On this date...

Lakotah Tribe

In 1732, Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia first published Poor Richard’s Almanack. The book, filled with proverbs preaching industry and prudence, was published continuously for 25 years and became one of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.

In 1775, Washington reads an intercepted letter from Lord Dunmore to General Howe, which includes plans to “reduce” the southern colonies to obedience. He forwards the letter to John Hancock so that Congress can see “the views of Lord Dunmore” for itself.

In 1776, Thomas Paine publishes the essay "The American Crisis," a shot in the arm to Patriots during a particularly difficult stretch of the American Revolution.

In 1777, During the American Revolution, General George Washington led 11,000 regulars to take up winter quarters at Valley Forge on the west bank of the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia, which was occupied by the British.

In 1813, in the final hours of December 18, approximately midway through the War of 1812, some 500 British soldiers (regulars) as well as some 500 militia and Indians—crossed the Niagara River from Canada determined to seize Old Fort Niagara on the opposite shore in New York. By sunrise on December 19, the British were victorious and America’s Niagara frontier lay open to attack.

In 1823, Georgia passes 1st US state birth registration law in US.

In 1828, Report by US Vice President John C. Calhoun defending the rights of states to nullify federal laws is presented to the South Carolina legislature but it takes no action.

In 1843, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published for the first time. It became an instant classic, its story of Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption and the Cratchit family's joy often repeated on stage and screen today.

In 1870, After 31 days at sea in a small boat, William Halford and 3 others reach the island of Kauai, Hawaii to seek help for the shipwrecked USS Saginaw. A capsize in the breakers meant only Halford survived.

In 1903, New Yorkers celebrated the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge, the second and largest of three steel-frame suspension bridges to eventually span the city’s East River.

In 1907, 239 workers died in an explosion at the Darr coal mine, near Van Meter, Pennsylvania.

In 1917, Montreal teams win the first two NHL games played. In a 7-4 win over the Ottawa Senators, the Canadiens' Joe Malone scores five goals. In his team's 10-9 win over the Toronto Arenas, the Montreal Wanderers' Harry Hyland also scores five goals.

In 1950, The North Atlantic Council appoints US General Dwight D. Eisenhower the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Christmas message is first radio broadcast from space.

In 1960, fire broke out on the hangar deck of the nearly completed aircraft carrier USS Constellation at the New York Naval Shipyard, killing 50 civilian workers.

In 1971, The sci-fi drama A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of a novel by Anthony Burgess, had its world premiere. The critically acclaimed movie's violent and sexually explicit scenes proved controversial, and it received an adults-only rating when released in the United States.

In 1972, The Apollo lunar-landing program ends, when the last three astronauts to travel to the moon splash down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Apollo 17 had lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, 10 days before.

In 1973, An innocent joke about a toilet paper shortage by "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson causes panic buying of bathroom tissue across the US. Carson later issues a clarification, wiping the slate clean.

In 1974, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States, succeeding Gerald Ford, who had been elevated to the presidency following the resignation of Richard Nixon.

In 1990, Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson is named to the AFC Pro Bowl team as a reserve, becoming the first athlete chosen for all-star games in Major League Baseball and the NFL.

In 1997, James Cameron's Titanic, a drama about the doomed ocean liner starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, premiered. It later became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.

In 1998, The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton, charging him with perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton, the second U.S. president to be impeached, was acquitted by the Senate in January 1999.

In 2007, The Lakotah people, a Native American tribe, proclaim independence and withdraw all their treaties with the United States. Establish the Republic of Lakotah, as a separate country.

In 2008, citing imminent danger to the national economy, President George W. Bush ordered a $17.4 billion emergency bailout of the U.S. auto industry.

In 2022, the House Jan. 6 Committee urged the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for the violent 2021 Capitol insurrection, calling for accountability for the former president and “a time of reflection and reckoning.”