On This Day - What Happened On December 19 | Britannica

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1843 Bah, humbug! A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published for the first time on this day in 1843. It became an instant classic, its story of Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption and the Cratchit family's joy often repeated on stage and screen today. Read today's edition of Today in History >> © Photos.com/Thinkstock

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Carter G. Woodson American historian bornDecember 19, 1875New Canton, VirginiadiedApril 3, 1950 (aged 74)Washington, D.C., United StatesDuchaine/Alamy 1980 Jake Gyllenhaal American actor 1961 Reggie White American football player 1924 Cicely Tyson American actress 1915 Edith Piaf French singer 1906 Leonid Brezhnev president of Soviet Union See All Biographies On This Day

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2025 Comet 3I/ATLAS, possibly the oldest known comet and only the third known interstellar object when it was discovered earlier in 2025, made its closest approach to Earth. Why would anyone think Comet 3I/ATLAS is an alien spacecraft?Photo: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) 2012 Park Geun-Hye became the first female to be elected president of South Korea. She also became the country's first democratically elected president to be removed from office after she was impeached in 2017.Jung Yeon-Je—AFP/Getty Images 1998 The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton, charging him with perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton, the second U.S. president to be impeached, was acquitted by the Senate in January 1999. What happens when a U.S. president is impeached?© Dirck Halstead—Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1997 James Cameron's Titanic, a drama about the doomed ocean liner starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, premiered. It later became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. Test your knowledge of the blockbuster TitanicTwentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation/Paramount Pictures Corporation 1974 Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States, succeeding Gerald Ford, who had been elevated to the presidency following the resignation of Richard Nixon. Discover the disorderly history of the U.S. presidential succession orderAP 1971 The sci-fi drama A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of a novel by Anthony Burgess, had its world premiere. The critically acclaimed movie's violent and sexually explicit scenes proved controversial, and it received an adults-only rating when released in the United States. How much do you know about Stanley Kubrick?© Moviestore/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS.com/age fotostock 1966 The United Nations General Assembly endorsed the Outer Space Treaty, an international treaty binding the parties to use space only for peaceful purposes. Take our quiz about astronomy and spaceEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1946 The Viet Minh, a Vietnamese independence group founded by Ho Chi Minh, launched a guerrilla war against French forces in Vietnam, in response to a French naval bombardment of Haiphong several weeks earlier that had killed thousands of civilians. Watch footage from the First Indochina WarMarc Riboud/Magnum 1915 Singer and actress Edith Piaf, whose interpretation of the chanson (French ballad) made her internationally famous, was born in Paris. How much do you know about musicians?UPI/Bettmann Newsphotos 1910 Jean Genet, a social outcast turned writer who became a leading figure in French avant-garde theatre, especially the Theatre of the Absurd, was born in Paris. Take our quiz about the theatre© Jerry Bauer 1777 During the American Revolution, General George Washington led 11,000 regulars to take up winter quarters at Valley Forge on the west bank of the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia, which was occupied by the British. Read our timeline of the American Revolution Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. cph 3f03793) SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.