What happened on December 18? There are more than 287 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About December 18
December 18 is the 353rd day of the year 2024. There are 13 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 51st week of the year 2024.
On this day in Mitchell, Nebraska 69357 sunrise will occur at 07:16 AM and sunset will occur at 04:27 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Sagittarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 42 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For December 18
- 218 BCSecond Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic.
- 1271Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (ࠠ3; yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of Mongolia and China.
- 1642Abel Tasman becomes first European to land in New Zealand.
- 1777The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the Americans over General John Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga in October.
- 1787New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
- 1793Surrender of the frigate La Lutine by French Royalists to Lord Hood; renamed HMS Lutine, she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
- 1878John Kehoe, the last of the Molly Maguires is executed in Pennsylvania.
- 1878The Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar
- 1888Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde.
- 1892premiere performance of The Nutcracker Ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in St. Petersburg.
- 1898Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the first officially recognized land speed record of 39.245 mi/h in a Jeantaud electric car.
- 1900The 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.
- 1912The Piltdown Man, later discovered to be a hoax, is announced by Charles Dawson.
- 1915U.S. President Woodrow Wilson marries Edith Bolling Galt Wilson while president of the United States.
- 1916World 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.
- 1917The resolution containing the language of the Eighteenth Amendment to enact Prohibition is passed by the United States Congress.
- 1932The Chicago Bears defeat the Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 in the first ever NFL Championship Game. Because of a blizzard, the game is moved from Wrigley Field to the Chicago Stadium, the field measuring 80 yd long.
- 1935The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is founded in Ceylon.
- 1944World War II: 77 B-29 Superfortress and 200 other aircraft of U.S. Fourteenth Air Force bomb Hankow, China, a Japanese supply base.
- 1956Japan joins the United Nations.
- 1958Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched.
- 1966Saturn’s moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.
- 1969Capital punishment in the United Kingdom: Home Secretary James Callaghan’s motion to make permanent the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, which had temporarily suspended capital punishment in England, Wales and Scotland for murder (but not for all crimes) for a period of five years.
- 1971Capitol Reef National Park is established in Utah.
- 1972Vietnam 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.
- 1973Soviet Soyuz Programme: Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.
- 1973The Islamic Development Bank is founded.
- 1978Dominica joins the United Nations.
- 1987Larry Wall releases the first version of the Perl programming language.
- 1989The European Community and the Soviet Union sign an agreement on trade and commercial and economic cooperation.
- 1996The Oakland, California school board passes a resolution officially declaring “Ebonics” a language or dialect.
- 1997HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium.
- 1999NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT.
- 20022003 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.
- 2005The civil war in Chad begins when rebel groups, allegedly backed by neighbouring Sudan, launch an attack in Adré.
- 2006The first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia. The death toll of all flooding is at least 118, with over 400,000 people displaced.
- 2006United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections.
- 2010Governmental protests begin in Tunisia, beginning the 2010-2011 Middle East and North Africa protests
Who Were Born On December 18?
- 1507Ōuchi Yoshitaka, Japanese warlord (d. 1551)
- 1602Simonds d'Ewes, English antiquarian and politician (d. 1650)
- 1610Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, French philologist (d. 1688)
