DAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021

Today is the 352nd day of 2021 and the 88th day of autumn.

TODAY’S HISTORY:

In 1865, slavery formally ended in the United States with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.

In 1892, Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 1957, the first civilian electricity-generating nuclear facility in America opened in Pennsylvania.

In 1958, a U.S. rocket launched SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), the world’s first communications satellite, into space.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

H.H. Munro aka Saki (1870-1916), author; Ty Cobb (18861961), baseball player; Robert Moses (18881981), urban planner; Betty Grable (19161973), actress; Ossie Davis (1917-2005), actor; Keith Richards (1943- ), musician; Steven Spielberg (1946- ), director; Ray Liotta (1954- ), actor; Brad Pitt (1963- ), actor; Steve Austin (1964- ), wrestler/actor;

DMX (1970- ), rapper/ actor; Katie Holmes (1978- ), actress; Christina Aguilera (1980- ), singer; Billie Eilish (2001- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY’S FACT:

The SCORE satellite launched in 1958 used a tape recorder to save and relay voice messages. It communicated a Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the world via shortwave frequency on Dec. 19.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1932, a blizzard forced the National Football League to hold its championship game inside Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard field. The Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans, 9-0.

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“I love Americans, but not when they try to talk French. What a blessing it is that they never try to talk English.” — Saki

TODAY’S NUMBER:

3 — U.S. presidents who have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998 and Donald Trump on this day in 2019. Trump was impeached a second time in 2021. None were convicted.