December 18th in History
“Illustration of Piltdown Man (Eoanthropus).” Collection of Wellcome Library, London (CC BY 4.0)
Today in History
- The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving (1777)
- Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker premiers (1892)
- The first official land speed record is set: 39.245 mph! (1898)
- The discovery of the Piltdown Man is announced (1912)
- World War I: The Battle of Verdun ends (1916)
- The first communications satellite is launched (1958)
Birthdays
- Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863)
- Saki (H. H. Munro), author (1870)
- Иосиф Сталин / იოსებ სტალინი (Iosef Vissarionovich Stalin), Soviet leader (1878)
- Paul Klee, painter (1879)
- Ty Cobb, baseball player and manager (1886)
- Robert Moses, urban planner (1888)
- Edwin H. Armstrong, inventor of FM radio (1890)
- Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., commander of the Tuskegee Airmen and first African-American four-star general (1912)
- Alfred Bester, science fiction writer (1913)
- Willy Brandt, chancellor of Germany (1913)
- Betty Grable, actress and pin-up (1916)
- Ossie Davis, actor and activist (1917)
- Ramsey Clark, US attorney-general (1927)
- Michael Moorcock, science fiction writer (1939)
- Keith Richards, singer-songwriter and guitarist (1943)
- Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist (1946)
- Steven Spielberg, director and producer (1946)
- Leonard Maltin, film critic (1960)
- Ray Liotta, actor (1954)
- Brad Pitt, actor (1963)
- Stone Cold Steve Austin, wrestler (1964)
- DMX (Earl Simmons), rapper (1970)
- Katie Holmes, actress (1978)
- Christina Aguilera, singer-songwriter (1980)
Deaths
- Antonio Stradivari, musical instrument maker (1737)
- Louis Gottschalk, composer (1869)
- Bobby Jones, golfer (1971)
- Алексей Косыгин (Alexei Kosygin), Soviet leader (1980)
- Mark Goodson, game show producer (1992)
- Sam Wanamaker, actor (1993)
- Chris Farley, comedian (1997)
- Kirsty MacColl, singer-songwriter (2000)
- Joseph Barbera, animator (2006)
- Majel Barrett, Star Trek actress (2008)
- Deep Throat (Mark Felt), Watergate figure and deputy director, FBI (2008)
- Václav Havel, poet and politician (2011)
Holidays and Celebrations
- Arabic Language Day (United Nations)
- Eponalia (Roman Empire)
- International Migrants Day (worldwide)
- National Day (Qatar)
- Republic Day (Niger)
Informal and made-up holidays include Bake Cookies Day, National Roast Suckling Pig Day, and National Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day.
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December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years). There are 13 days remaining until the end of the year.