil".
1991 – The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War.