- 1620Heinrich Roth, German Sanskrit scholar (d. 1668)
- 1661Christopher Polhem, Swedish scientist and inventor (d. 1751)
- 1662James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, Scottish politician (d. 1711)
- 1707Charles Wesley, English Methodist hymnist (d. 1788)
- 1725Johann Salomo Semler, German historian and Bible commentator (d. 1791)
- 1778Joseph Grimaldi, English clown (d. 1837)
- 1825Charles Griffin, American general (d. 1876)
- 1825John S. Harris, American politician (d. 1906)
- 1835Lyman Abbott, American author (d. 1922)
- 1847Augusta Holmès, French composer (d. 1903)
- 1849Henrietta Edwards, Canadian women’s rights activist (d. 1931)
- 1851Graciano Lopez Jaena, Filipino orator and satirist (d. 1896)
- 1856Sir J. J. Thomson, English physicist and Nobel laureate (d. 1940)
- 1860Edward MacDowell, American composer and pianist (d. 1908)
- 1861Lionel Monckton, English composer for the musical theatre (d. 1924)
- 1863Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (d. 1914)
- 1870Saki, English writer (d. 1916)
- 1873Francis Burton Harrison, American political figure (d. 1957)
- 1878Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union (d. 1953)
- 1879Paul Klee, Swiss-born painter (d. 1940)
- 1886Ty Cobb, American baseball player (d. 1961)
- 1888Dame Gladys Cooper, English actress (d. 1971)
- 1888Robert Moses, American public works official (d. 1981)
- 1890Edwin Armstrong, American inventor (d. 1954)
- 1897Fletcher Henderson, American arranger and composer (d. 1952)
- 1899Peter Wessel Zapffe, Norwegian author and philosopher (d. 1990)
- 1904George Stevens, American film director (d. 1975)
- 1907Bill Holland, American auto racer (d. 1984)
- 1907Lawrence Lucie, American jazz guitarist (d. 2009)
- 1908Celia Johnson, English actress (d. 1982)
- 1908Paul Siple, American Antarctic explorer (d. 1969)
- 1910Abe Burrows, American playwright (d. 1985)
- 1910Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby and cricket international player and referee/umpire (d. 2010)
- 1911Jules Dassin, American film director (d. 2008)
- 1912Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American General (d. 2002)
- 1913Alfred Bester, American author (d. 1987)
- 1913Ray Meyer, American basketball coach (d. 2006)
- 1913Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1992)
- 1916Betty Grable, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1916Douglas Fraser, Scottish-born American trade unionist (d. 2008)
- 1917Ossie Davis, American actor and activist (d. 2005)
- 1920Robert Leckie, American marine and author (d. 2001)
- 1927Ramsey Clark, 66th U.S. Attorney General
- 1927Roméo LeBlanc, 25th Governor General of Canada (d. 2009)
- 1928Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (d. 2003)
- 1929Gino Cimoli, American baseball player
- 1929Józef Cardinal Glemp, Cardinal-Archbishop Emeritus of Warsaw
- 1930Moose Skowron, American baseball player
- 1931Alison Plowden, English historian (d. 2007)
- 1931Allen Klein, American rock and roll business manager (d. 2009)
- 1932Roger Smith, American actor
- 1933Arthur Leigh Allen, American suspected serial killer (d. 1992)
- 1933Lonnie Brooks, American blues musician
- 1934Boris Volynov, Soviet cosmonaut
- 1935Jacques Pépin, French chef
- 1936Malcolm Kirk, English professional wrestler (d. 1987)
- 1938Chas Chandler, English musician (The Animals) (d. 1996)
- 1938Joel Hirschhorn, American songwriter and composer (d. 2005)
- 1938Roger E. Mosley, American actor
- 1939Harold E. Varmus, American scientist and Nobel laureate
- 1939Michael Moorcock, English author
- 1940Bramwell Morrison, member of Sharon, Lois & Bram
- 1941Wadada Leo Smith, American trumpeter and composer
- 1942Harvey Atkin, Canadian actor
- 1943Alan Rudolph, American film director and screenwriter
- 1943Keith Richards, English guitarist (The Rolling Stones)
- 1945Jean Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1946Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 1977)
- 1946Steven Spielberg, American film director
- 1947Leonid Yuzefovich, Russian crime fiction writer
- 1948Bill Nelson, English musician (Be-Bop Deluxe)
- 1948Edmund Kemper, American serial killer
- 1948Laurent Voulzy, French singer and composer
- 1949David A. Johnston, American volcanologist (d. 1980)
- 1949Terry Hertzler, American poet
- 1950Gillian Armstrong, Australian film director
- 1950Heinz-Josef Kehr, German footballer
- 1950Leonard Maltin, American film critic
- 1950Randy Castillo, American drummer (Ozzy Osbourne) (d. 2002)
- 1950Sarath Fonseka, former commander of the Sri Lanka Army and a former Chief of Defence of Sri Lanka.
