Shimla, Dec. 18 Keekli Bureau
2019
President Donald Trump became the third U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives, which charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
2011
Czech playwright, poet, and political dissident Václav Havel—who served as president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and of the Czech Republic (1993–2003) and had been a prominent participant in the liberal reforms of 1968 (the Prague Spring)—died in Hrádeček, Czech Republic.
1997
Kim Dae-Jung was elected president of South Korea, the first opposition leader in that country’s history to win that position.
1966
The TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s classic children’s book, aired for the first time and became a holiday staple.
1963
American actor Brad Pitt, known for his portrayal of unconventional characters, was born.
1946
American film director Steven Spielberg—who enjoyed great critical and commercial success with such movies as Jaws (1975), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Schindler’s List (1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998)—was born.
1943
British guitarist Keith Richards of the rock band the Rolling Stones was born.
1917
German General Erich Ludendorff ordered the consolidation of the country’s leading motion-picture studios to form UFA (Universum Film-Aktien Gesellschaft).
1913
Willy Brandt, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1964 to 1987, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1969 to 1974, and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1971, was born.
1912
The discovery of fossil remains of Piltdown man, an extinct human species, was announced at a meeting of the Geological Society of London, but the remains were later proved to be a fraud.
1892
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker was first presented at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.
1886
American baseball player Ty Cobb, an excellent hitter and base runner, was born in Narrows, Georgia.
1787
New Jersey became the third state admitted to the United States when it ratified the U.S. Constitution.
1737
Famed Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona.