EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST 18/12

[edit]

• 218 BC – Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic.
• 1271 – Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia and China.
• 1622 – Portuguese forces score a military victory over the Kingdom of Kongo at the Battle of Mbumbi in present-day Angola.
• 1655 – The Whitehall Conference ends with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the Edict of Expulsion of 1290.
• 1777 – The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the American rebels over British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga in October.
• 1787 – New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
• 1793 – Surrender of the frigate La Lutine by French Royalists to Lord Samuel Hood; renamed HMS Lutine, she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
• 1833 – The national anthem of the Russian Empire, "God Save the Tsar!", is first performed.
• 1865 – US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the USA.
• 1878 – The Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar.
• 1892 – Premiere performance of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
• 1898 – Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the first officially recognized land speed record of 39.245 mph (63.159 km/h) in a Jeantaud electric car.
• 1900 – The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook, Victoria Narrow-gauge (2 ft 6 in or 762 mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia is opened for traffic.
• 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Verdun ends when German forces under Chief of staff Erich von Falkenhayn are defeated by the French, and suffer 337,000 casualties.
• 1917 – The resolution containing the language of the Eighteenth Amendment to enact Prohibition is passed by the United States Congress.
• 1932 – The Chicago Bears defeat the Portsmouth Spartans in the first NFL Championship Game.
• 1935 – The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is founded in Ceylon.
• 1939 – World War II: The Battle of the Heligoland Bight, the first major air battle of the war, takes place.
• 1944 – World War II: Seventy-seven B-29 Superfortress and 200 other aircraft of U.S. Fourteenth Air Force bomb Hankow, China, a Japanese supply base.
• 1958 – Project SCORE, the world's first communications satellite, is launched.
• 1966 – Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by astronomer Richard Walker.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th.
• 1973 – Soviet Soyuz Programme: Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.
• 1973 – The Islamic Development Bank is founded.
• 1981 – First flight of the Russian heavy strategic bomber Tu-160, the world's largest combat aircraft, largest supersonic aircraft and largest variable-sweep wing aircraft built.
• 1990 – International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is adopted.
• 1999 – NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT.
• 2002 – California gubernatorial 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.
• 2005 – The Chadian Civil War begins when rebel groups, allegedly backed by neighbouring Sudan, launch an attack in Adré.
• 2006 – The first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia. The death toll of all flooding is at least 118, with over 400,000 people displaced.
• 2006 – United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections.
• 2015 – Kellingley Colliery, the last deep coal mine in Great Britain, closes.

Births[edit]

• 1406 – Richard Olivier de Longueil, French Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal (d. 1470)
• 1507 – Ōuchi Yoshitaka, Japanese daimyo (d. 1551)
• 1602 – Simonds d'Ewes, English historian and politician (d. 1650)
• 1610 – Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, French philologist and historian (d. 1688)
• 1620 – Heinrich Roth, German missionary and scholar (d. 1668)
• 1626 – Christina, Queen of Sweden (d. 1689)
• 1660 – Countess Johanna Magdalene of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1715)
• 1661 – Christopher Polhem, Swedish physicist and inventor (d. 1751)
• 1662 – James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, Scottish colonel and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (d. 1711)
• 1707 – Charles Wesley, English missionary and composer (d. 1788)
• 1725 – Johann Salomo Semler, German historian and theologian (d. 1791)
• 1734 – Jean-Baptiste Rey, French conductor and composer (d. 1810)
• 1800 – James Watney, English brewer and businessman (d. 1884)
• 1824 – John Hall, English-New Zealand politician, 12th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1907)
• 1825 – Charles Griffin, American general (d. 1876)
• 1825 – John S. Harris, American surveyor and politician (d. 1906)
• 1835 – Lyman Abbott, American minister, theologian, and author (d. 1922)
• 1847 – Augusta Holmès, French pianist and composer (d. 1903)
• 1849 – Henrietta Edwards, Canadian activist and author (d. 1931)
• 1851 – Graciano López Jaena, Filipino journalist (d. 1896)
• 1856 – J. J. Thomson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)
• 1860 – Edward MacDowell, American pianist and composer (d. 1908)
• 1861 – Lionel Monckton, English composer and critic (d. 1924)
• 1863 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (d. 1914)
• 1867 – Foxhall P. Keene, American polo player and horse breeder (d. 1941)
• 1869 – Edward Willis Redfield, American painter and educator (d. 1965)
• 1870 – Saki, British short story writer (d. 1916)
• 1873 – Francis Burton Harrison, American general and politician, 6th Governor-General of the Philippines (d. 1957)
• 1875 – Matt McGrath, Irish-American hammer thrower (d. 1941)
