December 18 in History

December 18 in Pop Culture History

December 18th is…
Answer the Phone Like Buddy the Elf Day
Bake Cookies Day
Flake Appreciation Day
Ham Salad Day
National Roast Suckling Pig Day
National Twin Day

The Thirteenth Amendment

Section 1

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

1620 – The British ship Mayflower docked at modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, and its passengers prepared to begin their new settlement, Plymouth Colony. Passenger William Bradford became the first governor of the colony.

1787 – New Jersey became the 3rd state.

1839 – John William Draper took a daguerreotype of the moon, the first celestial photograph made in the US.

1865 – The 13th Amendment went into effect, abolishing slavery in the US.

1878 – Joseph Swan demonstrated his carbon filament electric light almost a year before Edison.

1892 – The premiere performance of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

1912 – Piltdown Man’s skull was found in a gravel pit in Sussex, England. At first, it was believed to be the ‘missing link’ between man and early primates, but was later discovered to be a hoax.

1932 – The Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans (9-0) in the first NFL Championship Game.

1936 – The first giant panda in the US, Su-Lin, arrived in San Francisco from China.

1958 – Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, was launched.

1961 – Based on an African sing called ‘Mbube’ – The Lion Sleeps Tonight was the # 1 song on the billboard Charts. It is probably the most well-known doo-wop song of all time. (#1 December 18, 1961 – January 12, 1962)

1968 – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was released. It was based on Ian Fleming’s book of the same name.

1969 – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was released, starring George Lazenby as Agent 007, James Bond.

1977 – George and Kathleen Lutz purchased their new home at their home at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. Their 28-day adventure in the home was dramatically portrayed in the 1977 book and 1979 film, The Amityville Horror.

1982 – #1 Hit December 18, 1982 – January 14, 1983: Daryl Hall and John Oates – Maneater

1985 – Brazil was released in theaters.

1987 – Moonstruck, Broadcast News, Eddie Murphy Raw, *batteries not included, Overboard, Ironweed and Leonard Part 6 debuted in theaters.

1996 – The Oakland, California school board unanimously passed a resolution to incorporate Ebonics in the classroom.

1997 – Comedian Chris Farley died from a drug overdose, at the age of 33.

1997 – The World Wide Web Consortium published HTML 4.0.

1998 – The Prince of Egypt and You’ve Got Mail were released in theaters.

2002 – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers debuted in theaters.

2009 – Avatar and Nine were released in theaters.

2010 – #1 Hit December 18, 2010 – January 7, 2011: Katy Perry – Firework

2013 – A&E suspended Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for his comments regarding homosexuality and the civil rights era in an interview with GQ magazine. He was reinstated on December 27.

2013 – Her and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues were released in theaters.

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