Important Events From This day in History December 18th

 

 1966 U.S.A. -- How the Grinch Stole Christmas

1966 : The popular Dr. Seuss' book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is made into an animated television special and shown for first time on CBS. The narator is the well known Horror movie star Boris Karloff. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is one of those programs that when you see it on Television you just know Christmas is not far away.

1944 U.S.A. -- Executive Order 9066

1944 : The US Supreme Court upholds Executive Order 9066, the relocation of Japanese Americans . Approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were effected by this ruling and were sent to War Relocation Centers in remote areas of the US

1912 Great Britain -- Piltdown Man

The so called Piltdown Man thought to be the missing evolutionary link between ape and man is discovered in the Piltdown gravel pit in Sussex, England, by amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson.

In 1953, at an international congress of paleontologists, the Piltdown Man was first openly called a fraud, and it has since been confirmed that it was indeed a fraud made up of skull parts from humans and an orangutan.

1914 Egypt -- Egypt under protection of the Crown

Great Britain placed Egypt under its protection of the Crown. The official Press Bureau read, "The suzerainty of Turkey over Egypt is thus terminated, and His Majesty's government will adopt all measures necessary for the defence of Egypt and the protection of its inhabitants and interests."

1927 Poland -- Pilsudski

A plan to kill Pilsudski, President of the Republic of Poland was uncovered by Warsaw police and a suspect was arrested.

1930 Spain -- Revolution

1930 : The Northwest costal provinces of Spain are quiet now after a revolt against the monarchy. Soldiers loyal to the crown subdued the rebels. However, a general labour strike occurred and street cars were manned by soldiers. Socialist and republican ring leaders fled.

1945 Canada -- Arctic Defence Systems

In light of nuclear threat Canada and the United States were planning military defence systems in the Arctic. An 81 day trip by 6 explorers was planned to obtain information. The Canadian government called it "Exercise Musk-Ox" and it was to take in an area of 3,100 miles through Arctic wasteland.

1950 Tibet -- Peoples Government Take Control

18th, 1950 : A Russian news source stated that a "peoples' government" has been established to govern the newly developed Tibet's Sikang province in southeast China.

1957 U.S.A. -- First Commercial Nuclear Power Plant

The US first large scale civilian atomic power plant at Shippingport, Pa., starts generating electricity for consumers in the Pittsburgh area

1969 South Korea -- Withdrawal of 50,000 Soldiers By US

Kang Sang Wook, a presidential spokesperson for South Korea, said that he had been consulted through diplomatic channels regarding President Nixon's withdrawal of 50,000 additional soldiers from Viet Nam. Korea had a significant number of troops in Vietnam.

1971 U.S.A. -- Capitol Reef National Park

The Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is established

1978 U.S.A. -- Cleveland bankruptcy

Cleveland was the first American city to face bankruptcy since the Depression in the 1930's. Half of the city's 10,000 employees were to be laid off and cuts were to be made among the firemen and police.

1984 U.S.A. -- Chevy Nova

The first new Chevy Nova is introduced as a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, The original Chevy Nova was built from 1962 to 1979

1987 India -- Union Carbide

Union Carbide Corporation was ordered to pay out $270 million in temporary relief to Indian victims of the 1994 disastrous gas leak which took 2,000 lives. A complete settlement for the plaintiffs had not been finalized even three years later.

1987 U.S.A. -- Ivan F. Boesky

Ivan F. Boesky known as a "Corporate Raider" he was investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and was arrested was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting Wall Street's biggest insider trading scandal.

1989 England -- British Labour Party

The British Labour Party which for many years has been financed and controlled by the British trade unions has abandoned its policy on trade union closed shops in line with European legislation. Many of the MP's from the left of the party are accusing the decision as being a "sell-out" of socialism and a further move away from traditional Labour policies.

1994 Haiti -- American Troops

In Haiti American troops were keeping the peace after a sadistic military rule, but their stay was only temporary and Haitians worried about a return to violence and disorder once the soldiers left. "I'd like them to stay as long as possible," exclaimed Haitian vendor Enold Romelus.

1996 U.S.A. -- Ebonics

The Oakland, California school board passes a resolution officially declaring "Ebonics" a language or dialect

1999 U.S.A. -- Julia "Butterfly" Hill

Environmental activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill came down after spending two years living in a 180-foot-tall, 600-year-old California Redwood tree nicknamed ( LUNA )for 738 days between December 10th, 1997 to 18th, 1999. to prevent loggers of the Pacific Lumber Company from cutting it down. She agreed to vacate the tree when the Pacific Lumber Company agreed to preserve Luna and all trees within a 3-acre buffer zone.

2006 Chile -- Augusto Pinochet

The death of autocrat Augusto Pinochet evoked outpourings of grief and hatred among Chileans. Pinochet was accused of killings, torture, and the disappearance of his opponents. Some Chileans wept for joy, while others grieved his death.

2006 Iran -- Iranian elections

Partial results from the Iranian elections are suggesting a setback for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The elections were for the powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, as well as for local government. With a turnout of sixty percent the winners appear to be the moderate conservatives, while reformists have made a better showing than the last three elections. Former President Akbar Rafsanjani sealed a landslide win for a seat on the Assembly of Experts. With most of the results in for the local elections it would seem that Ahmadinejad's allies have failed to win control of any council.

2009 Poland -- Auschwitz’s Arbeit Macht Frei is stolen

Thieves in Poland have stolen the infamous wrought iron sign that announced “work sets you free” over the main gate at Auschwitz. The sign saying “Arbeit macht frei” was erected by the Nazis soon after the old Auschwitz barracks were converted into a labour and extermination centre in 1940. It was used to suggest that hard work would allow inmates to walk free. As Auschwitz was turned into a major hub for the Holocaust and murdered over a million people the sign has come to represent a cynical commentary. 'It seems that a gang of perhaps three people unscrewed the sign between three o’clock and five o’clock on Friday morning,' said the Polish police. 'They must have used a ladder and had a car waiting for them.'

( The men who stole the sign are arrested the next day and the sign is found cut into three pieces, each containing one of the words Arbeit Macht Frei )

2011 Iraq -- Last US Troops Leave Iraq

2011 : The last US troops to leave Iraq entered Kuwait in a convoy of armored vehicles almost nine years after the initial invasion. A total of 157 US soldiers remained in Iraq for training purposes at the US embassy.

2012 Canada -- Syrup Thieves Arrested

Three people were arrested by police in Quebec for a multi-million dollar maple syrup theft. The thieves stole syrup as well as syrup-making equipment and police believe that five other suspects were involved and had not been caught yet.

2013 United States -- US Senate Passes Budget Deal

A two-year cross-party budget bill was passed by the US Senate after having been passed by the House in the previous week. The cooperation was rare between the two parties and temporarily halted the fiscal gridlock that had been plaguing the nation the entire year. Congress would still need to pass a spending bill in January in order to move forward.