On This Day: 18 December

18 December in world history

• 2023A series of mass protests began in Belgrade, Serbia, alleging electoral irregularities in the Serbian parliament and Belgrade city assembly elections.
• 2022Argentina win the FIFA World Cup final, defeating title holders France 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time.
• 2006United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections.
• 2002California gubernatorial recall: Then Governor of California Gray Davis announces that the state would face a record budget deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign one month earlier.
• 1999NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT.
• 1995A Lockheed L-188 Electra crashes in Jamba, Cuando, Angola, killing 141 people.
• 1981First flight of the Russian heavy strategic bomber Tu-160, the world's largest combat aircraft, largest supersonic aircraft and largest variable-sweep wing aircraft built.
• 1973Soviet Soyuz Programme: Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, is launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.
• 1972Vietnam 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.
• 1969On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the sixth James Bond film and the only one to star George Lazenby, premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.
• 1944The Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Korematsu v. United States supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 which cleared the way for the incarceration of nearly all 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S.
• 1939Second 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.
• 1932Playing 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.
• 1892The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky premiers in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
• 1867In 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.
• 1792Thomas Paine (depicted) was found guilty of seditious libel for the publication of the second part of his book Rights of Man.
• 1622Portuguese forces and their Imbangala allies defeated the Kongo army at the Battle of Mbumbi.
• 1499Muslims in Granada began a rebellion against their Castilian rulers in response to forced conversions to Catholicism.

Born on 18 December

• 1988Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Canadian heptathlete
• 1955Vijay Mallya, Indian businessman and politicianIndia
• 1946Steven Spielberg, American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded DreamWorks
• 1933Lonnie Brooks, American blues singer and guitarist (died 2017)
• 1928Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Indian-English caliph and author (died 2003)India
• 1887Bhikhari Thakur, Indian actor, singer, and playwright (died 1971)India

Died on 18 December

• 2001Gilbert Bécaud, French singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (born 1927)
• 1973Allamah Rasheed Turabi, Indian-Pakistani religious leader and philosopher (born 1908)India
• 1969Charles Dvorak, American pole vaulter and coach (born 1878)
• 1645Nur Jahan, empress consort of the Mughal Empire (born 1577)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 18 December in history?

2023: A series of mass protests began in Belgrade, Serbia, alleging electoral irregularities in the Serbian parliament and Belgrade city assembly elections. 2022: Argentina win the FIFA World Cup final, defeating title holders France 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time. 2006: United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections. 2002: California gubernatorial recall: Then Governor of California Gray Davis announces that the state would face a record budget deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign one month earlier.

Which famous people were born on 18 December?

Brianne Theisen-Eaton, Canadian heptathlete (1988); Vijay Mallya, Indian businessman and politician (1955); Steven Spielberg, American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded DreamWorks (1946); Lonnie Brooks, American blues singer and guitarist (died 2017) (1933).

Which day is observed on 18 December?

International Migrants Day; National Day (Qatar); Republic Day (Niger); UN Arabic Language Day (United Nations).