18 December, 1966 – Saturn's Moon, Epimetheus, discovered

One of Saturn's 150 natural satellites or Moons, Epimetheus shares its orbit with another Moon, Janus. Saturn's largest Moon is Titan, which is the only natural satellite in the solar system with an atmosphere.

19 December, 1886 – Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of Beryl Coronet begins on this date

The short detective story written by Arthur Conan Doyle and featuring detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend and assistant Dr Watson began on this date. The story is the 11th in a series of 12 stories contained in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

20 December, 2007 – Queen Elizabeth becomes the longest-living British monarch

The previous longest living monarch – Queen Victoria – died on Jan 22, 1901, when she was 81 years, 7 months, and 29 days old. Queen Elizabeth, who was born on 21 April 1926, turned 81 years, 7 months and 30 days on this day.

21 December, 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs released

The movie made by Walt Disney Productions was the world's first full-length animated feature film and it was based on a German fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm.

22 December, 1937 – Lincoln Tunnel opens

The 1.5 mile long (2.4 km) long tunnel passes under the Hudson River and connects New Jersey to New York City.

23 December, 1958 – Tokyo Tower opened to the public

Tokyo Tower is world's tallest, self-supported steel tower. It is based on the Eiffel Tower and is used for communi-cation purposes.

24 December, 1951 – Libya gains independence from Italy

The North African country had been ruled by Italy since 1912. After independence, it became a constitutional monarchy under King Idris. King Idris was overthrown in a military coup led by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969.