December 18
In the
Gregorian Calendar,
December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in
leap years), at which point there will be 13 days remaining to the end of the year.
*
218 BC -
Second Punic War:
Battle of the Trebia -
Hannibal's
Carthaginian forces defeat those of the
Roman Republic.
*
1271 -
Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), officially marking the start of the
Yuan Dynasty of
China.
*
1352 -
Innocent VI is elected
Pope.
*
1787 -
New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the
United States Constitution.
*
1793 - Surrender of the frigate
La Lutine by Frech royalists to
Lord Hood; renamed
HMS Lutine, she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
*
1892 - The first performance of
Tchaikovsky's ballet
The Nutcracker is held at the
Mariinsky Theatre in
St. Petersburg.
*
1900 - The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook
Narrow-gauge (2
ft 6
in or 762
mm) Railway (now the
Puffing Billy Railway) in
Victoria,
Australia opened for traffic.
*
1926 - The first performance of
Leoš Janáček's opera
The Makropulos Affair is held in
Brno,
Czechoslovakia.
*
1935 - The
Lanka Sama Samaja Party is founded in
Sri Lanka.
*
1961 -
Indonesia invades
Netherlands New Guinea.
*
1966 -
Saturn's moon
Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.
*
1969 -
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom:
Home Secretary James Callaghan's motion to remove the limit on the
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, which suspended the
death penalty in
England,
Wales and
Scotland for all crimes, except
treason,
piracy with violence, and certain crimes under the jurisdiction of the armed forces for a period of five years, is carried by both the
House of Commons and the
House of Lords.
*
1973 -
Soviet Soyuz Programme:
Soyuz 13, crewed by
cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and
Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from
Baikonur in the
Soviet Union.
*
1996 - The
Oakland, California school board passes a resolution officially declaring "
Ebonics" a language or dialect.
*
1997 -
HTML 4.0 is published by the
World Wide Web Consortium.
*
1999 - NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including
ASTER,
CERES,
MISR,
MODIS and
MOPITT.
*
2001 - The
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in
Manhattan,
New York City, is damaged by fire.
*
2002 -
2003 California recall:
Governor of California Gray Davis announces that the state would face a record
budget deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign one month earlier.
*
1507 -
Ouchi Yoshitaka, Japanese warlord (d.
1551)
*
1602 -
Simonds d'Ewes, English antiquarian and politician (d.
1650)
*
1610 -
Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, French philologist (d.
1688)
*
1620 -
Heinrich Roth, German Sanskrit scholar (d.
1668)
*
1626 - Queen
Christina of Sweden (d.
1689)
*
1661 -
Christopher Polhem, Swedish scientist and inventor (d.
1751)
*
1662 -
James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, Scottish politician (d.
1711)
*
1724 -
Louise of Great Britain, wife of
Frederick V of Denmark (d.
1751)
*
1725 -
Johann Salomo Semler, German historian and Bible commentator (d.
1791)
*
1825 -
Charles Griffin (general), American general (d.
1876)
*
1835 -
Lyman Abbott, American author (d.
1922)
*
1847 -
Augusta Holmès, French composer (d.
1903)
*
1856 - Sir
J.J. Thomson, British physicist and
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1940)
*
1863 -
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (d.
1914)
*
1870 -
Saki, British writer (d.
1916)
*
1873 -
Francis Burton Harrison, American political figure (d.
1957)
*
1878 -
Josef Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union (d.
1953)
*
1879 -
Paul Klee, Swiss-born painter and graphic artist (d.
1940)
*
1886 -
Ty Cobb, American baseball player (d.
1961)
*
1888 -
Robert Moses, American public works official (d.
1981)
* 1888 - Dame
Gladys Cooper, British actress (d.
1971)
*
1890 -
Edwin Armstrong, American inventor (d.
1954)
*
1897 -
Fletcher Henderson, American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer (d.
1952)
*
1904 -
George Stevens, American film director, producer, writer and cinematographer (d.
1975)
*
1907 -
Bill Holland, American auto racer (d.
1984)
*
1912 -
Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American General (d.
2002)
*
1913 -
Alfred Bester, American author (d.
1987)
* 1913 -
Willy Brandt,
Chancellor of Germany and
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1992)
* 1913 -
Ray Meyer, former head coach of
DePaul University men's basketball team )(d. 2006)
*
1916 -
Betty Grable, American actress (d.
1973)
* 1916 -
Douglas Fraser, British-born trade unionist
*
1917 -
Ossie Davis, American actor (d.
2005)
*
1927 -
Ramsey Clark, U.S. Attorney General
* 1927 -
Romeo LeBlanc, 25th
Governor General of Canada*
1928 -
Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal
*
1929 -
Gino Cimoli, baseball player
*
1930 -
Moose Skowron, baseball player
*
1931 -
Allen Klein, rock and roll business manager
*
1934 -
Boris Volynov, cosmonaut
*
1935 -
Jacques Pépin, French chef
*
1936 -
Malcolm Kirk, wrestler (d.