• 1878 – Joseph Stalin, Georgian-Russian marshal and politician, 4th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1953)
• 1879 – Paul Klee, Swiss-German painter and educator (d. 1940)
• 1882 – Richard Maury, American-Argentinian engineer, designed the Salta–Antofagasta railway (d. 1950)
• 1884 – Emil Starkenstein, Czech pharmacologist, co-founded clinical pharmacology (d. 1942)
• 1886 – Ty Cobb, American baseball player and manager (d. 1961)
• 1887 – Bhikhari Thakur, Indian actor, singer, and playwright (d. 1971)
• 1888 – Gladys Cooper, English actress and singer (d. 1971)
• 1888 – Robert Moses, American urban planner, designed the Northern State Parkway and Southern State Parkway (d. 1981)
• 1890 – Edwin Howard Armstrong, American engineer, invented FM radio (d. 1954)
• 1896 – Gerald Barry, English colonel and cricketer (d. 1977)
• 1897 – Fletcher Henderson, American pianist and composer (d. 1952)
• 1899 – Peter Wessel Zapffe, Norwegian philosopher and author (d. 1990)
• 1904 – George Stevens, American director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1975)
• 1907 – Bill Holland, American race car driver (d. 1984)
• 1907 – Lawrence Lucie, American guitarist and educator (d. 2009)
• 1908 – Celia Johnson, English actress (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Paul Siple, American geographer and explorer (d. 1969)
• 1910 – Abe Burrows, American author, playwright, and director (d. 1985)
• 1910 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player, cricketer, and umpire (d. 2010)
• 1911 – Jules Dassin, American-Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1912 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general and pilot (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Alfred Bester, American author and screenwriter (d. 1987)
• 1913 – Willy Brandt, German politician, 4th Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
• 1913 – Ray Meyer, American basketball player and coach (d. 2006)
• 1916 – Douglas Fraser, Scottish-American trade union leader and academic (d. 2008)
• 1916 – Betty Grable, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1973)
• 1917 – Ossie Davis, American actor and activist (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Robert Leckie, American soldier and author (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Jack Brooks, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Esther Lederberg, American microbiologist (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Edwin Bramall, Baron Bramall, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Greater London
• 1924 – Cicely Tyson, American actress
• 1927 – Ramsey Clark, American lawyer and politician, 66th United States Attorney General
• 1927 – Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian journalist and politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (d. 2009)
• 1928 – Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Indian-English caliph and author (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Gino Cimoli, American baseball player (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Moose Skowron, American baseball player (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Alison Plowden, English historian and author (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Bill Thompson, American television host (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Norm Provan, Australian rugby league player, coach, and businessman
• 1932 – Roger Smith, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1934 – Marc Rich, Belgian-American businessman, founded Glencore (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Boris Volynov, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
• 1935 – Rosemary Leach, English actress
• 1935 – Jacques Pépin, French-American chef and author
• 1936 – Malcolm Kirk, English rugby player and wrestler (d. 1987)
• 1937 – Nancy Ryles, American politician (d. 1990)
• 1938 – Chas Chandler, English bass player and producer (d. 1996)
• 1938 – Joel Hirschhorn, American songwriter and composer (d. 2005)
• 1939 – Michael Moorcock, English author and songwriter
• 1939 – Harold E. Varmus, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1940 – John Cooper, English sprinter and hurdler (d. 1974)
• 1941 – Sam Andrew, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
• 1941 – Wadada Leo Smith, American trumpet player and composer
• 1941 – Joan Wallach Scott, American historian, author, and academic
• 1943 – Bobby Keys, American saxophone player (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Keith Richards, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
• 1943 – Alan Rudolph, American director and screenwriter
• 1944 – Crispian Steele-Perkins, English trumpet player and educator
• 1945 – Jean Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1946 – Steve Biko, South African activist, founded the Black Consciousness Movement (d. 1977)
• 1946 – Steven Spielberg, American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded DreamWorks
• 1947 – Leonid Yuzefovich, Russian author and screenwriter
• 1948 – Bill Nelson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1948 – Mimmo Paladino, Italian sculptor and painter
• 1948 – Laurent Voulzy, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1949 – David A. Johnston, American volcanologist and geologist (d. 1980)
• 1950 – Gillian Armstrong, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1950 – Randy Castillo, American drummer and songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1950 – Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lankan general and politician
• 1950 – Leonard Maltin, American historian, author, and critic
