Today in History
Today is Monday, Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2023. There are 13 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 18, 2019, the U.S. House impeached President Donald Trump on two charges, sending his case to the Senate for trial; the articles of impeachment accused him of abusing the power of the presidency to investigate rival Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election and then obstructing Congress’ investigation. (It was the first of two Trump impeachment trials that would end in acquittal by the Senate.)
On this date:
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
In 1892, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia; although now considered a classic, it received a generally negative reception from critics.
In 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” and sent it to the states for ratification.
In 1940, Adolf Hitler signed a secret directive ordering preparations for a Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. (The invasion, known as Operation Barbarossa, was launched in June, 1941.)
In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the government’s wartime detention of people of Japanese descent from the West Coast while at the same time ruling that “concededly loyal” Americans of Japanese ancestry could not continue to be detained.
In 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of service in 1982.)
In 1958, the world’s first communications satellite, SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), nicknamed “Chatterbox,” was launched by the United States aboard an Atlas rocket.
In 1969, Britain’s House of Lords joined the House of Commons in making permanent a 1965 ban on the death penalty for murder.
In 1992, Kim Young-sam was elected South Korea’s first civilian president in three decades.
In 2003, two federal appeals courts ruled the U.S. military could not indefinitely hold prisoners without access to lawyers or American courts.
In 2011, the last convoy of heavily armored U.S. troops left Iraq, crossing into Kuwait in darkness in the final moments of a nine-year war.
In 2012, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to be voted The Associated Press Player of the Year in college football.
In 2020, the U.S. added a second COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal, as the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of the shot developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health.
In 2022, Argentina beat France 4-2 in a penalty shootout to claim a third World Cup, the first for star Lionel Messi.
Today’s Birthdays: Rock musician Keith Richards is 80. Writer-director Alan Rudolph is 80. Movie producer-director Steven Spielberg is 77. Blues artist Rod Piazza is 76. Movie director Gillian Armstrong is 73. Movie reviewer Leonard Maltin is 73. Rock musician Elliot Easton is 70. Comedian Ron White is 67. R&B singer Angie Stone is 62. Actor Brad Pitt is 60. Professional wrestler-turned-actor “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is 59. Actor Shawn Christian is 58. Actor Rachel Griffiths is 55. Singer Alejandro Sanz is 55. Actor Casper Van Dien is 55. Country/rap singer Cowboy Troy is 53. International Tennis Hall of Famer Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is 52. DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit) is 51. Pop singer Sia is 48. Country singer Randy Houser is 47. Actor Josh Dallas is 45. Actor Katie Holmes is 45. Actor Ravi Patel is 45. Singer Christina Aguilera is 43. Actor Ashley Benson is 34. NH ,K/L defenseman Victor Hedman is 33. Actor-singer Bridgit Mendler is 31. MLB outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is 26. Electro-pop singer Billie Eilish is 22. Actor Isabella Crovetti is 19.
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