This Week in History

HISTORY, 18 Dec 2017

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

Dec 18-24, 2017

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“ No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary.  No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”   – Josh McDowell

DECEMBER 18

Today is the INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS DAY:

2006  United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections.

2006  The first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia. The death toll of all flooding is at least 118, with over 400,000 people displaced.

2005  The Chadian Civil War begins when rebel groups, allegedly backed by neighboring Sudan, launch an attack in Adré.

Chadian Civil War:

1999  NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT.

1997  HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium.

1989  The European Economic Community and the Soviet Union sign an agreement on trade and commercial and economic cooperation.

1978  Larry Wall releases the first version of the Perl programming language.

1978  USSR performs underground nuclear test in Atyrau (Kazakhstan), Russia.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1978:

Atyrau Test Site:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

1978  Dominica joins the United Nations.

UN General Assembly Resolution 33/107:

Dominica:

Foreign Relations of Dominica:

Dominica and the United Nations:

History of Dominica:

Economy of Dominica:

1973  The Islamic Development Bank is founded.

Islamic Development Bank:

1973  Soviet Soyuz Programme: Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.

1972  Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th.

Vietnam War in 1972:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

Anti-Viet Nam War Movement or Opposition to United States Involvement in the Vietnam War:

1971  Capitol Reef National Park is established in Utah.

1970  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:      

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1969  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1969  Capital punishment in the United Kingdom: Home Secretary James Callaghan‘s motion to make permanent the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, which had temporarily suspended capital punishment in England, Wales and Scotland for murder (but not for all crimes) for a period of five years.

1968  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1968:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1966  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1966:

1966  Saturn‘s moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.

1964  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1958  Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched.

1956  Japan joins the United Nations.

Japan:

Japan and the United Nations:

1944  World War II: Seventy-seven B-29 Superfortress and 200 other aircraft of US Fourteenth Air Force bomb Hankow, China, a Japanese supply base.

1939  World War II: The Battle of the Heligoland Bight, the first major air battle of the war, takes place.

1935  The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is founded in Ceylon.

1916  World War I: The Battle of Verdun ends when German forces under Chief of staff Erich von Falkenhayn are defeated by the French, and suffer 337,000 casualties.

1892  Premiere performance of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

1888  Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde.

1878  The Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar

 

 

DECEMBER 19

2012  Park Geun-hye is elected the first female president of South Korea.

2001  Argentine economic crisis: December 2001 riots – Riots erupt in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2001  A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl, Mongolia.

2000  The Leninist Guerrilla Units wing of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist attack a Nationalist Movement Party office in Istanbul, Turkey, killing one person and injuring three.

1998  President Bill Clinton is impeached by the United States House of Representatives, becoming the second President of the United States to be impeached.

1995  The United States Government restores federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Native American tribe.

1986  Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from exile in Gorky.

Andrei Sakharov:

1984  The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997 is signed in Beijing, China by Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher.

Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984:

1984  China detonates its first nuclear weapon at Lop Nor, China.

Lop Nor Nuclear Weapons Test Site:

China’s Nuclear Weapon Programs:

1978  France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island.

French Nuclear Tests 1975-78:

Muruora:

France’s Nuclear Tests:

1975  John Paul Stevens is appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

1972  Apollo program: The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans (astronaut) and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth.

1964  The South Vietnamese military junta of Nguyễn Khánh dissolve the High National Council and arrest some of the members.

1961  India annexes Daman and Diu, part of Portuguese India.

1946  Start of the First Indochina War.

First Indochina War:

1941  World War II: Limpet mines placed by Italian divers heavily damage the HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour.

1941  World War II: Adolf Hitler becomes Supreme Commander-in-chief of the German Army.

1932  BBC World Service begins broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service.

1927  Three Indian revolutionaries, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan are executed by the British Empire.

1920  King Constantine I is restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander of Greece and a plebiscite.

1916  World War I: Battle of Verdun: On the Western Front, the French Army successfully holds off the German Army and drives it back to its starting position.

1796  French Revolutionary Wars: Two British frigates under Commodore Horatio Nelson and two Spanish frigates under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart engage in battle off the coast of Murcia.

 

 

DECEMBER 20

2013  China successfully launches the Bolivian Túpac Katari 1 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

2007  Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

2007  The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, and O Lavrador de Café by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari, are stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art.

