18 December in history
5 events that happened on 18 December, from 1777 to 1958.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1777 CE 249 years ago
Americans observe the first national day of thanksgiving
The Continental Congress set aside 18 December as a day of thanksgiving for the victory at Saratoga. It was the first such national observance by the new United States.
1865 CE 161 years ago
The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery is proclaimed
Secretary of State William Seward certified that the 13th Amendment had been ratified by the required number of states. It abolished slavery throughout the United States, freeing about four million people.
1912 CE 114 years ago
'Piltdown Man' is presented to the Geological Society
Charles Dawson and Arthur Smith Woodward announced fossils from Piltdown in Sussex as an early human ancestor. In 1953 they were exposed as a forgery combining a human skull and an orang-utan jaw.
1916 CE 110 years ago
The Battle of Verdun ends
After ten months of fighting, French counter-attacks closed the Battle of Verdun. About 700,000 French and German soldiers were killed, wounded or missing, and the front was almost back where it began.
1958 CE 68 years ago
The US launches SCORE, the first communications satellite
An Atlas rocket placed Project SCORE in orbit. The next day it broadcast a recorded Christmas message from President Eisenhower, the first voice transmitted from space.
