Today in History, December 19th
On December 19, 1998, the U.S. House impeached President Bill Clinton. Plus Valley Forge, A Christmas Carol and Apollo 17's splashdown.
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December 19 is best known as the day in 1998 when the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton. The date also saw Washington’s army march into Valley Forge in 1777 and Apollo 17 splash down in 1972, closing out the Apollo moon landings.
The big story: The House Impeaches Bill Clinton (1998)
On December 19, 1998, after close to 14 hours of floor debate, the House voted to impeach President Bill Clinton. The case grew out of independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s investigation and Clinton’s sworn denials about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The House weighed four articles. Two passed: lying to a federal grand jury, 228 to 206, and obstruction of justice, 221 to 212. Two others, a second perjury count and abuse of power, failed. The same morning brought another jolt. Speaker-designate Bob Livingston said he would step aside and resign his seat after his own affairs became public. Clinton was only the second president impeached, after Andrew Johnson in 1868. The Senate trial opened on January 7, 1999, and ended on February 12 with acquittal on both articles. Neither charge got even a simple majority, let alone the two-thirds needed to remove him.
More events on December 19
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1776 | Thomas Paine published The American Crisis, an essay meant to lift Patriot spirits during a grim stretch of the Revolution. |
| 1777 | George Washington led the Continental Army, about 11,000 regulars, into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. |
| 1843 | Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol was published for the first time. |
| 1917 | The National Hockey League played its first games, with both Montreal teams winning. |
| 1941 | Adolf Hitler took personal command of the German army as its push on Moscow stalled. |
| 1946 | The Viet Minh launched attacks on French forces, opening the long war for Vietnam’s independence. |
| 1972 | Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, ending the last crewed mission to land on the moon. |
| 1984 | Britain and China signed an agreement to return Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997. |
| 1997 | James Cameron’s Titanic opened in U.S. theaters. |
| 2012 | Park Geun-hye was elected South Korea’s first female president. |
| 2016 | A truck was driven into a Christmas market at Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, killing 12 people. The Islamic State group claimed the attack. |
Born on December 19
- 1875: Carter G. Woodson, historian who founded Negro History Week, forerunner of Black History Month.
- 1915: Édith Piaf, French singer and actress.
- 1934: Al Kaline, Hall of Fame outfielder who spent his whole career with the Detroit Tigers.
- 1944: Richard Leakey, Kenyan anthropologist whose fossil finds shed light on human evolution.
Keep reading
Sources
- President Clinton Impeached, History.com
- House Impeaches Clinton; Livingston Resigns, Government Executive
- What Happened on December 19, Britannica
- December 19: This Day in History, History.com
- Apollo 17, NASA
- Five Years After Berlin Attack, Germany Remembers Its Victims, The Local Germany
- Carter G. Woodson, Britannica
- Edith Piaf, Britannica
- Al Kaline, Britannica
- Richard Leakey, Britannica
