What Happened On
Clinton Impeachment
December 19, 1998
U.S. President Bill Clinton is charged with perjury, obstruction of justice, and malfeasance in office in connection with the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones lawsuit. He would eventually be acquitted of all charges. Clinton was the second U.S. President impeached after Andrew Johnson (1868).
Photo Credit: www.canadafreepress.com/
Photo Credit: www.canadafreepress.com/
Al-Qaeda's First Attack on the U.S.
December 19, 1992
The terrorist group Al-Qaeda formed by Osama bin Laden detonates a bomb at the Gold Mohur Hotel in Aden, Yemen, where U.S. Marines had been staying. However, the troops had already left before the bomb was detonated. An Austrian tourist and a hotel employee were killed and four Austrian tourists were injured.
A second bomb detonated at the Aden Mövenpick Hotel, where other U.S. Marines had also been staying, and three people were injured, none of whom were Americans. This is considered to be the first attack on the U.S. by al-Qaeda. Osama was trying to prevent the U.S. from sending troops to Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope.
Johnny Carson Creates Toilet Paper Panic
December 19, 1973
Late night television host Johnny Carson jokes during his monologue, "You know, we've got all sorts of shortages these days. But have you heard the latest? I'm not kidding. I saw it in the papers. There's a shortage of toilet paper!" The panicked public then began hoarding toilet paper causing empty shelves which further panicked people causing a real shortage. Carson was commenting on a statement by U.S. Congressman Harold V. Froelich, who had made remarks about the government's falling short of securing bids to provide toilet paper for its troops and bureaucrats stating that, "we hope we don't have to ration toilet tissue." This was during the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo which was causing shortages and long lines for gasoline, so the mere mention of a possible shortage became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
A Clockwork Orange
December 19, 1971
The dystopian film A Clockwork Orange premieres. It was adapted, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and was based on Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name.
Have you vidied this real horror show about Alex and his droogs?
The Homecoming: A Christmas Story
December 19, 1971
The TV movie about the Walton family is aired on CBS. Its success led to the long-running TV series The Waltons, about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II.
Earl Hammer, Jr. created the Waltons, whose characters were based on his book and 1963 movie Spencer's Mountain, which were based on his own upbringing.
Photo Credit: Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
Photo Credit: Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
December 19, 1918
Robert L. Ripley's Believe It Or Not! comic strip debuts, featuring items of the strange and unusual. It originally featured sports feats and was called Champs and Chumps, but Ripley changed the name the following year.
In 1929, one of its cartoons pointed out that America had no national anthem. The public outcry led to the adoption in 1931 of Francis Scott Key's The Star-Spangled Banner sung to the tune of the old English drinking song To Anacreon in Heaven.
A Christmas Carol
December 19, 1843
Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale, A Christmas Carol, is published. Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.
Dickens wrote the tale in about six weeks time.
Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, by John Ward Dunsmore 1907
Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, by John Ward Dunsmore 1907
American Revolution - Valley Forge
December 19, 1777
General George Washington and his men encamp for the winter at Valley Forge, where they stayed the next six months. About ¼ of his 10,000 men died from disease, malnutrition, and exposure during this time. If British troops had advanced on Washington's troops during this time, the British would probably have defeated them and won the war. However, Washington's troops used this time to train and emerged in June to retake Philadelphia.
These Are the Times That Try Men's Souls
December 19, 1776
Thomas Paine's immortal words are first published in the first issue of his The American Crisis series. There were sixteen pamphlets in all. The opening lines of the first pamphlet were "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
The pamphlets were written by Paine to encourage support of the American Revolution.
Paine goes on to state that Great Britain has no right to invade the colonies, saying that it is a power belonging "only to God."
The pamphlets were signed with Paine's pseudonym, "Common Sense."
The Man with the Golden Gun
December 19, 1974
The James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun premieres. It was 9th in the James Bond series and starred Roger Moore as 007.
Produced on a budget of $7 million, it earned $97.6 million at the box office.
First Radio Voice-Broadcast from Space
December 19, 1958
A prerecorded Christmas greeting by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower from the U.S. Earth satellite Atlas as part of project SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment). This was the world's first communication satellite and had been place in orbit the previous day. The satellite stayed in orbit until January 21, 1959 when it burned up upon reentering the Earth's atmosphere.
"This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one. Through this unique means, I convey to you and to all mankind America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere."
First Atomic Reactor Patent
December 19, 1944
Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard of the U.S. submit their application. It was granted in 1955 as Patent #2,708,656.
World War II - Hitler Takes Command of German Army
December 19, 1941
Adolf Hitler becomes commander in chief of the German Army.
Cel Animation
December 19, 1914
American cartoonist Earl Hurd applies for a patent for the technique of cel animation in which characters are drawn on clear plastic which is then placed over a background. The background could then be reused in other frames, saving the animator time. This technique was used in most animated cartoons until the use of CGI in the 1990s began to take over.
Hurd used the technique in his Bobby Bumps cartoons.
The University of Oklahoma
December 19, 1892
The University of Oklahoma is established.
Poor Richard's Almanack
December 19, 1732
The first issue of Benjamin Franklin's famous almanac is published. It was published yearly till 1757.
Birthdays
Cicely Tyson as Jane Pittman
Cicely Tyson as Jane Pittman
Cicely Tyson
Born December 19, 1924 d. 2021
American Emmy-winning actress. TV: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974, title role, Emmy) and Roots (1976, Kunta Kinte's mother Binta).
Alyssa Milano
Born December 19, 1972
American actress. TV: Who's the Boss? (Sam Micelli).
