TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

Dec. 18, 1865

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.

ALSO ON THIS DATE

1787

New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

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.

1916

During World War I, the 10-month Battle of Verdun ended with French troops succeeding in repulsing a major German offensive.

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.

1940

Adolf Hitler signed a secret directive ordering preparations for a Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.

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.

1957

The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line.

1972

The United States began heavy bombing of North Vietnamese targets during the Vietnam War.

1987

Ivan F. Boesky was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a major Wall Street insider-trading scandal..

1992

Kim Young-sam was elected South Korea’s first civilian president in three decades.