On this day, Dec. 19
1777 During the American Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.
1907 239 workers died in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pa.
1946 War broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.
1950 Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was named commander of the military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
1960 Fire broke out on the hangar deck of the nearly completed aircraft carrier USS Constellation at the New York Naval Shipyard; 50 civilian workers were killed.
1972 Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, winding up the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.
1998 President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House for perjury and obstruction of justice. (Mr. Clinton was subsequently acquitted by the Senate.) 2001 The fires that had burned beneath the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York City for the previous three months were declared extinguished except for a few scattered hot spots.
2003 Design plans were unveiled for the signature skyscraper — a 1,776-foot glass tower — at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
2008 Citing imminent danger to the national economy, President George W. Bush ordered an emergency bailout of the U.S. auto industry.
2011 North Korea announced the death two days earlier of leader Kim Jong Il; North Koreans marched by the thousands to mourn their “Dear Leader” while state media proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, a “Great Successor.”
2016 A truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State. (The suspected attacker was killed in a police shootout four days later.)
2022 The House Jan. 6 committee urged the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for the violent 2021 Capitol insurrection, calling for accountability for the former president and “a time of reflection and reckoning.”
Today’s birthdays: Actor Elaine Joyce, 80. Actor Tim Reid, 79. Musician John McEuen, 78. Singer Janie Fricke, 76. Jazz musician Lenny White, 74. Actor Mike Lookinland, 63. Actor Scott Cohen, 62. Actor Jennifer Beals, 60. Actor Robert MacNaughton, 57. Magician Criss Angel, 56. Rock musician Klaus Eichstadt (Ugly Kid Joe), 56. Actor Ken Marino, 55. Actor Elvis Nolasco, 55. Actor Kristy Swanson, 54. Model Tyson Beckford, 53. Actor Amy Locane, 52. Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, 51. Actor Rosa Blasi, 51. Actor Alyssa Milano, 51. Actor Tara Summers, 44. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal, 43. Actor Marla Sokoloff, 43.