On December 19, 1777, commander of the Continental Army
George Washington, the future first president of the United
States, lead his beleaguered troops into winter quarters at
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Things could hardly have looked bleaker for Washington
and the Continental Army as 1777 came to a close.

No one knew better than Washington that the army was on
the brink of collapse—in fact, he had defied Congress’
demand that he launch a mid-winter attack against the
British at Philadelphia and instead fell back to Valley
Forge to rest and refit his troops.

Director James Cameron’s epic drama Titanic, the story of the
real-life luxury ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank on
its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than
1,500 passengers and crew, opened in theaters.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is 80 years old today.

Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made
the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-
than-air aircraft on December 17, 1903.

National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

On December 17, 1892, Arthur Baldwin Turnure first publishes
a new magazine, dedicated to “the ceremonial side of life”
and targeted at “the sage as well as the debutante, men of
affairs as well as the belle.”

A product of the Gilded Age, Vogue has chronicled and
influenced high society, fashion and culture ever since.

The magazine has remained popular and relevant ever since,
regularly featuring the work of world-famous models,
photographers and writers.

   
Arthur Baldwin Turnure (1856–1906)

December 2025