Today’s highlight in history

On Dec. 19, 1946, war broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.

On this date

In 1777, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.

In 1843, “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens, was first published in England.

In 1957, Meredith Willson’s musical play “The Music Man” opened on Broadway.

In 1974, Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States in the U.S. Senate chamber by Chief Justice Warren Burger with President Gerald R. Ford looking on.

In 1975, John Paul Stevens was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1996, the television industry unveiled a plan to rate programs using tags such as “TV-G” (suitable for all ages), “TV-Y” (suitable for all youngsters) and “TV-M” (for mature audiences only).

In 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House for perjury and obstruction of justice. (He was subsequently acquitted by the Senate.)

Ten years ago: A Libyan court convicted five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor of deliberately infecting 400 children with HIV and sentenced them to death. (The six later had their death sentences commuted, and were transferred to Bulgaria, where they were pardoned and set free.)

Five years ago: North Korea announced the death two days earlier of leader Kim Jong Il; North Koreans marched by the thousands to mourn their “Dear Leader” while state media proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, a “Great Successor.”

One year ago: Spain’s Mireia Lalaguna Royo was named the winner of the Miss World 2015 competition in a Chinese island resort, an event dogged by controversy over China’s refusal to allow Canada’s entrant to attend.