12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for December 18, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1271 – Kublai Khan formally renames his empire “Yuan,” marking the beginning of the Yuan dynasty in China and a major consolidation of Mongol rule.
- 1787 – New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, strengthening the push toward a new federal government.
- 1865 – U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaims the Thirteenth Amendment adopted, cementing the constitutional abolition of slavery nationwide.
- 1892 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker premieres at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, a work that later becomes a defining holiday tradition worldwide.
- 1915 – President Woodrow Wilson marries Edith Bolling Galt in Washington, D.C., becoming one of the few U.S. presidents to marry while in office.
- 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Verdun officially ends after France’s final offensives push German forces back, closing one of the war’s most punishing campaigns.
- 1917 – The U.S. Congress passes the resolution sending the proposed Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition) to the states for ratification.
- 1932 – The Chicago Bears defeat the Portsmouth Spartans in the 1932 NFL Playoff Game, the league’s first “playoff” tiebreaker and a milestone in pro football’s title history.
- 1957 – Shippingport Atomic Power Station generates its first electrical power for the grid, a landmark moment in commercial nuclear energy in the United States.
- 1972 – Operation Linebacker II begins, launching the “Christmas Bombings” campaign against North Vietnam centered around Hanoi and Haiphong.
- 1997 – The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) publishes HTML 4.0 as a W3C Recommendation, a major step in standardizing modern web pages.
- 2019 – The U.S. House of Representatives impeaches President Donald Trump (his first impeachment), approving articles for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1943 – Keith Richards – English guitarist and songwriter, a founding member of The Rolling Stones and one of rock’s most influential rhythm players. (82)
- 1946 – Steven Spielberg – American filmmaker whose blockbusters and prestige films (Jaws, E.T., Schindler’s List) reshaped modern cinema. (79)
- 1963 – Brad Pitt – American actor and producer, Oscar winner and one of the defining leading men of his generation. (62)
- 1964 – Steve Austin – American wrestler and pop-culture icon (“Stone Cold”) who helped define WWE’s Attitude Era. (61)
- 1978 – Katie Holmes – American actor best known for Dawson’s Creek and a long film and TV career. (47)
- 1980 – Christina Aguilera – American singer and entertainer, Grammy winner known for powerhouse vocals and era-defining pop hits. (45)
- 2001 – Billie Eilish – American singer-songwriter who emerged as a defining pop artist of her generation, with major Grammy and chart success. (24)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1829 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck – French naturalist whose early evolutionary ideas helped set the stage for later biological theory. (85)
- 1971 – Bobby Jones – American golf legend, co-founder of Augusta National and a central architect of the Masters Tournament. (69)
- 1997 – Chris Farley – American comedian and actor whose explosive style made him a standout on Saturday Night Live and in 1990s film comedy. (33)
- 2000 – Kirsty MacColl – English singer-songwriter best known for sharp, literate pop and “Fairytale of New York” with The Pogues. (41)
- 2006 – Joseph Barbera – American animator and producer, co-creator of Hanna-Barbera, behind Tom and Jerry and countless TV classics. (95)
- 2016 – Zsa Zsa Gabor – Hungarian-American actor and socialite, a fixture of classic Hollywood celebrity culture. (99)
- 2017 – Jonghyun – South Korean singer-songwriter and SHINee member, acclaimed for vocal artistry and solo work. (27)
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