TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: DEC 18
218 BC Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian army heavily defeat Roman forces on Italian soil
1118 Afonso the Battler, the Christian King of Aragon captures Saragossa, Spain, causing a major blow to Muslim Spain
1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China
1719 Thomas Fleet publishes “Mother Goose’s Melodies For Children”
1787 New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1812 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives in Paris after his disastrous campaign in Russia.
1839 1st celestial photograph (the moon) made in US, John Draper, New York NY
1862 The first orthopedic hospital was organized in New York City. It was called the Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled.
1865 Slavery is abolished in the United States. The 13th Amendment is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution, ensuring that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
1892 Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite” premiered at St. Petersburg’s Maryinksy Theatre.
1912 – The discovery of the Piltdown Man in East Sussex was announced. It was proved to be a hoax in 1953.
1915 In a single night, about 20,000 Australian and New Zealand troops withdraw from Gallipoli, Turkey, undetected by the Turks defending the peninsula.
1917 The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorizing prohibition of alcohol, is approved by the US congress and sent to the states for ratification
1936 Su-Lin, the first giant panda to come to the U.S. from China, arrived in San Francisco, CA. The bear was sold to the Brookfield Zoo for $8,750.
1940 Adolf Hitler issues his secret plans for the invasion of the Soviet Union–Operation Barbarossa.
1956 Japan is admitted to the United Nations.
1957 World’s 1st full scale nuclear power plant for only peacetime use begins to generate electricity, at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania
1964 “The Pink Panther” cartoon series premieres (Pink Phink)
1970 An atomic leak in Nevada forces hundreds of citizens to flee the test site.
1971 People United To Save Humanity (PUSH) forms by Jesse Jackson in Chicago
1972 President Richard M. Nixon declares that the bombing of North Vietnam will continue until an accord can be reached (Operation Linebacker II).
1987 – Ivan F. Boesky was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting Wall Street’s biggest insider-trading scandal. He only served about two years of the sentence.
1989 The European Economic Community and the Soviet Union sign an agreement on trade and economic communication.
1998 The U.S. House of Representatives began the debate on the four articles of impeachment concerning U.S. President Bill Clinton. It was only the second time in U.S. history that process had begun.
2005 Civil war begins in Chad with a rebel assault on Adre; the rebels are believed to be backed by Chad’s neighbor, Sudan.
2008 United Arab Emirates holds it first-ever elections.
2009 A Paris court ruled that Google was breaking French law with its policy of digitizing books and fined the company a $14,300-a-day fine until it rids its search engine of the literary extracts.
2010 In an opening act of Arab Spring, anti-government protests erupt in Tunisia.
2010 The Senate votes 65 to 31 in favor of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the Clinton-era military policy that forbids openly gay men and women from serving in the military.
2019 US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198)
REFERENCES: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeoplehistory.com, timeandate.com, factmonster.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
