December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in Leap Year s) in the Gregorian Calendar . There are 13 days remaining.
- - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic .
- 1352 - Innocent VI is elected Pope .
- 1787 - New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the United States Constitution .
- 1793 - Surrender of the frigate ''La Lutine'' by Frech royalists to Lord Hood ; renamed HMS Lutine , she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.
- proclaims that the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution has been ratified by the legislatures of 27 of the then 36 states.
- 1892 - The first performance of Tchaikovsky 's ballet '' The Nutcracker '' is held at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg .
- 1926 - The first performance of Leoš Janáček 's opera '' The Makropulos Affair '' is held in Brno , Czechoslovakia .
- 1935 - The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is founded in Sri Lanka .
- 1961 - Indonesia invades Netherlands New Guinea .
- 1966 - Saturn 's moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.
- James Callaghan 's motion to remove the limit on the ''Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act'', which suspended the Death Penalty in England , Wales and Scotland for all crimes, except Treason , Piracy with violence, and certain crimes under the jurisdiction of the armed forces for a period of five years, is carried by both the House Of Commons and the House Of Lords .
- '', crewed by Cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk , is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union .
- 1996 - The Oakland, California School Board passes a resolution officially declaring " Ebonics " a language or dialect.
- 1997 - HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium .
- 2001 - The Cathedral Of Saint John The Divine in Manhattan , New York City , is damaged by fire.
- 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.
- 1507 - Ouchi Yoshitaka , Japanese warlord (d. 1551 )
- 1602 - Simonds D'Ewes , English antiquarian and politician (d. 1650 )
- 1610 - Charles Du Fresne, Sieur Du Cange , French philologist (d. 1688 )
- 1620 - Heinrich Roth , German Sanskrit scholar (d. 1668 )
- 1626 - Queen Christina Of Sweden (d. 1689 )
- 1661 - Christopher Polhem , Swedish scientist and inventor (d. 1751 )
- 1662 - James Douglas, 2nd Duke Of Queensberry , Scottish politician (d. 1711 )
- 1724 - Louise Of Great Britain , wife of Frederick V Of Denmark (d. 1751 )
- 1725 - Johann Salomo Semler , German historian and Bible commentator (d. 1791 )
- 1825 - Charles Griffin (general) , American general
- 1835 - Lyman Abbott , American author (d. 1922 )
- 1847 - Augusta Holmès , French composer (d. 1903 )
- 1856 - Sir J.J. Thomson , British physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940 )
- 1863 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke Of Austria (d. 1914 )
- 1870 - Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), British writer (d. 1916 )
- 1873 - Francis Burton Harrison , American political figure (d. 1957 )
- 1878 - Josef Stalin (Ioseb Jughashvili), leader of the Soviet Union (d. 1953 )
- 1879 - Paul Klee , Swiss-born painter and graphic artist (d. 1940 )
- 1886 - Ty Cobb (Tyrus Raymond Cobb), American baseball player (d. 1961 )
- 1888 - Robert Moses , American public works official (d. 1981 )
- 1888 - Dame Gladys Cooper , British actress (d. 1971 )
- 1890 - Edwin Armstrong , American inventor (d. 1954 )
- 1897 - Fletcher Henderson , American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer (d. 1952 )
- 1904 - George Stevens , American film director, producer, writer and cinematographer (d. 1975 )
- 1907 - Bill Holland , American auto racer (d. 1984 )
- 1912 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr. , American General (d. 2002 )
- 1913 - Alfred Bester , American author (d. 1987 )
- 1913 - Willy Brandt , Chancellor Of Germany and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992 )
- 1913 - Ray Meyer , former head coach of DePaul University men's basketball team
- 1916 - Betty Grable , American actress (d. 1973 )
- 1916 - Douglas Fraser , British-born trade unionist
- 1917 - Ossie Davis , American actor (d. 2005 )
- 1927 - Ramsey Clark , U.S. Attorney General
- 1927 - Romeo LeBlanc , 25th Governor General Of Canada
- 1928 - Józef Glemp , Polish cardinal
- 1930 - Moose Skowron , baseball player
