History of 18th December

218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic.
1118 - Alfonso van Aragon occupies Saragossa on Almoraviden
1271 - Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (
yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China.
1352 - Etienne Aubert elected as Pope Innocentius VI
1406 - Anton van Bourgondies becomes duke of Brabant
1603 - Admiral Steven van der Haghens fleet departs to East-Indies
1621 - English parliament accept unanimously, Protestation
1719 - Thomas Fleet publishes "Mother Goose's Melodies For Children"
1774 - Empress Maria Theresa expels Jews from Prague, Bohemia & Moravia
1777 - 1st national Thanksgiving Day, commemorating Burgoyne's surrender
1783 - English king George III fires govt of Portland
1787 - New Jersey becomes 3rd state to ratify constitution
1793 - Surrender of the frigate La Lutine by French royalists to Lord Hood; renamed HMS Lutine, she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
1796 - 1st US newspaper to appear on Sunday (Baltimore Monitor)
1799 - George Washington's body interred at Mount Vernon
1813 - British take Ft Niagara in War of 1812
1832 - Charles Darwins visits Vurland
1839 - 1st celestial photograph (of Moon) made in US, John Draper, NYC
1849 - William Bond obtains 1st photograph of Moon through a telescope
1858 - Passy, at Paris: 1st "Samedi soir" i/d villa of lovers Rossini
1859 - South Carolina declared an "independent commonwealth"
1862 - Battle at Lexington, Tennessee (Forrest's Second Raid)
1865 - 13th Amendment ratified, slavery abolished
1865 - 1st US cattle importation law passed
1869 - Canada's Hamilton Foot Ball Club plays its 1st game
1878 - French SS Byzantin sinks after collision in Dardanellen, 210 killed
1878 - John Kehoe, the last of the Molly Maguires is executed in Pennsylvania.
1888 - Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde.
1890 - Lugards expedition to Mengo/Kampala, Uganda
1892 - "Nutcracker Suite," Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet, premieres
1892 - Anton Bruckner's 8th Symphony, premieres
1894 - Cricket day 4 1T Aus v Eng England following on 4-268, 7 in front
1898 - Automobile speed record set-63 kph (39 mph)
1899 - Fieldmarshal Lord Roberts appointed Brit supreme commander in S Africa
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 is opened for traffic.
1905 - H V Hordern takes 8-81 in 2nd innings of F-C debut (NSW v Qld)
1912 - he Piltdown Man, later discovered to be a hoax, is supposedly found in the Piltdown Gravel Pit, by Charles Dawson.
1915 - Pres Wilson, widowed the year before, marries Edith Bolling Galt
1917 - Soviet regiment (Stalin/Lenin) declares Finland Independent
1920 - 1st US postage stamps printed without the words United States or US
1923 - International zone of Tangier set up in Morocco
1930 - Bradman scores 258 NSW v South Aust, 289 mins, 37 fours
1932 - Chicago Bears beat Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 in 1st NFL playoff game
1935 - Bradman scores 117 in his 1st Shield cricket match for South Australia
1935 - Edward Benes becomes president of Czechoslovakia
1935 - The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is founded in Ceylon.
1936 - 1st giant panda imported into US
1936 - Queensland cricket all out for 49 v Vic, Fleetwood-Smith 7-17
1936 - Su-Lin, 1st giant panda to come to US from China, arrives in SF
1939 - Finnish army recaptures Agläjärvi
1941 - German submarine U-434 sinks
1941 - Japanse troops land on Hong Kong
1944 - Destroyers "Hull," "Spence" & "Monaghan" sink in typhoon (Philippines)
1944 - Nazi occupiers of Amsterdam destroy electricity plants
1945 - Uruguay joins UN
1946 - TV's 1st network dramatic serial "Faraway Hill" ends 2 month run
1947 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Optissima Pax
1948 - Indonesia begins it's 2nd political election
1948 - WDSU TV channel 6 in New Orleans, LA (NBC) begins broadcasting
1949 - Phila Eagles beat LA Rams 14-0 in NFL championship game
1952 - Ellis W Ryan resigns as Cleve Indians president
1953 - KATV TV channel 7 in Little Rock, AR (ABC) begins broadcasting
1953 - KMID TV channel 2 in Midland & Odessa, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 - "To Tell the Truth" debuts on CBS-TV
1956 - Israeli flag hoisted on Mount Sinai
1956 - Japan admitted to UN
1956 - Phil Rizzuto signs as NY Yankee radio-TV announcer
1957 - Shippingport Atomic Power Stn, 1st nuke plant to generate electricity
1958 - 1st test project of Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equip
1958 - 1st voice from space: recorded Christmas message by Eisenhower
1958 - Niger gains autonomy within French Community (National Day)
1959 - Sammy Baugh named 1st coach of NY Titans (AFL)
1960 - General Meeting of UN condemns apartheid
1961 - Britain's EMI Records originally rejects the Beatles
1961 - For 2nd cons year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year
1961 - India annexes Portuguese colonies of Goa, Damao & Diu
1961 - KAIL TV channel 53 in Fresno, CA (IND) begins broadcasting
1961 - Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Phila Warriors scores 78 points vs LA
1962 - Dmitri Shostakovitch' 13th Symphony, premieres in Moscow
1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1962 - WAIQ TV channel 26 in Montgomery, AL (PBS) begins broadcasting
1963 - Clarke runs world record 10k (28:15.6)
1963 - Muskegon, Michigan gets 3' of snow
1964 - "I Had a BaIl" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 199 performances
1964 - "The Pink Panther" cartoon series premieres (Pink Phink)
1964 - During services held for Sam Cooke fans caused damage to Funeral Home
1964 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1965 - "La Grusse Valise" closes at 54th St Theater NYC after 7 performances
1965 - Borman & Lovell Splash down in Atlantic ends 2 week Gemini VII mission
1965 - Kenneth LeBel jumps 17 barrels on ice skates
1966 - Dr Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" airs for 1st time on CBS
1966 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1966 - Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.