1987)
*
1938 -
Roger E. Mosley, American actor
*
1939 -
Michael Moorcock, British author
* 1939 -
Harold E. Varmus, American scientist and
Nobel Prize laureate
*
1940 -
Bramwell Morrison, member of children's musical group
Sharon, Lois & Bram*
1943 -
Keith Richards, British guitarist (
The Rolling Stones)
*
1946 -
Steven Spielberg, American film director
* 1946 -
Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist (d.
1977)
*
1948 -
Bill Nelson, British musician (Be Bop Deluxe)
*
1950 -
Gillian Armstrong, Australian film director
* 1950 -
Leonard Maltin, American film critic
*
1950 -
Randy Castillo, American drummer(d.
2002)
*
1953 -
Elliot Easton, American guitarist (
The Cars)
*
1955 -
Ray Liotta, American actor
*
1956 -
Ron White, American comedian
*
1960 -
Kazuhide Uekusa, Japanese economist
*
1961 -
Brian Orser, Canadian figure skater
*
1963 -
Karl Dorrell, American football coach
* 1963 -
Brad Pitt, American actor
*
1964 -
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, American professional wrestler
* 1964 -
Don Beebe, American football player
* 1964 -
Robson Green, British actor and singer
*
1965 -
Tommy Davidson, American actor
*
1968 -
Casper Van Dien, American actor
*
1970 -
DMX, American rapper and actor
* 1970 -
Miles Marshall Lewis, American author
* 1970 -
Rob Van Dam, American professional wrestler
* 1970 -
Cowboy Troy, American rapper
* 1970 -
Anthony Catanzaro, American male fitness model and bodybuilder
*
1971 -
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Spanish tennis player
*
1972 -
DJ Lethal, American DJ (
House of Pain &
Limp Bizkit)
*
1973 -
Raymond Herrera, American drummer (
Fear Factory)
*
1974 -
Peter Boulware, American football player
*1974 - Knut
Euroboy Schreiner, Norwegian musician (
Turbonegro)
*
1975 -
Trish Stratus, Canadian professional wrestler
* 1975 -
Masaki Sumitani, Japanese comedian
*
1976 -
Koyuki, Japanese actress and model
*
1977 -
José Acevedo, Baseball player
*
1978 -
Curtis Taylor, "Bullycide" victim (d.
1993)
*
1978 -
Katie Holmes, American actress
*
1980 -
Christina Aguilera, American singer
*
1983 -
Darren Carter, English footballer
*
1985 -
Hana Soukupová, Czech supermodel
*
1987 -
Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
*
1989 -
Ashley Benson, American actress
*
821 -
Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans
*
1133 -
Hildebert, French writer
*
1290 - King
Magnus I of Sweden (b.
1240)
*
1442 -
Pierre Cauchon, French Catholic bishop (b.
1371)
*
1495 - King
Alphonso II of Naples (b.
1448)
*
1692 -
Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (b.
1626)
*
1737 -
Antonio Stradivari, Italian violin maker (b.
1644)
*
1787 -
Francis William Drake, British Admiral and Governor of Newfoundland (b.
1724)
* 1787 -
Soame Jenyns, English writer (b.
1704)
*
1799 -
Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician (b.
1725)
*
1803 -
Johann Gottfried Herder, German writer (b.
1744)
*
1843 -
Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch, British Viceroy of India (b.
1748)
*
1848 -
Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian mathematician and philosopher (b.
1781)
*
1869 -
Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American composer and pianist (b.
1829)
*
1936 -
Andrija Mohorovičić, Austro-Hungarian-born Yugoslav seismologist (b.
1857)
*
1971 -
Bobby Jones, American golfer (b.
1902)
*
1974 -
Harry Hooper, American baseball player (b.
1887)
*
1975 -
Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist (b.
1900)
*
1980 -
Alexei Kosygin,
Premier of the USSR (b.
1904)
*
1982 -
Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German pilot (b.
1916)
*
1985 -
Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (b.
1916)
*
1990 -
Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (b.
1914)
*
1991 -
George Abecassis, British Formula 1 driver (b.
1913)
*
1992 -
Mark Goodson, American game show producer (b.
1915)
*
1993 -
Sam Wanamaker, American actor (b.
1919)
*
1994 -
Roger Apéry, French mathematician (b.
1916)
*
1995 -
Konrad Zuse, German engineer and computing pioneer (b.
1910)
*
1996 -
Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist (b.
1904)
*
1997 -
Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (b.
1964)
*
1998 -
Lev Demin, cosmonaut (b.
1926)
*
1999 -
Robert Bresson, French film director (b.
1907)
*
2000 -
Kirsty MacColl, British singer and songwriter (b.
1959)
*
2001 -
Gilbert Bécaud, French singer (b.
1927)
*
2002 -
Ray Hnatyshyn,
Governor-General of Canada (b.
1934)
*
2004 -
Anthony Sampson, British journalist and biographer (b.
1926)
*
2005 -
Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (b.
1922)
*
Roman festivals - Feast of
Epona (during
Saturnalia)
*
R.C. Saints -
Gatianus of Tours* Also see
December 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)*
Niger -
Republic Day (autonomous in
1958)
*
Greek Orthodox Church – Feast of
Sebastian the Martyr
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This DayDecember 17 -
December 19 -
November 18 -
January 18 --
listing of all days