- 1952John Leventhal, musician, producer, songwriter, and recording engineer, married to Rosanne Cash
- 1953Elliot Easton, American guitarist (The Cars)
- 1953Khas-Magomed Hadjimuradov, Chechen singer-songwriter
- 1954John Booth, British racing driver, founder of Manor Motorsport
- 1954Ray Liotta, American actor
- 1956Ron White, American comedian
- 1957Jonathan Cainer, English astrologer
- 1958Geordie Walker, English rock musician and lead guitarist for post-punk band Killing Joke
- 1958Julia Wolfe, American composer
- 1960Kazuhide Uekusa, Japanese economist
- 1961Brian Orser, Canadian figure skater
- 1961Leila Steinberg, American poet, artist manager
- 1962Renaldo Lapuz, Filipino-born American singer
- 1963Allan Kayser, American actor
- 1963Brad Pitt, American actor
- 1963Charles Oakley, American basketball player
- 1963Greg D'Angelo, American musician (White Lion)
- 1963Karl Dorrell, American football coach
- 1963Norman Brown, smooth jazz musician
- 1963Pauline Ester, French singer
- 1964Don Beebe, American football player
- 1964Robson Green, English actor and singer
- 1964Stone Cold Steve Austin, American professional wrestler
- 1965Fawna MacLaren, American model and actress
- 1965Mick Collins, American musician (The Gories, The Dirtbombs)
- 1965Shawn Christian, American actor
- 1966Gianluca Pagliuca, Italian footballer
- 1966Makiko Esumi, Japanese actress
- 1966Mille Petrozza, German singer (Kreator)
- 1967Toine van Peperstraten, Dutch sports journalist
- 1968Alejandro Sanz, Spanish singer
- 1968Casper Van Dien, American actor
- 1968Mark Cooper, Manager of Peterborough F.C
- 1968Nina Wadia, British actress/comedian
- 1968Rachel Griffiths, Australian actress
- 1969Akira Iida, Japanese racing driver
- 1969Justin Edinburgh, English footballer
- 1969Santiago Cañizares, Spanish footballer
- 1970Anthony Catanzaro, American fitness model
- 1970Cowboy Troy, American rapper
- 1970DMX, American rapper and actor
- 1970Fernando Solabarrieta, Chilean journalist
- 1970Giannis Ploutarhos, Greek singer
- 1970Johnny Yeo, English artist
- 1970Lucious Harris, American basketball player
- 1970Miles Marshall Lewis, American author
- 1970Rob Van Dam, American professional wrestler
- 1970Victoria Pratt, Canadian actress and fitness model
- 1971Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Spanish tennis player
- 1971Barkha Dutt, Indian journalist
- 1971Noriko Matsueda, Japanese composer
- 1972DJ Lethal, Latvian-born American DJ (House of Pain, Limp Bizkit)
- 1972Rah Digga, American rapper
- 1972Raymond Herrera, American drummer (Fear Factory) and businessman
- 1972Trevor Chowning, American painter
- 1973Leila Arcieri, American actress and model
- 1974Bill Duggan, American television actor and host
- 1974Euroboy, Norwegian musician (Turbonegro)
- 1974Peter Boulware, American football player
- 1975David O'Doherty, Irish comedian
- 1975Masaki Sumitani, Japanese comedian
- 1975Sia Furler. Australian singer
- 1975Trish Stratus, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1975Vincent van der Voort, Dutch dart player
- 1976Koyuki, Japanese actress and model
- 1977José Acevedo, Dominican baseball player
- 1977Lindsay Armaou, Irish singer
- 1977Ryan Scott Ottney, American journalist and comic book writer
- 1978Ali Curtis, American soccer player
- 1978Daniel Cleary, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978Katie Holmes, American actress
- 1979Carlos, Portuguese footballer
- 1979Eric Escobar, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
- 1979Mamady Sidibe Malian footballer
- 1980Benjamin Watson, American football player
- 1980Christina Aguilera, American singer
- 1980Heinz Inniger, Swiss snowboarder
- 1981Jens Schmidt, German rugby player
- 1981Joshua Dallas, American actor
- 1982Dave Luetkenhoelter, American bassist (Kutless)
- 1983Andy Fantuz, Canadian football player
- 1983Darren Carter, English footballer
- 1985Hana Soukupová, Czech supermodel
- 1985Natalie Gal, Russian fashion model
- 1985Tara Conner, American beauty contestant (Miss USA)
- 1986François Hamelin, Canadian short track speed skater
- 1986Usman Khawaja, Australian cricketer
- 1987Ayaka, Japanese singer
- 1987Fernando Jara, Panamanian jockey
- 1987Miki Andō, Japanese figure skater
- 1987Sneha Ullal, Bollywood Actress
- 1989Ashley Benson, American actress
- 1990James Lawrie, Northern Irish footballer
- 1992Bridgit Mendler, American actress and singer
- 1997Kylie Fonacier, Maple Creek & Povedan Honor Student and Composer
Who Died On December 18?