Jennifer Beals
Born December 19, 1963
American actress. Film: Flashdance (1983).
Robert Urich
Born December 19, 1946 d. 2002
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: Vega$ (Dan Tanna) and Spencer: For Hire (title role).
Tim Reid
Born December 19, 1944
American actor. TV: WKRP in Cincinnati (Venus Flytrap).
Photo Credit: Chris Hakkens
Photo Credit: Chris Hakkens
Maurice White
Born December 19, 1941 d. 2016
American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy-winning singer, founder of Earth, Wind & Fire. Music: Shining Star (1975, #1, Grammy), Best of My Love (1977, #1), and After the Love has Gone (1979, #2, Grammy).
David Susskind
Born December 19, 1920 d. 1987
American Emmy-winning TV producer and talk show host, known for his controversial guests.
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
Born December 19, 1906 d. 1982
Soviet statesman. Head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1964-82).
Eleanor Hodgman Porter
Born December 19, 1868 d. 1920
American author. Writings: Pollyanna (1913, with the name of the title character becoming synonymous with persistent optimism).
Albert Abraham Michelson
Born December 19, 1852 d. 1931
German-born American Nobel-winning physicist. He was the first to measure the diameter of a star (other than the Sun). Working from the Wilson Observatory, California, he measured Betelgeuse (the bright red star in the right shoulder of Orion) to be 260 million miles in diameter.
Edwin McMasters Stanton
Born December 19, 1814 d. 1869
American lawyer, politician U.S. Secretary of War (1862-68). After the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's assassination, he remained Secretary of War under President Andrew Johnson, but opposed Johnson's lenient policies towards the former Confederate States. Johnson's attempts to dismiss him led to Johnson's impeachment.
Sir William Edward Parry
Born December 19, 1790 d. 1855
British explorer. Explored the Arctic and unsuccessfully searched for a Northwest Passage. He attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole, reaching 82°45′ North latitude, a record for farthest north exploration that stood for nearly 50 years.
Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Born December 19, 1742 d. 1786
Swedish chemist. He discovered oxygen, chlorine (1774), molybdenum (1778), tungsten (1781), glycerin, and was the first to observe the effect of light on silver chloride (the basis for modern photography).
Deaths
Nellie Tayloe Ross
Died December 19, 1977 b. 1876
American politician. She was the first woman U.S. governor (Wyoming, 1925-27), winning by special election after her husband the previous governor died in office. She was also the first woman director of the U.S. Mint (1933-53).
The Human Caterpillar
Prince Randian
Died December 19, 1934 b. 1871
Guyanese-born American performer. He was a famous limbless sideshow performer of the early 1900s, best known for his ability to roll cigarettes with his lips. He was born without arms or legs due to having tetra-amelia syndrome. He was also able to paint and write by holding a brush or stylus with his lips and could shave himself by securing a razor in a wooden block. He fathered five children with his wife.
He was brought to the United States by P.T. Barnum at the age of 18, and was a popular Coney Island carnival and circus attraction for 45 years where he performed under the names Pillow Man, The Snake Man, The Human Torso, The Human Caterpillar, among others.
He was featured in the 1932 film Freaks, in which he is seen lighting up a cigarette with a match.
Ella's circus pitch card
Ella's circus pitch card
Camel Girl
Ella Harper
Died December 19, 1921 b. 1870
American circus performer. Known as the "Camel Girl", Ella was born with a very rare orthopedic condition that caused her knees to bend backwards (congenital genu recurvatum). Her preference to walk on all fours resulted in her nickname "Camel Girl." A star of the circus where she earned $200 (over $5,000 in today's equivalent) a week. The back of her circus pitch card read, "I am called the camel girl because my knees turn backward. I can walk best on my hands and feet as you see me in the picture. I have traveled considerably in the show business for the past four years and now, this is 1886 and I intend to quit the show business and go to school and fit myself for another occupation."
Hope Lange
Died December 19, 2003 b. 1933
American Oscar-Emmy-winning actress. Film: Peyton Place (1957, Selena Cross). TV: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1968-70, Mrs. Muir, for which she won back-to-back Emmys).
Desmond Llewellyn
Died December 19, 1999 b. 1914
Welsh actor. Film: Q in the James Bond movies.
Ronald Howard
Died December 19, 1996 b. 1918
English actor. TV: Sherlock Holmes (1954-55, title role).
Marcello Mastroianni (Marcello Mastrojanni)
Died December 19, 1996 b. 1924
Italian actor. Film: La Dolce Vita (1959), 8½ (1963), and Divorce Italian Style (1961).
Michael Clarke
Died December 19, 1993 b. 1946
American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer, with The Byrds. Music: Mr. Tambourine Man (1965, #1) and Turn! Turn! Turn! (1966).
V.C. Andrews (Cleo Virginia Andrews)
Died December 19, 1986 b. 1923
American author. She had three #1 books before her death and numerous bestsellers after her death (ghostwritten from her notes). Flowers in the Attic (1979). In the movie version of Flowers in the Attic, she played the window-washing maid.
Walter Williams
Died December 19, 1959 b. 1842
American soldier. Reputed to be the last surviving Civil War veteran, claiming to have served in the Confederate Army (1864). However, after his death at the claimed age of 117, there was little evidence to support his claims. Records showed that he was probably born in 1854, too late to have served in the war as he claimed.
Emily Brontë
Died December 19, 1848 b. 1818
English novelist. Writings: Wuthering Heights (1847).
Urban V
Died December 19, 1370 b. ????
French-born religious leader, 200th Pope (1362-70).
Saint Anastasius I
Died December 19, 401 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 39th Pope (399-401).