December 18th is

Arabic Language Day *

Bake Cookies Day

I Love Honey Day

International Migrants Day *

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MORE! Paul Klee, Jacques Pépin and Gillian Armstrong, click

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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

India – Chhattisgarh:
Guru Ghasidas Jayanti

Niger – Republic Day

Qatar – Founder’s Day

United States – New York NY:
St. John Early Music Festival

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On This Day in HISTORY

1655 – The Whitehall Conference, convened by Oliver Cromwell, ends with the determination that there was no law preventing Jews from re-entering England after the Edict of Expulsion of 1290

1707 – Charles Wesley born, English missionary-composer, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

1787 – New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution

1847 – Augusta Holmès born, French composer of Irish descent

1862 – Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled, the first orthopedic hospital is organized in New York City

1865 – US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the USA.

1870 – Saki (H.H. Munro) born, Burmese-English author and playwright

1879 – Paul Klee born, Swiss-German painter

1898 – A new automobile speed record is set at 39 mph (63 kph)

1903 – The Panama Canal Zone is acquired ‘in perpetuity’ by the U.S. for an annual rent

1920 – Conductor Arturo Toscanini makes his first recording for Victor Records

1931 – Alison Plowden born, English historian, Young Elizabeth 

1935 – Jacques Pépin born, French-American chef and author: “The greatest food for me is to always go back to the family. Simpler is better.”

1943 – Keith Richards born, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Rolling Stones

1944 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds wartime relocation of Japanese-Americans, but states undeniably loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry could not be detained

1950 – Gillian Armstrong born, Australian director-producer-screenwriter, My Brilliant Career, Mrs. Soffel

1956 – To Tell the Truth debuts on CBS-TV

1965 – ‘Taste of Honey’ by Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass is #1 on the charts

1966 – Saturn’s moon Epimetheus is discovered by astronomer Richard Walker

1968 – Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro born, Spanish singer-songwriter

1970 – Divorce becomes legal in Italy

1973 – The Islamic Development Bank is founded in Saudi Arabia

1980 – Christina Aguilera born, American singer-songwriter- producer

1981 – First flight of the Russian heavy strategic bomber Tu-160, the world’s largest combat aircraft

1984 – Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” was the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit

1987 – Ivan F. Boesky is sentenced to three years in prison for plotting Wall Street’s biggest insider-trading scandal

1991 – The ‘International Project to Save the Brazilian Rainforests’ is launched

2000 – First International Migrants Day * is designated by the UN General Assembly

2002 – California Governor Gray Davis announces that the state faces a record budget deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign one month earlier

2009 – Avatar is released in the U.S., then becomes the highest grossing film worldwide

2010 – UNESCO starts World Arabic Language Day * to promote cultural understanding and highlight the importance of the Arabic language to world culture

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Visuals

• Honey
• International Migrants Day poster
• International flags
• Saki (H.H. Munro) quote
• Katze Lauert, 1939 by Paul Klee
• Jacques Pépin cooking
• Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bomber specs
• Brazilian Amazon Deforestation chart
• World Arabic Language Day – image processed by CodeCarvings Piczard

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