• 1952 – John Leventhal, American songwriter and producer
• 1953 – Elliot Easton, American guitarist and singer
• 1954 – John Booth, English race car driver
• 1954 – Ray Liotta, American actor
• 1954 – Willi Wülbeck, German runner
• 1955 – Vijay Mallya, Indian businessman and politician
• 1955 – Bogusław Mamiński, Polish runner
• 1957 – Jonathan Cainer, English astrologer and author
• 1958 – Geordie Walker, English guitarist
• 1958 – Julia Wolfe, American composer and educator
• 1960 – Kazuhide Uekusa, Japanese economist and academic
• 1960 – Naoko Yamano, Japanese singer, guitarist and composer
• 1961 – Brian Orser, Canadian figure skater and coach
• 1961 – Leila Steinberg, American singer, producer, author, and poet
• 1961 – Daniel S. Loeb, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Third Point Management
• 1963 – Norman Brown, American singer and guitarist
• 1963 – Greg D'Angelo, American drummer
• 1963 – Karl Dorrell, American football player and coach
• 1963 – Pierre Nkurunziza, Burundian soldier and politician, President of Burundi
• 1963 – Charles Oakley, American basketball player and coach
• 1963 – Brad Pitt, American actor and producer
• 1964 – Stone Cold Steve Austin, American wrestler and producer
• 1964 – Don Beebe, American football player and coach
• 1965 – Shawn Christian, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Manuel Peña Escontrela, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
• 1966 – Gianluca Pagliuca, Italian footballer and sportscaster
• 1966 – Mille Petrozza, German singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1967 – Toine van Peperstraten, Dutch journalist
• 1968 – Mario Basler, German footballer and manager
• 1968 – Rachel Griffiths, Australian actress
• 1968 – Alejandro Sanz, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Casper Van Dien, American actor and producer
• 1969 – Santiago Cañizares, Spanish footballer
• 1969 – Justin Edinburgh, English footballer and manager
• 1969 – Akira Iida, Japanese race car driver
• 1970 – DMX, American rapper and actor
• 1970 – Lucious Harris, American basketball player
• 1970 – Giannis Ploutarhos, Greek singer-songwriter
• 1970 – Rob Van Dam, American wrestler
• 1970 – Jonathan Yeo, English painter
• 1971 – Barkha Dutt, Indian journalist
• 1971 – Noriko Matsueda, Japanese pianist and composer
• 1971 – Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Spanish tennis player and sportscaster
• 1972 – Anzhela Balakhonova, Ukrainian pole vaulter
• 1972 – Raymond Herrera, American drummer and songwriter
• 1973 – Fatuma Roba, Ethiopian runner
• 1974 – Peter Boulware, American football player and politician
• 1974 – Knut Schreiner, Norwegian singer, guitarist, and producer
• 1975 – Sia Furler, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1975 – Randy Houser, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1975 – Trish Stratus, Canadian wrestler and actress
• 1977 – José Acevedo, Dominican baseball player
• 1977 – Maria Brink, American singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Claudia Gesell, German runner
• 1978 – Daniel Cleary, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 – Ali Curtis, American soccer player
• 1978 – Katie Holmes, American actress
• 1980 – Christina Aguilera, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1980 – Heinz Inniger, Swiss snowboarder
• 1980 – Benjamin Watson, American football player
• 1983 – Andy Fantuz, Canadian football player
• 1984 – Paul Harrison, English footballer
• 1984 – Derrick Tribbett, American bass player and singer
• 1986 – François Hamelin, Canadian speed skater
• 1986 – Usman Khawaja, Pakistani-Australian cricketer
• 1986 – Bill Stull, American football player
• 1987 – Ayaka, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
• 1987 – Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
• 1987 – Yuki Furukawa, Japanese actor
• 1988 – Lizzie Armitstead, English cyclist
• 1988 – Seth Doege, American football player
• 1988 – Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Canadian heptathlete
• 1988 – Imad Wasim, Pakistani cricketer
• 1990 – Sierra Kay, American singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Ryan Crouser, American shot putter

Deaths[edit]

• 821 – Theodulf of Orléans, Spanish bishop and poet (b. 750)
• 1075 – Edith of Wessex (b. 1025)
• 1111 – Al-Ghazali, Persian jurist, philosopher, theologian, and mystic (b. 1058)
• 1133 – Hildebert, French poet and scholar (b. 1055)
• 1495 – Alfonso II of Naples (b. 1448)
• 1651 – William Brabazon, 1st Earl of Meath, English lawyer and politician (b. 1580)
• 1692 – Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German scholar and politician (b. 1626)
• 1737 – Antonio Stradivari, Italian instrument maker (b. 1644)
• 1787 – Soame Jenyns, English poet and politician (b. 1704)
• 1799 – Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician and historian (b. 1725)
• 1803 – Johann Gottfried Herder, German philosopher, theologian, and poet (b. 1744)
• 1829 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (b. 1744)
• 1843 – Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch, Scottish-English general and politician (b. 1748)
• 1848 – Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian priest and mathematician (b. 1781)
• 1869 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer (b. 1829)
• 1880 – Michel Chasles, French mathematician and academic (b. 1793)
• 1892 – Richard Owen, English biologist, anatomist, and paleontologist (b. 1804)
• 1919 – John Alcock, English captain and pilot (b. 1892)
• 1922 – Sir Carl Meyer, 1st Baronet, German-English banker and businessman (b. 1851)
• 1925 – Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (b. 1850)
