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Historical events on December 18

DECEMBER 18, 1958
The United States launched SCORE (rocket pictured), the world's first communications satellite.
SCORE was the world's first purpose-built communications satellite. Launched aboard an American Atlas rocket on December 18, 1958, SCORE provided the second Read More
DECEMBER 18, 1898
Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat (pictured) set the first official land speed record, averaging 63.16 km/h (39.245 mph) over 1 km (0.62 mi) in Achères, France.
Count Charles-François Gaston Louis Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat was a French aristocrat and race car driver.
DECEMBER 18, 1963
Ghanaian and other African students organized a protest in Moscow's Red Square in response to the alleged murder of medical student Edmund Assare-Addo.
On 18 December 1963, a number of students from Ghana and other African countries organized a protest on Moscow's Red Square in Read More
DECEMBER 18, 1966
Epimetheus, one of the moons of Saturn, was discovered, but was mistaken for Janus; it took twelve years to determine that they are two distinct objects sharing the same orbit.
Epimetheus is an inner satellite of Saturn. It is also known as Saturn XI. It is named after the mythological Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus.
DECEMBER 18, 1622
Portuguese forces and their Imbangala allies defeated the Kongo army at the Battle of Mbumbi.
The Imbangala or Mbangala were divided groups of warriors and marauders who worked as hired mercenaries in 17th-century Angola and later founded the Kasanje Kingdom.
DECEMBER 18, 1932
Playing indoors at Chicago Stadium on a modified American football field, the Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans in the first playoff game of the National Football League.
Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago from 1929 to 1995. When it was built, it was the largest indoor arena Read More
DECEMBER 18, 1913
The Jew's Christmas, the first American film to include a rabbi as a character, was released.
The Jew's Christmas is a 1913 silent film. The film was written by Lois Weber, and directed by Weber and her husband Read More
DECEMBER 18, 1979
Mohammad Mofatteh, an Iranian philosopher, was assassinated by the Furqan Group.
Mohammad Mofatteh was an Iranian philosopher, theologian, and political activist. He was a Twelver Shia ayatollah and an important figure in the Read More
DECEMBER 18, 2017
An Amtrak Cascades passenger train derailed near DuPont, Washington, killing three people and injuring sixty-five others.
The Amtrak Cascades is a passenger train route in the Pacific Northwest, operated by Amtrak in partnership with the U.S. states of Read More
DECEMBER 18, 1867
In Angola, New York, the last coach of a Lake Shore Railway train derailed, plunged 40 feet (12 m) down a gully, and caught fire, resulting in approximately 49 deaths.
Angola is a village in the town of Evans in Erie County, New York, United States. Located 2 miles (3 km) east of Read More
DECEMBER 18, 1939
Second World War: The Luftwaffe won a victory over the Royal Air Force in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight, greatly influencing both sides' future aerial warfare strategy.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all Read More
DECEMBER 18, 1499
Muslims in Granada began a rebellion against their Castilian rulers in response to forced conversions to Catholicism.
Granada is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the Read More

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