- 821Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans
- 1133Hildebert, French writer (b. 1055)
- 1290King Magnus I of Sweden (b. 1240)
- 1442Pierre Cauchon, French Catholic bishop (b. 1371)
- 1476Vlad III the Impaler (b. 1431)
- 1495King Alphonso II of Naples (b. 1448)
- 1591Marigje Arriens, Dutch suspected witch (b. ca. 1520)
- 1692Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (b. 1626)
- 1737Antonio Stradivari, Italian violin maker (b. 1644)
- 1787Francis William Drake, British Admiral and territorial governor (b. 1724)
- 1787Soame Jenyns, English writer (b. 1704)
- 1799Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician (b. 1725)
- 1803Johann Gottfried Herder, German writer (b. 1744)
- 1829Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French scientist (b. 1744)
- 1843Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch, British statesman (b. 1748)
- 1848Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian mathematician and priest (b. 1781)
- 1869Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American composer and pianist (b. 1829)
- 1880Michel Chasles, French mathematician (b. 1793)
- 1892Richard Owen, English biologist (b. 1804)
- 1922Carl Meyer, British banker and mining magnate (b. 1851)
- 1927Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian Revolutionary (b. 1897)
- 1936Andrija Mohorovičić, Austro-Hungarian-born Croatian seismologist (b. 1857)
- 1950Johnny Hyde, Russian-born American talent agent (b. 1895)
- 1968Joan Tabor, American film and television actress (b. 1932)
- 1971Bobby Jones, American golfer (b. 1902)
- 1971Diana Lynn, American actress (b. 1926)
- 1973Allama Rasheed Turabi, Pakistani orator and philosopher (b. 1908)
- 1974Harry Hooper, American baseball player (b. 1887)
- 1975Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist (b. 1900)
- 1977Michio Nishizawa, Japanese baseball player (b. 1921)
- 1980Alexei Kosygin, Soviet politician and Premier (b. 1904)
- 1982Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German pilot (b. 1916)
- 1984Aris Maliagros, Greek actor (b. 1895)
- 1985Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (b. 1916)
- 1987Konrad “Conny” Plank, German record producer and musician (b. 1940)
- 1990Anne Revere, American actress (b. 1903)
- 1990Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (b. 1914)
- 1991George Abecassis, English Formula 1 driver (b. 1913)
- 1992Mark Goodson, American game show producer (b. 1915)
- 1993Sam Wanamaker, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1994Roger Apéry, Greek-French mathematician (b. 1916)
- 1995Brian Brockless, English organist (b. 1926)
- 1995Konrad Zuse, German engineer and computing pioneer (b. 1910)
- 1996Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist (b. 1904)
- 1997Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (b. 1964)
- 1998Lev Demin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1926)
- 1999Robert Bresson, French film director (b. 1907)
- 2000Kirsty MacColl, English singer and songwriter (b. 1959)
- 2000Randolph Apperson Hearst, son of William Randolph Hearst; father of Patricia Hearst (b. 1915)
- 2000Stan Fox, American race car driver (b. 1952)
- 2001Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek composer (b. 1914)
- 2001Gilbert Bécaud, French singer (b. 1927)
- 2002Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
- 2002Wayne Owens, American politician (b. 1937)
- 2004Anthony Sampson, British journalist and biographer (b. 1926)
- 2005Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (b. 1922)
- 2006Joseph Barbera, American cartoonist (b. 1911)
- 2006Mike Dickin, British radio broadcaster (b. 1943)
- 2006Ruth Bernhard, American photographer (b. 1905)
- 2006Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani author and political activist (b. 1923)
- 2007Alan Wagner, American opera critic (b. 1931)
- 2007Bill Strauss, American writer (b. 1947)
- 2007Gerald Le Dain, Canadian Supreme Court Justice (b. 1924)
- 2007Jack Linkletter, American television host; son of Art Linkletter (b. 1937)
- 2008Majel Barrett, American actress; widow of Gene Roddenberry (b. 1932)
- 2008W. Mark Felt, American Watergate figure (b. 1913)
- 2010Jacqueline de Romilly, French philologist and classical scholar (b. 1913)
- 2010James Pickles, English jurist and columnist (b. 1925)
- 2010Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player (b. 1916)
- 2010Tasso Kavadia, Greek actress (b. 1921)
- 2010Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian banker and economist (b. 1940)
- 2011Václav Havel, playwright, philosopher and dissident, last president of Czechoslovakia, and the first president of the Czech republic (b. 1936)
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