Dec. 18
1865: The 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
1892: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia; although now considered a classic, it received a generally negative reception.
1916: The Battle of Verdun, World War I’s longest at 10 months, ended between French and German forces; it led to nearly 1 million casualties.
Dec. 19
1777: During the American Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington led his army of more than 12,000 soldiers to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to camp for the winter.
1907: Two hundred thirty-nine workers died in an explosion at the Darr coal mine near Van Meter, Pennsylvania.
1998: President Bill Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice. (He was subsequently acquitted by the Senate.)
Dec. 20
1803: The Louisiana Purchase was completed as ownership of the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States.
1860: South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union by a vote of delegates at a secession convention, emboldening other Southern states to follow suit and helping to trigger the American Civil War.
1946: The classic holiday film “It’s a Wonderful Life” premiered at the Globe Theater in New York City.
Dec. 21
1620: Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, for the first time.
1864: During the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman ended their “March to the Sea” by capturing Savannah, Georgia.
1891: The first basketball game, devised by James Naismith, is believed to have been played in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Dec. 22
1894: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial that triggered worldwide charges of antisemitism. (Dreyfus was eventually vindicated.)
1944: During World War II’s Battle of the Bulge, U.S. Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe rejected a German surrender demand with a one-word reply: “Nuts!”
2001: Richard C. Reid, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, tried to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes but was subdued by flight attendants and fellow passengers.
Dec. 23
1823: The poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel of New York; the verse, more popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.
1913: The Federal Reserve System was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act.
1948: Former Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese World War II leaders were executed in Tokyo after being tried for war crimes.
Dec. 24
1814: The United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent, which would end the War of 1812 following ratification by both the British Parliament and the U.S. Senate.
1851: Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes.
1914: During World War I, impromptu Christmas truces began to take hold along parts of the Western Front, principally between British and German soldiers but also involving French troops.
