Important Events

218 BC Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian army heavily defeat Roman forces on Italian soil
1271 Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China

1603 First fleet of the Dutch East India Company under Admiral Steven van der Haghen departs for the East-Indies
1642 Abel Tasman’s expedition sails around Farewell Spit and into Golden Bay, first sighting local Māori in New Zealand
1917 The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorizing prohibition of alcohol, is approved by the US congress and sent to the states for ratification
1957 World’s 1st full scale nuclear power plant for only peacetime use begins to generate electricity, at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania
2019 US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198)

Today in Film & TV

2009 James Cameron’s “Avatar” starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver, released in the US, becomes highest-grossing film of all time

Today in Music

1892 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Nutcracker Suite” premieres in Saint Petersberg, Russia, now the world’s most performed ballet