Today in History for Dec. 18, 2014

Dec. 18, 1778 - Considered the "father of modern clowning" Joseph Grimaldi was born in London.

Dec. 18, 1787 - New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Dec. 18, 1793 – French Royalists surrendered the frigate La Lutine to Lord Samuel Hood. The ship was renamed HMS Lutine, and she later becomes a famous treasure wreck.

Dec. 18, 1796 - The "Monitor" of Baltimore, Md. was published as the first Sunday newspaper.

Dec. 18, 1812 – Mobile County, Ala. was created by a proclamation of Governor Holmes of the Mississippi Territory.

Dec. 18, 1813 – Benjamin Stoddert, the first Secretary of the U.S. Navy, passed away at Bladensburg, Md., and he was buried in the graveyard at Addison Chapel in Seat Pleasant, Md. Fort Stoddert near present-day Mount Vernon, Ala. was named in his honor in 1799.

Dec. 18, 1821 – An act was passed authorizing the judge of the county court and the commissioners in Butler County, Ala. to levy an extra tax upon the property in the county for the purpose of building a courthouse and jail in the town of Buttsville (the name afterwards being changed to Greenville), said town having been made the permanent seat of justice for Butler County.

Dec. 18, 1832 – The Alabama legislature created Tallapoosa County and Chambers County on lands previously held by Creek Indians, which had been ceded to the federal government at Cusseta on March 24, 1832.

Dec. 18, 1832 – The Alabama legislature created Randolph County.

Dec. 18, 1839 - Scientist John Draper took the first celestial photograph of the moon.

Dec. 18, 1862 - Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest defeated a Union force under Colonel Robert Ingersoll at Lexington, Tenn.

Dec. 18, 1865 - U.S. Secretary of State William Seward issued a statement verifying the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment abolished slavery with the declaration: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Dec. 18, 1886 – Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ty Cobb was born in Narrows, Ga. He would go on to play for the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelpia Athletics. He also managed the Tigers from 1921 to 1926.

Dec. 18, 1888 – Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discovered the ancient Indian ruins of Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde.

Dec. 18, 1892 – The premiere performance of The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky took place in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Dec. 18, 1903 - The Panama Canal Zone was acquired 'in perpetuity' by the U.S. for an annual rent.

Dec. 18, 1912 - The discovery of the Piltdown Man in East Sussex was announced Charles Dawson. It was proved to be a hoax in 1953.

Dec. 18, 1914 – Bill Rogers accidentally killed his friend Bob Roberts during a “prank” near Rogers’ home in Greenville. Rogers shot Roberts in the lower abdomen, and Roberts died about three hours later. The incident was described as “one of the saddest accidents that has ever happened in the southern part of this county.”

Dec. 18, 1917 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Fletcher W. Smith of Lower Peachtree, Ala. “died from disease.”

Dec. 18, 1932 – The Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans, 9–0, in the first ever NFL Championship Game. Because of a blizzard, the game was moved from Wrigley Field to the Chicago Stadium, the field measuring 80 yards (73 m) long.

Dec. 18, 1950 – Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team picked up their third straight win by beating Lyeffion High School, 27-22, at Memorial Gym in Evergreen, Ala. Jeff Moorer led Evergreen with eight points, and Miller Dees led Lyeffion with nine points.

Dec. 18, 1950 – Evergreen High School coach Wendell Hart and his wife, Gerry, celebrated the birth of a son, James Wendell Hart Jr., who was born on this afternoon at Stabler’s Infirmary in Greenville, Ala. He weighed seven pounds, 10 ounces.

Dec. 18, 1965 – Army Spc. 5 Jack Elliott Clemmons of Atmore, Ala. was killed in action in Vietnam.

Dec. 18, 1970 – Local historian and author Elizabeth Riley was honored with an “autograph party” at The Nannette Shop in Evergreen, Ala. to celebrate her recently published book, “The Old Evergreen Historical Cemetery.”

Dec. 18, 1970 - Labe Turk Johnston, age 76, passed away at his home in Evergreen. He was a semi-retired farmer and life-long resident of Conecuh County. He was a member of the Brooklyn Baptist Church, a World War I veteran, member of American Legion, Chairman of the County Board of Education and a member of the Democratic Executive Committee.

Dec. 18, 1972 – Excel, Ala. native Lee Roy Jordan appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Dec. 18, 1975 - Father Ralph J. Pecoraro arrived at the “Amityville Horror” house to bless the house before the Lutz family moved in. When he flicked the first holy water and began to pray, he heard a masculine voice demand that he "get out."

Dec. 18, 1985 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported a low of 29 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Dec. 18, 1993 - The NFL announced a new 4-year agreement with ABC, ESPN, TNT and FOX. FOX had taken the NFC championship package from CBS.

Dec. 18, 1994 – Major League Baseball player Darryl Strawberry pled not guilty to tax evasion charges.

Dec. 18, 2001 – Baseball pitcher John Rocker was traded to the Texas Rangers.

Dec. 18, 2001 - The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority announced that they would ban all bottles, including plastic, from Giants Stadium.

Dec. 18, 2003 – Paranormal author Charles Berlitz passed away at University Hospital in Tamarac, Fla. at the age of 89.

Dec. 18, 2007 - Aruban prosecutors announced that the case into the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 18, of Mountain Brook, Ala. would be closed without any charges made against the former suspects.