1968 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1969 - "Coco" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 333 performances
1969 - Britain abolishes death penalty
1969 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 - "Me Nobody Knows" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 587 perfs
1970 - Polish uprising fails
1970 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1971 - 1st Candlelight Processional
1971 - CBS radio cancels Saturday morning band concerts
1971 - People United To Save Humanity (PUSH) forms by Jesse Jackson in Chic
1971 - US dollar devalued 7.9% in Holland ($1=Ÿ3,245)
1972 - US begins its heaviest bombing of North Vietnam
1973 - Soyuz 13 launched into Earth orbit for 8 days
1973 - Yanks sign Dick Williams as manager, overturned later by AL Pres
1974 - SF Visitors Center at City Hall opens
1976 - "A Star is Born," with Barbra Striesand, premieres
1976 - "Wonder Woman" debuts on ABC
1976 - Soviet dissident Viktor Bukovskiexchanged for Chile CP-leader Corvalan
1977 - Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 42, Nate Thumond
1977 - Dutch Antilles: premier Boy Rozendal points independence off
1978 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1978 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
1979 - Stanley Barrett 1st to exceed land sonic speed (739.666 MPH)
1980 - Bruce Sprinsteen's concert at Madison Sq Garden
1980 - Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts minister Van Agts abortion laws
1980 - IRA's Sean McKenna becomes critically ill, ends hunger strike
1980 - Vietnam adopts constitution
1982 - Flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 20 seconds
1983 - NBA San Diego Clippers ends 29 game road losing streak
1984 - 73rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats USA in Gothenburg (4-1)
1985 - "Jerry's Girls" opens at St James Theater NYC for 139 performances
1985 - UN Security Council unanimously condemns "acts of hostage-taking"
1986 - Mr Gates, serves as acting director of CIA
1987 - Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's future pres, marries Asif Ali Zardari
1987 - Ivan F Boesky sentenced to 3 years for insider trading
1988 - 5th meeting of Giants-Jets, Jets win & eliminate Giants from playoffs
1988 - Seattle Seahawks win their 1st ever division title with 9-7 record
1989 - "I Love Lucy" Christmas episode, shown for 1st time in over 30 years
1989 - Athol Fugard's "My Children, My Africa," premieres in NYC
1990 - NL releases short list of teams for 1993 NL expansion
1990 - NL announces Buffalo, Denver, Miami, Orlando, Tampa-St Petersburg, & Wash DC as 6 finalist for 1993 expansion (Miami & Denver win)
1991 - DeForest Kelly (Dr McCoy on Star Trek) gets a star in Hollywood
1991 - General Motors announces closing of 21 plants
1992 - FCC vote 4-1 to allow Infinity to purchase Cook Inlet stations
1993 - Kevin Scott skates world record 1K (1:12.54)
1994 - "Comedy Tonight" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 8 performances
1994 - "What's Wrong With this Pic?" closes at Circle in Sq NYC after 12 perf
1994 - Darryl Strawberry pleads not guilty on tax evasion charges
1994 - General Hospital stars Kristina Malandro & Jack Wagner wed
1994 - Norman, Couples & Azinger wins LPGA Wendy's 3-Tour Golf Challenge
1994 - Socialist Party (ex-communist) wins Bulgaria parliamentary election
1996 - Start of 1st Test Cricket match between Zimbabwe & England
1996 - TV industry execs agree to adopt a ratings system
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.
2002 - 2003 California recall: Then 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.