On this date in...

1905...O Henry's classic Christmas story, "The Gift of the Magi," is published in The New York World. It has been written in a just a few hours in a booth in Pete's Tavern at 18th Street and Irving Place. The tavern – and the famous booth – are still open to customers today.

1906...U.S. President and New York native Teddy Roosevelt becomes the first American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in the Russo-Japanese War.

1950...Dr. Ralph Bunche, a New Yorker, becomes the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a United Nations mediator during the Palestine War.