2007  Elizabeth II becomes the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

1999  Macau is handed over to China by Portugal.

1996  NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.

1995  NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.

War in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Bosnian War on the Ground:

Timeline of the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Foreign Relations of Bosnia-Herzegovina:

History of Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Economy of Bosnia-Herzegovina:

NATO in Bosnia:

NATO (Overview):

History of NATO:

Problems of NATO:

The United States and NATO:

1989  United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft.

1988  The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is signed in Vienna, Austria.

UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988:

1987  In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).

1985  Pope John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day.

1984  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1977  Djibouti and Vietnam join the United Nations.

Djibouti:

Foreign Relations of Djibouti:

Djibouti and the United Nations:

History of Djibouti:

Economy of Djibouti:

Vietnam:

Foreign Relations of Vietnam:

Vietnam and the United Nations:

History of Vietnam:

Economy of Vietnam:

1973  The Prime Minister of Spain, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.

1971  The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders):

1966  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1960  The National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.

1957  The initial production version of the Boeing 707 makes its first flight.

1941  World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the “Flying Tigers” in Kunming, China.

1924  Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison

Adolf Hitler Released from Prison:

Adolf Hitler:

History of Nazi Germany:

1917  Cheka, the first Soviet secret police force, is founded.

1915  World War I: The last Australian troops are evacuated from Gallipoli.

1522  Siege of Rhodes: Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.

 

 

DECEMBER 21

2004  Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main US military airfield at Mosul, Iraq, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers.

Timelines of the Iraq War:

1999  The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid, Spain.

1995  The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

1994  Mexican volcano Popocatépetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash.

1992  A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56.

1988  A bomb explodes on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.

1979  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1979:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1979  Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia is signed in London by Lord Peter Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and S.C. Mundawarara.

Lancaster House Agreement:

History of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe:

1976  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1973  The Geneva Conference on the Arab–Israeli conflict opens.

UN Security Council Resolutions 338 and 344 of 1973:

Geneva Peace Conference of 1973:

Arab-Israeli Conflict:

History of Arab-Israeli Conflict:

1968  Apollo program: Apollo 8 is launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.

1965  The United Nations adopts the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination:

One of the Historical Cases – Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany:

One of the Historical Cases – Apartheid of South Africa:

Zionism and Anti-Semitism:

Anti-Zionism, Anti-Semitism and/or Anti-Israel? :

Sports and Racism:

Beauty Contest and Racism:

Some Other Pertinent Articles from Transcend.org/TMS:

1963  The episode of intercommunal violence called “Bloody Christmas” begins in Cyprus, ultimately resulting in the displacement of 25,000-30,000 Turkish Cypriots and destruction of more than 100 villages.

Bloody Christmas of 1963 in Cyprus:

1962  Rondane National Park is established as Norway’s first national park.

1946  An earthquake of 8.1 Mw and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.

1941  World War II: A formal treaty of alliance between Thailand and Japan is signed in the presence of the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.

1936  First flight of the Junkers Ju 88 multi-role combat aircraft.

1923  United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, called the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816.

Nepal-Britain Relations:

History of Nepal:

1907  The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in Iquique, Chile.

1907 Santa María de Iquique Massacre:

1879  World première of Henrik Ibsen‘s A Doll’s House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1844  The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers commences business at its cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.

1832  Egyptian–Ottoman War: Egyptian forces decisively defeat Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya.

1620  Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

1598  Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.

 

 

DECEMBER 22

2010  The repeal of the Don’t ask, don’t tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Barack Obama.

2008  An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of coal fly ash slurry.

2001  Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Northern Alliance, hands over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai.

1997  Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquishes the disputed title of President of Somalia by signing the Cairo Declaration, in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first major step towards reconciliation in Somalia since 1991.

1997  Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are massacred by paramilitary forces.

Acteal Massacre of 1997:

1992  The Archives of Terror are discovered.

Archives of Terror:

1991  Armed opposition groups launch a military coup against President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia.

1990  The Croatian Parliament adopts the current Constitution of Croatia.

1990  Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.

1989  Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.

1989  Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife flee Bucharest with a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers.

1987  In Zimbabwe, the political parties ZANU and ZAPU reach an agreement that ends the violence in the Matabeleland region known as the Gukurahundi.

History of Zimbabwe:

1978  The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.

1974  The house of former British Prime Minister Edward Heath is attacked by members of the Provisional IRA.

1974  Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli vote to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remains under French administration.

1971  USSR performs underground nuclear test in Atyrau (Kazakhstan), Russia.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1971:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

1968  Cultural Revolution: People’s Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that it is “The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty.”(Down to the Countryside Movement)

Cultural Revolution:

Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement:

1962  USSR performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1962:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Novaya Zemlya Nuclear Test Site:

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

1961  US performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Nevada Test Site.

Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at the Nevada Site:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Atmospheric Nuclear Tests of the United States and Radioactive Fallout:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

US Nuclear Tests at Nevada Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1956  Colo, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity, is born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio.

