Today is Sunday, Dec. 18, the 353rd day of 2016. There are 13 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 18, 1916, during World War I, the 10-month Battle of Verdun ended with French troops succeeding in repulsing a major German offensive.
On this date:
In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1863, in a speech to the Prussian Parliament, Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck declared, "Politics is not an exact science."
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
In 1892, Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In 1912, fossil collector Charles Dawson reported to the Geological Society of London his discovery of supposed early human remains at a gravel pit in Piltdown. (More than four decades later, Piltdown Man was exposed as a hoax.)
In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the government's wartime evacuation of people of Japanese descent from the West Coast while at the same time ruling that "concededly loyal" Americans of Japanese ancestry could not continue to be detained.
In 1956, Japan was admitted to the United Nations. The controversial movie "Baby Doll," starring Carroll Baker, was released by Warner Bros. The panel game show "To Tell the Truth" debuted on CBS-TV.
In 1962, "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol," an animated musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens story, first aired on NBC-TV.
In 1966, the animated TV special "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" starring Boris Karloff as the narrator as well as the voice of the Grinch, first aired on CBS.
In 1972, the United States began heavy bombing of North Vietnamese targets during the Vietnam War. (The bombardment ended 11 days later.)
In 1980, former Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosygin died at age 76.
In 1992, Kim Young-sam was elected South Korea's first civilian president in three decades.
