More than two years after the Berlin Wall was constructed by
East Germany to prevent its citizens from fleeing its communist
regime, nearly 4,000 West Berliners were allowed to cross into
East Berlin to visit relatives.
Under an agreement reached between East and West Berlin,
more than 170,000 passes were eventually issued to West
Berlin citizens, each pass allowing a one-day visit to
communist East Berlin.
On December 19, 1843, Charles Dickens’ classic story “A
Christmas Carol” was published.
Dickens was born in 1812 and father, a clerk in the navy
pay office, was thrown into debtors’ prison in 1824, and
12-year-old Charles was sent to work in a factory.
The miserable treatment of children and the institution of
the debtors’ jail became topics of several of Dickens’
novels.
Charles John Huffam Dickens
(7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870)
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.
The British had successfully occupied Philadelphia, leading
some members of Congress to question Washington’s
leadership abilities.
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.
Titanic catapulted its young stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate
Winslet to international fame and won 11 Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Music (for the
song “My Heart Will Go On,” sung by Celine Dion).
The film also immortalized the line “I’m the king of the world!”
which Cameron famously repeated during the Oscar ceremony,
as he picked up his gold statuette for Best Director (below).
