On This Day

What Happened on December 18 in History

8 events that happened on December 18, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.

Colonial America and the Revolution

1787
New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
The state's ratifying convention approved the Constitution unanimously, with 38 delegates voting in favor. Only Delaware and Pennsylvania had ratified before it.
Source: nj.gov; govinfo.gov

1865
Secretary of State William Seward certified the 13th Amendment, formally abolishing slavery in the United States.
Georgia had become the 27th state to ratify on December 6, giving the amendment the three-quarters of states it needed. Seward's proclamation declared that its ban on slavery and involuntary servitude was now part of the Constitution.
Source: history.com; prologue.blogs.archives.gov

1916
The Battle of Verdun ended after ten months of fighting between French and German armies.
The German attack on the fortress city on the Meuse River had begun on February 21, 1916. It became the longest battle of World War I, with close to a million total casualties on both sides.
Source: history.com
1944
The Supreme Court upheld the wartime exclusion of Japanese Americans in Korematsu v. United States.
Fred Korematsu had been convicted for staying in San Leandro, California, in defiance of a military exclusion order. Justice Hugo Black wrote for the majority, while Justices Roberts, Murphy and Jackson dissented.
Source: teachinglegalhistory.unl.edu; law.cornell.edu

1958
Project SCORE, the first communications satellite, was launched into orbit.
The next day the satellite broadcast a recorded Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first time a human voice was transmitted from space. Fewer than 100 people knew about the project before launch.
Source: prologue.blogs.archives.gov
1972
President Richard Nixon launched Operation Linebacker II, the Christmas bombing of North Vietnam.
After peace talks collapsed on December 13, American B-52s and fighter-bombers struck Hanoi and Haiphong for nearly two weeks. The United States lost 15 B-52s and 11 other aircraft in the raids.
Source: history.com

1999
NASA launched the Terra satellite, the flagship of its Earth-observing fleet.
Terra lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 1:57 p.m. EST. Once in orbit it deployed its solar array and high-gain antenna.
Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov; earthdata.nasa.gov
2022
Argentina beat France in a penalty shootout to win the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar.
Lionel Messi scored twice and Kylian Mbappe answered with a hat trick in a 3 to 3 draw after extra time. The title was Argentina's first World Cup since 1986 and the first of Messi's career.
Source: history.com