December 18 in History
What happened on December 18 in history?
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on december 18 in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened on december 18 in history.
?>2010
In an opening act of Arab Spring, anti-government protests erupt in Tunisia.
2008
United Arab Emirates holds it first-ever elections.
2005
Civil war begins in Chad with a rebel assault on Adre; the rebels are believed to be backed by Chad’s neighbor, Sudan.
2002
California Gov. Gray Davis announces the state faces a record budget deficit; the looming $35 billion shortfall is almost double the amount reported a month earlier during the state’s gubernatorial campaign.
1989
The European Economic Community and the Soviet Union sign an agreement on trade and economic communication.
1972
President Richard M. Nixon declares that the bombing of North Vietnam will continue until an accord can be reached (Operation Linebacker II).
1970
An atomic leak in Nevada forces hundreds of citizens to flee the test site.
1965
U.S. Marines attack VC units in the Que Son Valley during Operation Harvest Moon.
1960
A rightist government is installed under Prince Boun Oum in Laos as the United States resumes arms shipments.
1956
Japan is admitted to the United Nations.
1951
North Koreans give the United Nations a list of 3,100 POWs.
1944
Japanese forces are repelled from northern Burma by British troops.
1942
Adolf Hitler meets with Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval.
1941
Defended by 610 fighting men, the American-held island of Guam falls to more than 5,000 Japanese invaders in a three-hour battle.
1941
Japan invades Hong Kong.
1940
Adolf Hitler issues his secret plans for the invasion of the Soviet Union–Operation Barbarossa.
1925
Soviet leaders Lev Kamenev and Grigori Zinoviev break with Joseph Stalin.
1916
The Battle of Verdun ends with the French and Germans each having suffered more than 330,000 killed and wounded in 10 months. It was the longest engagement of World War I.
1915
In a single night, about 20,000 Australian and New Zealand troops withdraw from Gallipoli, Turkey, undetected by the Turks defending the peninsula.
1865
Slavery is abolished in the United States. The 13th Amendment is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution, ensuring that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
1862
Nathan Bedford Forrest engages and defeats a Federal cavalry force near Lexington in his continued effort to disrupt supply lines.
1862
Union General Ulysses S. Grant announces the organization of his army in the West. Sherman, Hurlbut, McPherson, and McClernand are to be corps commanders.
1812
Napoleon Bonaparte arrives in Paris after his disastrous campaign in Russia.
1118
Afonso the Battler, the Christian King of Aragon captures Saragossa, Spain, causing a major blow to Muslim Spain.