- 1931 - Allen Klein , rock and roll business manager
- 1934 - Boris Volynov , cosmonaut
- 1935 - Jacques Pépin , French chef
- 1938 - Roger E. Mosley , American actor
- 1939 - Michael Moorcock , British author
- 1939 - Harold E. Varmus , American scientist and Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 - Bramwell Morrison, member of children's musical group Sharon, Lois & Bram
- 1943 - Keith Richards , British guitarist ( The Rolling Stones )
- 1946 - Steven Spielberg , American film director
- 1946 - Steve Biko , South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 1977 )
- 1948 - Bill Nelson , British musician (Be Bop Deluxe)
- 1950 - Gillian Armstrong , Australian film director
- 1950 - Leonard Maltin , American film critic
- 1953 - Elliot Easton , American guitarist ( The Cars )
- 1955 - Ray Liotta , American actor
- 1956 - Ron White , American comedian
- 1960 - Kazuhide Uekusa , Japanese economist
- 1961 - Brian Orser , Canadian figure skater
- 1963 - Karl Dorrell , American football coach
- 1963 - Brad Pitt , American actor
- 1964 - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin , American professional wrestler
- 1964 - Don Beebe , American football player
- 1964 - Robson Green , British actor and singer
- 1968 - Casper Van Dien , American actor
- 1970 - DMX (Earl Simmons), American rapper and actor
- 1970 - Miles Marshall Lewis , American author
- 1970 - Rob Van Dam (Robert Szatkowski), American professional wrestler
- 1970 - Cowboy Troy (Troy Coleman), American rapper
- 1971 - Arantxa Sánchez Vicario , Spanish tennis player
- 1972 - DJ Lethal (Leor Dimant), American DJ ( House Of Pain & Limp Bizkit )
- 1973 - Raymond Herrera , American drummer ( Fear Factory )
- 1974 - Peter Boulware , American football player
- 1975 - Trish Stratus , Canadian professional wrestler
- 1975 - Masaki Sumitani , Japanese comedian
- 1976 - Koyuki (Koyuki Kato), Japanese actress and model
- 1978 - Katie Holmes , American actress
- 1980 - Christina Aguilera , American singer
- 1987 - Miki Ando , Japanese figure skater
- 1989 - Ashley Benson , American actress
- 821 - Theodulf , Bishop of Orléans
- 1133 - Hildebert , French writer
- 1290 - King Magnus I Of Sweden (b. 1240 )
- 1442 - Pierre Cauchon , French Catholic bishop (b. 1371 )
- 1495 - King Alphonso II Of Naples (b. 1448 )
- 1692 - Veit Ludwig Von Seckendorff , German statesman (b. 1626 )
- 1737 - Antonio Stradivari , Italian violin maker (b. 1644 )
- 1787 - Francis William Drake , British Admiral and Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1724 )
- 1787 - Soame Jenyns , English writer (b. 1704 )
- 1799 - Jean-Étienne Montucla , French mathematician (b. 1725 )
- 1803 - Johann Gottfried Herder , German writer (b. 1744 )
- 1843 - Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch , British Viceroy of India (b. 1748 )
- 1848 - Bernard Bolzano , Bohemian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1781 )
- 1869 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk , American composer and pianist (b. 1829 )
- 1936 - Andrija Mohorovičić , Austro-Hungarian-born Yugoslav seismologist (b. 1857 )
- 1971 - Bobby Jones , American golfer (b. 1902 )
- 1974 - Harry Hooper , American baseball player (b. 1887 )
- 1980 - Alexei Kosygin , Premier Of The USSR (b. 1904 )
- 1982 - Hans-Ulrich Rudel , German pilot (b. 1916 )
- 1985 - Xuân Diệu , Vietnamese poet (b. 1916 )
- 1990 - Paul Tortelier , French cellist and composer (b. 1914 )
- 1991 - George Abecassis , British Formula 1 driver (b. 1913 )
- 1992 - Mark Goodson , American game show producer (b. 1915 )
- 1993 - Sam Wanamaker , American actor (b. 1919 )
- 1994 - Roger Apéry , French mathematician (b. 1916 )
- 1995 - Konrad Zuse , German engineer and computing pioneer (b. 1910 )
- 1996 - Yulii Borisovich Khariton , Russian physicist (b. 1904 )
- 1997 - Chris Farley , American actor and comedian (b. 1964 )
- 1998 - Lev Demin , cosmonaut (b. 1926 )
- 1999 - Robert Bresson , French film director (b. 1907 )
- 2000 - Kirsty MacColl , British singer and songwriter (b. 1959 )
- 2001 - Gilbert Bécaud , French singer (b. 1927 )
- 2002 - Ray Hnatyshyn , Governor-General Of Canada (b. 1934 )
- 2004 - Anthony Sampson , British journalist and biographer (b. 1926 )
- 2005 - Alan Voorhees , American engineer and urban planner (b. 1922 )
December 17 - December 19 - November 18 - January 18 -- Listing Of All Days
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