This Day in History: December 18, 2025
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1737
Violin maker Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona, Italy.
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1787
New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
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1865
Slavery was abolished with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
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1892
Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" premiered at St. Petersburg's Maryinksy Theatre.
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1944
The Supreme Court upheld the wartime internment of Japanese-Americans.
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1956
Japan was admitted to the United Nations.
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1957
The Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania became the first civilian nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States.
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1969
The British Parliament abolished the death penalty for murder.
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2000
George W. Bush received 271 votes in the delayed Electoral College balloting.
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2010
The Senate votes 65 to 31 in favor of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Clinton-era military policy that forbids openly gay men and women from serving in the military.
