December 10, 1906 - Theodore Roosevelt, while serving as the 26^th President of the United States, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first American to receive a Nobel Prize of any type. Roosevelt was honored for having brokered several peace treaties, including one that ended hostilities between Russia and Japan. He was also honored for his initiative in opening the international Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands. The prize money, which in 1906 equaled $36,735, was donated by Roosevelt to several charities.

December 10, 1935 - Jay Berwanger, of the University of Chicago, became the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy after being voted the most outstanding player in college football. The next year the trophy was renamed the Heisman Trophy, in honor of former college football great and director of the Downtown Athletic Club, John Heisman. The 25-pound trophy is modeled after Ed Smith, a star player for the 1934 New York University football team. While Heisman balloting is open for players in all divisions of college football, only players from Division I teams have won the award. Archie Griffin of Ohio State is the only player to have won the award twice, winning in 1974 and 1975.

December 13, 2000 -  Seven inmates escaped from the John B. Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas. Known as the "Texas 7," the inmates carried out an elaborate scheme to escape from the maximum security prison. After hiding out in motels near San Antonio and later Dallas, the group held up Oshman's Sporting Goods store in Irving, Texas, on Christmas Eve, stealing at least 40 guns and sets of ammunition. An employee standing outside the store noticed a commotion inside and called police. Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins responded to the call and was immediately ambushed upon arriving on scene. His autopsy later showed that he had been shot eleven times and was run over by the fleeing gang. Four members of the gang were arrested on January 21 in Woodland Park, Colorado, after an RV-park owner recognized them from the television show America's Most Wanted. A fifth member committed suicide rather than face arrest. The last two fugitives were arrested two days later in Colorado Springs, Colorado. All six of the surviving escapees received the death penalty for their murder of Officer Hawkins. The first was executed on August 14, 2008. The remaining five are awaiting appeals.

December 13, 2003 -  Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces near his hometown of Tikrit. The military operation, code named Operation Red Dawn after the 1984 film Red Dawn, involved searches of two sites outside the town ad-Dawr. When Hussein was not found at either location the search continued between the sites. At 20:30 hours local Iraqi time, the former dictator was discovered hiding in a "spider hole" on a local farm. Despite being armed with a pistol and an AK-47 assault rifle, Hussein did not resist capture. He was put on trial for war crimes by the Iraqi Special Tribunal and was found guilty of the murder of 140 Iraqi Shi'ite in 1982. He was executed by hanging on December 30, 2006.