1951  The Selangor Labour Party is founded in Selangor, Malaya.

1947  The Constituent Assembly of Italy approves the Constitution of Italy.

1944  World War II: The Vietnam People’s Army is formed to resist Japanese occupation of Indochina, now Vietnam.

1944  World War II: Battle of the Bulge – German troops demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, Belgium, prompting the famous one word reply by General Anthony McAuliffe: “Nuts!”

Battle of the Bulge:

1942  World War II: Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon.

V-2 Rocket:

1940  World War II: Himarë is captured by the Greek army.

1939  Indian Muslims observe a “Day of Deliverance” to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II with the United Kingdom.

1937  The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City.

1920  The GOELRO economic development plan is adopted by the 8th Congress of Soviets of the Russian SFSR.

1891  Asteroid 323 Brucia becomes the first asteroid discovered using photography.

 

 

DECEMBER 23

2007  An agreement is made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state.

1990  History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia‘s overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.

Independence Movement of Slovenia in 1990:

Slovenia:

Foreign Relations of Slovenia:

History of Slovenia:

Economy of Slovenia:

History of Yugoslavia and Its Break-up:

Constitutions of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia:

1982  The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.

1979  Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Soviet-Afghan War 1979 – 1989:

Relations between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union:

Foreign Relations of Afghanistan:

Afghanistan and the United Nations:

Afghanistan:

History of Afghanistan:

Economy of Afghanistan:

1979  USSR performs nuclear test (underground) at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1979:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1972  The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism.

1972  An earthquake of 6.5 magnitude strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.

1970  The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a single-party state.

Democratic Republic of the Congo:

History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

1970  USSR performs underground nuclear test at Mangystau, Kazakhstan.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1970:

Mangystau:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

1970  The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world.

1968  The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.

1958  Dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world’s highest self-supporting iron tower.

1954  First successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.

1948  Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan.

1947  The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.

1941  World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupies Wake Island.

1940  World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis (Y-2) sinks the Italian motor ship Antonietta.

1938  Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa.

1936  Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1921  Visva-Bharati University is inaugurated.

1919  Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 becomes law in the United Kingdom.

1916  World War I: Battle of Magdhaba – Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in Egypt‘s Sinai Peninsula.

1914  World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.

1913  The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System.

1893  The opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed.

1876  First day of the Constantinople Conference which resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.

1823  A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, is published anonymously.

1793  The Battle of Savenay: a decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution.

 

 

DECEMBER 24

2008  Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks on Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.

2005  Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.

2003  The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid‘s busy Chamartín Station.

1999  Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal, and Delhi, India; aircraft eventually landed at Kandahar, Afghanistan. Ordeal ended on December 31 with the release of 190 survivors (one passenger killed).

1997  The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50–100 people.

Sid El-Antri Massacre of 1997:

1994 Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria. Over the course of three days three passengers are killed, as are all four terrorists.

1981  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1981:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1980  Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, an incident called “Britain’s Roswell“.

1979  The first European Ariane rocket is launched.

1973  District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.

1969  Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the last Biafran capital before its dissolution became Owerri

1969  The oil company Phillips Petroleum made the first oil discovery in the Norwegian sector of North Sea.

1968  Apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures.

1966  A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129.

1964  Vietnam War: Viet Cong operatives bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, South Vietnam to demonstrate they can strike an American installation in the heavily guarded capital.

Vietnam War in 1964:

Viet Cong:

Viet Nam War and Some Pertinent Events:

1962  USSR performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1962:

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

Novaya Zemlya Nuclear Test Site:

1951  Libya becomes independent from Italy. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.

History of Libya:

Economy of Libya:

1943  World War II: US General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for the Invasion of Normandy.

1942  World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria.

1941  World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.

1939  World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.

1929  Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen.

1924  Albania becomes a republic.

History of Albania:

1914  World War I: The “Christmas truce” begins.

Christmas Truce of 1914:

1906  Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.

1871  Aida opens in Cairo, Egypt.

Aida (opera):

1865  The Ku Klux Klan is formed.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Its History:

________________________________________

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/december_18    december_24;  http://www.onthisday.com/events/december/18    to december/24;   http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/december_18.html.   to december_24.html; and other pertinent web sites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

  1. The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
  2. One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace”.

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace.  His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, science and technology, visual/audio documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History on TMS.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 18 Dec 2017.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

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