This day in history

[December 18, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Dec. 18, the 353rd day of 2008. 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.

In 1956, Japan was admitted to the United Nations.

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 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 House debated articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. U.S. and British forces blasted Iraq with a third day of airstrikes. South Carolina carried out the nation's 500th execution since capital punishment resumed in 1977.

Five years ago: Two federal appeals courts ruled the U.S. military could not indefinitely hold prisoners without access to lawyers or American courts. A jury in Chesapeake, Va., convicted teenager Lee Boyd Malvo of two counts of capital murder in the Washington-area sniper shootings (he was later sentenced to life in prison without parole). A judge in Seattle sentenced confessed Green River Killer Gary Ridgway to 48 consecutive life terms. Michael Jackson was formally charged with molesting a cancer-stricken boy at his Neverland Ranch; Jackson was acquitted at trial.

One year ago: The White House said President George W. Bush had approved "a significant reduction" in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, cutting it to less than one-quarter its size at the end of the Cold War. The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq for one year. Jacob Zuma was elected leader of the African National Congress, South Africa's ruling party, defeating incumbent Thabo Mbeki.

Today's birthdays: Television writer-producer Hal Kanter is 90. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark is 81. Actor Roger Smith is 76. Blues musician Lonnie Brooks is 75. Rock singer-musician Keith Richards is 65. Writer-director Alan Rudolph is 65. Movie producer-director Steven Spielberg is 62. Blues artist Ron Piazza is 61. Movie director Gillian Armstrong is 58. Movie reviewer Leonard Maltin is 58. Rock musician Elliot Easton is 55. Actor Ray Liotta is 53. Comedian Ron White is 52. Actor Brad Pitt is 45. Actress Rachel Griffiths is 40. Singer Alejandro Sanz is 40. Country/rap singer Cowboy Troy is 38. Rapper DMX is 38. Tennis player Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is 37. DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit) is 36. Actress Katie Holmes is 30. Singer Christina Aguilera is 28. Christian rock musician Dave Luetkenhoelter (Kutless) is 26.

Thought for today: "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -- Anais Nin, American author (1903-1977)

[Associated Press]

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