Historical Events for 18th December 2023

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1787 - New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the US constitution
1865 - 1st US cattle importation law passed
1900 - The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook Narrow-gauge (2 ft 6 in or 762 mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia is opened for traffic.
1916 - Battle of Verdun, longest of World War I, officially ends in German defeat after nine months of fighting and almost 1 million total casualties
1963 - Ron Clarke runs world record 10k (28:15.6)
1971 - Three members of the Irish Republican Army die when the bomb they were transporting explodes prematurely in King Street, Magherafelt, County Derry.
1979 - Stuntman Stanley Barrett unofficially breaks the land speed record and the sound barrier in his three-wheeled vehicle the Budweiser Rocket (739.666 mph or Mach 1.01). The speed was never officially recorded and the attempt remains controversial.
1989 - "I Love Lucy" Christmas episode, shown for 1st time in over 30 years
1989 - Athol Fugard's "My Children, My Africa" premieres in NYC
2012 - Canadian police begin arresting 17 people for 'the Great Maple Syrup Heist', for stealing 3,000 tonnes from a storage facility in Quebec

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