TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18, the 352nd day of 2019. There are 13 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 2000, the Electoral College cast its ballots, with President-elect George W. Bush receiving the expected 271; Al Gore, however, received 266, one fewer than expected, because of a District of Columbia Democrat who’d left her ballot blank to protest the district’s lack of representation in Congress.
In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
In 1916, during World War I, the 10-month Battle of Verdun ended with French troops succeeding in repulsing a major German offensive.
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. (Operation Barbarossa was launched in June 1941.)
In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the government’s wartime evacuation 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 1956, Japan was admitted to the United Nations.
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 1969, Britain’s House of Lords joined the House of Commons in making permanent a 1965 ban on the death penalty for murder.
In 1972, the United States began heavy bombing of North Vietnamese targets during the Vietnam War. (The bombardment ended 11 days later.)
In 1998, the House debated articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. South Carolina carried out the nation’s 500th execution since capital punishment resumed in 1977.
In 2003, two federal appeals courts ruled the U.S. military could not indefinitely hold prisoners without access to lawyers or American courts.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Cicely Tyson is 95. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark is 92. Actor Roger Mosley is 81. Rock singer-musician Keith Richards and writer-director Alan Rudolph are 76. Movie producer-director Steven Spielberg is 73. Blues artist Rod Piazza is 72. Movie director Gillian Armstrong and movie reviewer Leonard Maltin are 69. Rock musician Elliot Easton is 66. Actor Ray Liotta is 65. Comedian Ron White is 63. R&B singer Angie Stone is 58. Actor Brad Pitt is 56. Professional wrestler-turned-actor “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is 55. Actor Shawn Christian is 54. Actress Rachel Griffiths, singer Alejandro Sanz and actor Casper Van Dien are 51. Country/rap singer Cowboy Troy and rapper DMX are 49. International Tennis Hall-of-Famer Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is 48. DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit) is 47. Pop singer Sia is 44. Country singer Randy Houser is 43. Actors Josh Dallas and Ravi Patel, and actress Katie Holmes are 41. Singer Christina Aguilera is 39. Christian rock musician Dave Luetkenhoelter (Kutless) is 37. Actress Ashley Benson is 30. NHL defenseman Victor Hedman is 29. Actress-singer Bridgit Mendler is 27. Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is 22. Electro-pop singer Billie Eilish is 18. Actress Isabella Cramp is 15.