TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Saturday, Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2021. There are 13 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight

On Dec. 18, 2019, the U.S. House impeached President Donald Trump on two charges, sending his case to the Senate for trial; the articles of impeachment accused him of abusing the power of the presidency to investigate rival Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election and then obstructing Congress’ investigation. (The trial would end in acquittal by the Senate.)

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, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia; although now considered a classic, it received a generally negative reception from critics.

In 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” and sent it to the states for ratification.

In 1940, Adolf Hitler signed a secret directive ordering preparations for a Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. (Operation Barbarossa was launched in June 1941.)

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.

Today’s birthdays

Keith Richards is 78. Producer-director Steven Spielberg is 75. Movie reviewer Leonard Maltin is 71. Actor Ray Liotta is 67. Comedian Ron White is 65. Actor Brad Pitt is 58. Wrestler-turnedactor “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is 57. Actor Rachel Griffiths is 53. Singer Sia is 46. Actor Katie Holmes is 43. Actor Ravi Patel is 43. Singer Christina Aguilera is 41. Singer Billie Eilish is 20.