• 1932 – Eduard Bernstein, German theorist and politician (b. 1850)
• 1936 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (b. 1857)
• 1939 – Ernest Lawson, Canadian-American painter (b. 1873)
• 1961 – Leo Reisman, American violinist and bandleader (b. 1897)
• 1969 – Charles Dvorak, American pole vaulter and coach (b. 1878)
• 1971 – Bobby Jones, American golfer and lawyer (b. 1902)
• 1971 – Diana Lynn, American actress (b. 1926)
• 1973 – Allamah Rasheed Turabi, Indian-Pakistani religious leader and philosopher (b. 1908)
• 1974 – Harry Hooper, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1887)
• 1975 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist and biologist (b. 1900)
• 1977 – Michio Nishizawa, Japanese baseball player and manager (b. 1921)
• 1977 – Louis Untermeyer American poet, anthologist, critic (b. 1885)
• 1980 – Dobriša Cesarić, Croatian poet and translator (b. 1902)
• 1980 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1904)
• 1982 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (b. 1916)
• 1985 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (b. 1916)
• 1987 – Conny Plank, German keyboard player and producer (b. 1940)
• 1988 – Niyazi Berkes, Turkish Cypriot-English sociologist and academic (b. 1908)
• 1990 – Anne Revere, American actress (b. 1903)
• 1990 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (b. 1914)
• 1990 – Joseph Zubin, Lithuanian-American psychologist and academic (b. 1900)
• 1991 – George Abecassis, English race car driver (b. 1913)
• 1992 – Mark Goodson, American game show producer, created Family Feud and The Price Is Right (b. 1915)
• 1993 – Helm Glöckler, German race car driver (b. 1909)
• 1993 – Sam Wanamaker, American-English actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
• 1994 – Roger Apéry, Greek-French mathematician and academic (b. 1916)
• 1994 – Lilia Skala, Austrian-American actress (b. 1896)
• 1995 – Brian Brockless, English organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1926)
• 1995 – Ross Thomas, American author (b. 1926)
• 1995 – Konrad Zuse, German engineer, designed the Z3 computer (b. 1910)
• 1996 – Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1904)
• 1996 – Irving Caesar, American composer (b. 1895)
• 1997 – Chris Farley, American comedian and actor (b. 1964)
• 1998 – Lev Dyomin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1926)
• 1999 – Robert Bresson, French director and screenwriter (b. 1901)
• 2000 – Stan Fox, American race car driver (b. 1952)
• 2000 – Randolph Apperson Hearst, American businessman (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Kirsty MacColl, British singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
• 2001 – Gilbert Bécaud, French singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1927)
• 2001 – Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek violinist and composer (b. 1914)
• 2001 – Marcel Mule, French saxophonist and educator (b. 1901)
• 2002 – Necip Hablemitoğlu, Turkish historian and academic (b. 1954)
• 2002 – Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Governor General of Canada (b. 1934)
• 2002 – Wayne Owens, American lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
• 2004 – Anthony Sampson, English journalist and author (b. 1926)
• 2005 – Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Joseph Barbera, American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Ruth Bernhard, German-American photographer (b. 1905)
• 2006 – Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani author and activist (b. 1923)
• 2007 – Hans Billian, Polish-German actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Gerald Le Dain, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1924)
• 2007 – William Strauss, American author and playwright (b. 1947)
• 2007 – Alan Wagner, American businessman and critic (b. 1931)
• 2008 – Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
• 2008 – Mark Felt, American FBI agent and informant (b. 1913)
• 2010 – Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player and manager (b. 1916)
• 2010 – Jacqueline de Romilly, French philologist, author, and scholar (b. 1913)
• 2010 – Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Economy and Finances (b. 1940)
• 2010 – James Pickles, English judge and journalist (b. 1925)
• 2011 – Václav Havel, Czech poet, playwright, and politician, 1st President of the Czech Republic (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Frank Macchiarola, American lawyer and academic (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Mustafa Ould Salek, Mauritanian colonel and politician, President of Mauritania (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Jim Whalen, American football player (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Anatoliy Zayaev, Ukrainian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Ken Hutcherson, American football player (b. 1952)
• 2013 – Graham Mackay, South African-English businessman (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Donald J. Albosta, American soldier and politician (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Gideon Ben-Yisrael, Israeli soldier and politician (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Larry Henley, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Virna Lisi, Italian actress (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Mandy Rice-Davies, English model and actress (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Robert Simpson, American meteorologist and author (b. 1912)
• 2015 – Luc Brewaeys, Belgian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1959)
• 2015 – Helge Solum Larsen, Norwegian businessman and politician (b. 1969)