This day in history

[December 18, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2010. There are 13 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Dec. 18, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.

On this date:

In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1892, Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson, widowed the year before, married Edith Bolling Galt at her Washington home.

In 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered secret preparations for Nazi Germany to invade the Soviet Union. (Operation Barbarossa was launched in June 1941.)

In 1944, in a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the wartime relocation of Japanese-Americans, but also said undeniably loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry could not continue to be detained.

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In 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first public, full-scale commercial nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of service in 1982.)

In 1958, the world's first communications satellite, SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), nicknamed "Chatterbox," was launched by the United States aboard an Atlas rocket.

In 1969, Britain's House of Lords joined the House of Commons in making permanent a 1965 ban on the death penalty for cases of murder.

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.

Ten years ago: The Electoral College cast its ballots, with President-elect George W. Bush receiving the expected 271; Al Gore, however, received 266, one fewer than expected, because of a District of Columbia Democrat who'd left her ballot blank to protest the district's lack of representation in Congress. Antitrust regulators approved the merger of British drug companies Glaxo Wellcome PLC and SmithKline Beecham PLC. Newspaper heir Randolph Apperson Hearst, the last surviving son of William Randolph Hearst and father of Patricia Hearst, died in New York at age 85.

Five years ago: In a televised speech, President George W. Bush declared that Iraq's parliamentary elections signaled the birth of democracy in the Middle East. Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq, where he faced tough questions from battle-weary troops. Susanne Osthoff, a German aid worker kidnapped in Iraq, was freed after three weeks in captivity. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a mild stroke.

One year ago: The infamous iron sign bearing the Nazis' cynical slogan "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Sets You Free") that spanned the main entrance to the former Auschwitz death camp in Poland was stolen. (The sign was later recovered and several suspects arrested.) Jon and Kate Gosselin officially divorced after 10 years of marriage, eight children and a year of tabloid headlines.

Today's birthdays: Television writer-producer Hal Kanter is 92. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark is 83. Actor Roger Smith is 78. Blues musician Lonnie Brooks is 77. Actor Roger Mosley is 72. Rock singer-musician Keith Richards is 67. Writer-director Alan Rudolph is 67. Movie producer-director Steven Spielberg is 64. Blues artist Ron Piazza is 63. Movie director Gillian Armstrong is 60. Movie reviewer Leonard Maltin is 60. Rock musician Elliot Easton is 57. Actor Ray Liotta is 55. Comedian Ron White is 54. Actor Brad Pitt is 47. Professional wrestler-turned-actor "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is 46. Actor Shawn Christian is 45. Actress Rachel Griffiths is 42. Singer Alejandro Sanz is 42. Country/rap singer Cowboy Troy is 40. Rapper DMX is 40. International Tennis Hall of Famer Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is 39. DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit) is 38. Actress Katie Holmes is 32. Singer Christina Aguilera is 30. Christian rock musician Dave Luetkenhoelter (Kutless) is 28. Actress Ashley Benson is 21.

Thought for today: "A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation." -- Hector Hugh Munro, British writer (born this date in 1870, died 1916)

[Associated Press]

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