Today in History - By The Associated Press

Dec. 18 The Associated Press — Thursday, December 18, 2008; 12:01 Today is Thursday, Dec. 18, the 353rd day of 2008. There are 13 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 18, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward. On this date: In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1892, Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson, widowed the year before, married Edith Bolling Galt at her Washington home. In 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered secret preparations for Nazi Germany to invade the Soviet Union. (Operation Barbarossa was launched in June 1941.) In 1944, in a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the wartime relocation of Japanese-Americans, but also said undeniably loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry could not continue to be detained. In 1956, Japan was admitted to the United Nations. In 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first public, full-scale commercial nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went on line. (It was taken out of service in 1982.) In 1958, the world's first communications satellite, SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), nicknamed "Chatterbox," was launched by the United States aboard an Atlas rocket. In 1972, the United States began heavy bombing of North Vietnamese targets during the Vietnam War. (The bombardment ended 11 days later.) In 1980, former Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosygin died at age 76. Ten years ago: The House debated articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. U.S. and British forces blasted Iraq with a third day of airstrikes. South Carolina carried out the nation's 500th execution since capital punishment resumed in 1977. Five years ago: Two federal appeals courts ruled the U.S. military could not indefinitely hold prisoners without access to lawyers or American courts. A jury in Chesapeake, Va., convicted teenager Lee Boyd Malvo of two counts of capital murder in the Washington-area sniper shootings (he was later sentenced to life in prison without parole). A judge in Seattle sentenced confessed Green River Killer Gary Ridgway to 48 consecutive life terms. Michael Jackson was formally charged with molesting a cancer-stricken boy at his Neverland Ranch; Jackson was acquitted at trial. One year ago: The White House said President George W. Bush had approved "a significant reduction" in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, cutting it to less than one-quarter its size at the end of the Cold War. The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq for one year. Jacob Zuma was elected leader of the African National Congress, South Africa's ruling party, defeating imcumbent Thabo Mbeki. Today's Birthday: Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark is 81. Thought for Today: "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." — Anais Nin, American author (1903-1977).

Entertainment On This Date: In 1957, the film "Bridge On The River Kwai" premiered in New York. In 1964, funeral services were held in Chicago for singer Sam Cooke, who had been shot and killed in Los Angeles. Fans broke glass and caused other damage to the funeral home where Cooke's body was displayed in a glass-covered coffin.In 1971, Jerry Lee Lewis divorced his cousin, Myra Gale Brown. They had married in 1957 when she was 13. In 1983, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards married model Patti Hansen in Mexico, on his 40th birthday. Mick Jagger was his best man. In 1984, actress Jamie Lee Curtis married comedian Christopher Guest of "Saturday Night Live" in Rob Reiner's home in Los Angeles. In 1991, actor Deforest Kelley, know for his role as Dr. McCoy on "Star Trek," got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1995, Kenny G and his family escaped a fire that caused $275,000 dollars damage to their home in suburban Los Angeles. In 1997, comedian Chris Farley was found dead in his apartment in Chicago of a cocaine and morphine overdose. He was 33. In 2003, Michael Jackson was formally charged with seven counts of lewd or lascivious acts up on a child and two counts of adminstering an intoxicating agent. He was acquitted of the charges. Today's Entertainment Birthdays: Television writer-producer Hal Kanter is 90. Actor Roger Smith is 76. Blues musician Lonnie Brooks is 75. Rock singer-musician Keith Richards is 65.Writer-director Alan Rudolph is 65. Movie producer-director Steven Spielberg is 62. Blues artist Rod Piazza is 61. Movie director Gillian Armstrong is 58. Movie reviewer Leonard Maltin is 58. Rock musician Elliot Easton is 55. Actor Ray Liotta is 53. Actor Brad Pitt is 45. Actress Rachel Griffiths is 40. Singer Alejandro Sanz is 40. Country/rap singer Cowboy Troy is 38. Rapper DMX is 38. Tennis player Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is 37. DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit) is 36. Actress Katie Holmes is 30. Singer Christina Aguilera is 28. Christian rock musician Dave Luetkenhoelter (Kutless) is 26.

© 2008 The Associated Press