Osun Defender History Corner: December 18 In Focus

Today, on the history corner, we take a trip in the realm of flashback and recall some events that marked this day.

December 18, 2354 BCE

The first recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet, as noted by Chinese astronomers.

December 18, 1271

Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan,” marking the official establishment of the Yuan Dynasty in China.

December 18, 1620

The Mayflower docks at Plymouth Harbor, carrying Pilgrims who established the Plymouth Colony.

December 18, 1787

New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

December 18, 1849

William Bond and John Adams Whipple take the first celestial photograph (of the Moon).

December 18, 1865

Slavery is abolished in the United States as the 13th Amendment is ratified.

December 18, 1916

The Battle of Verdun in World War I ends after 10 months of fierce fighting, with a French victory.

December 18, 1944

The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the wartime relocation of Japanese-Americans in the Korematsu v. United States case.

December 18, 1946

Steven Spielberg, American film director, producer, and screenwriter, is born.

December 18, 1956

Japan joins the United Nations.

December 18, 1966

Saturn’s moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.

December 18, 1971

The UN General Assembly recognizes the People’s Republic of China and expels Taiwan.

December 18, 1973

The Islamic Conference Organization (now the Organization of Islamic Cooperation) is founded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

December 18, 1987

Larry Wall releases the first version of the Perl programming language.

December 18, 1997

HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

December 18, 2006

The United Nations General Assembly designates December 18 as International Migrants Day.

December 18, 2009

The final episode of the TV series “Lost” is broadcast, concluding six seasons.

December 18, 2010

The Arab Spring protests begin in Tunisia, triggering a wave of uprisings across the Arab world.

December 18, 2015

The Paris Agreement on climate change is adopted by 196 countries.

December 18, 2019

The United States House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump.

Please note that these are just a few historical events that happened on December 18. History is full of numerous other significant events on this day, ranging from politics and warfare to cultural and scientific milestones.