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December 19th Major News Events

  1. 1997 Titanic one of the highest-grossing movies of all-time, opened in American theaters
  2. 1905 China -- Shanghai Riots
  3. 1989 The Simpsons debuts on Fox as a half-hour prime time show
  4. 1998 U.S.A. -- President Bill Clinton Impeached
  5. 2013 Target Reveals Card Data Breach

Find More Details for What happened 19th December This Day in History on your birthday

1997 U.S.A. -- Titanic Movie

1997 : The movie "Titanic" one of the highest-grossing movies of all-time, opened in American theaters. The movie about the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912 staring Kate Winslet ( Rose DeWitt ) and Leonardo DiCaprio ( Jack Dawson ). Find More What happened in 1997

1984

Hong Kong - Returned to China in 1997

1984 : Hong Kong is to be returned to Communist China in 1997 after an historic agreement was signed in Peking between the British and Chinese Governments. The British colony of Hong Kong has been under British Rule for 155 years.

China has agreed to a principle of "one country, two systems" which will allow Hong Kong to have a capitalist economy and enjoy existing rights and freedoms.

1905 China -- Shanghai Riots

In Shanghai riots, looting, and a partly burned police station were the result of Chinese hatred of Americans and other foreigners. The atmosphere was similar to that which preceded the Boxer rebellion in 1900.

1921 Cuba -- Protesters

1921 : Thirty thousand protesters crowded together to denounce the Fordney tax. The demonstrators warned against "ruinous tariffs" on sugar and tobacco and that the United States would destroy all its work in Cuba.

1938 France -- Italy

Approval of France's stern stand against Italian colonialism was shown by sheiks and Arab chiefs who were protesting in eastern Tunisia. They shouted "Long Live France!" and "Tripoli for us!"

1942 U.S.A. -- Eddie Rickenbacker

World War veteran and daredevil, Eddie Rickenbacker, was pulled out the Pacific Ocean after being lost at sea for 22 days. He and six other men would have starved to death, if they had not caught and eaten a sea gull. Rickenbacker was on a special mission in the South Pacific when he went missing.

1956 Great Britain -- Fog

Most of Great Britain, south of a line from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Blackpool has been blanketed in thick fog, with visibility in parts reduced to five yards (4.5 m) in places.

Born This Day In History December 19th

Celebrating Birthdays Today

Édith Piaf

Born: 19th December 1915 Belleville, Paris, France

Died: 10th October 1963 Plascassier, France

Known For : Édith Piaf known as "The Little Sparrow" is regarded by many as France's greatest female popular singer, Although she sang all her songs in French they were listened to around the world and recognized for the great voice she possessed. Her signature tune "La vie en rose" is our featured video today because even with the poor quality of recording it shows how talented she was.

Reggie White

Born: 19th December 1961 Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States

Died: 26th December 2004 Cornelius, North Carolina, United States

Known For : Reggie White best known as an American Football player who achieved greatness including 2-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, multiple Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection, During his professional career he played for the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Carolina Panthers. He was a member of the Green Bay Packers winning team in Super Bowl XXXI and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006

1957 USSR -- NATO Meeting

A meeting of NATO in France declared "the aim of the Soviet bloc is to weaken and disrupt the Free World." However, shortly after Moscow radio blared that the West was trying "to mislead the public and camouflage the real nature of the talks." The Soviet Union blamed the U.S. and the West for sabotaging peace.

1964 Panama -- Old Canal to Be Replaced

1964 : The old Panama Canal was to be replaced by a new Atlantic-Pacific canal in 10-15 years according to U.S. President Johnson. A new deal with Panama was to be struck and interested countries invited to participate.

1972 Uganda -- Idi Amin

General Idi Amin gives British workers an ultimatum to accept reduced pay or be expelled from Uganda in 12 days. This follows his taking control of British firms and interests in the country.

1976 Lebanon -- Beirut Airport Re-opened

Beirut's international airport was closed since the Middle East 707 was struck by a rocket last June. The airport had antiaircraft guns of mostly Syrian origin keeping the peace, however today it was business as usual and outgoing flights were booked up for two weeks.

1979 U.S.A. -- Chrysler

1979 : Chrysler receives a $1.5 billion government loan to help put the company back on its feet.

1983 Costa Rica -- Possible Revolt

A Roman Catholic Bishop, Jose Ignacio Trejos Picado, warned that land controlled by only a few people was dangerous and could lead to revolt. He commented, "The recent invasions of land in several parts of the country by groups of peasants are evidence that there is poor land distribution." Costa Rica had the highest standard of living in South America and the longest tradition of democracy. It did not have an army.

1989 USA -- Simpsons

1989 : The Simpsons featuring the Simpson Family including Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie debuts on Fox as a half-hour prime time show. The Simpsons has become the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program. The program had originally been created as a series of shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show with the first showing on April 19th, 1987.

100 years of price Change

100 Years Of Price Changes

We spent many hours researching cost of living information for each year and I created this page after being asked a number of times about why I did not include current prices alongside our cost of living information for each year and thought this was the easiest way to make the information available. includes Average Cost Of New Home, Average Wages, New Car cost, Gallon Of Gas and a 1lb Hamburger Meat, 1920 to 2023

1993 Yugoslavia -- Election

The socialist party looked like it was headed for a victory in the parliamentary election. However, it was expected to loose some seats due to the inflation, unemployment, war debts, and political turmoil in the country.

1994 Great Britain -- Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce, announces that its future cars would feature 12-cylinder motors manufactured by Germany's BMW.

1998 U.S.A. -- President Bill Clinton Impeached

President Bill Clinton is impeached by the House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice.

2000 United Nations -- Afghanistan

The U.N. Security Council voted to impose broad sanctions on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless they closed terrorist training camps and surrendered U.S. embassy bombing suspect Osama bin Laden.

2003 Libya -- Gives Up Chemical Weapons

2003 : Following political pressure and sanctions imposed by the United Nations Libya has announced an undertaking to destroy its arsenal of chemical weapons.

2006 United States -- Joseph Barbera dies

Joseph Barbera, one half of the people behind cartoon classics like The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and Huckleberry Hound has died, aged 95. He died at home with his wife, Sheila, by his side. Barbera had founded Hanna-Barbera with William Hanna in the 1950's , and the pair had worked on the Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM studios before.

2006 United States -- The FBI release surveillance reports on John Lennon

The final pages of an F.B.I. surveillance report on John Lennon have finally been released. The documents show details about Lennon's ties to left-wing and anti-war groups in London in the early 1970's. Historian Jon Wiener told the L.A. Times that they showed Lennon rebuffed the U.K. leftists who asked him to fund a bookshop. Weiner has been working for twenty-five years to obtain the papers with the F.B.I. claiming they would compromise another country's security services.

2007 United States -- Copy of the Magna Carta is sold in New York

A rare copy of the Magna Carta is sold for $21.3 million in an auction at Sotheby's in New York. The copy, dating from 1297, is one of the only seventeen that are still in existence, and bought by U.S. businessman David Rubenstein. The auctioned item had been owned by American billionaire Ross Perot's Perot Foundation since 1984, and was on view at the National Archives in Washington. The original Magna Carta was sealed by King John of England in 1215, and enshrined civil rights in English law.

2008 United States -- General Motors and Chrysler bailed out

2008 : An emergency bailout of General Motors and Chrysler has been announced by President Bush which gives the companies a few months to get their businesses in order. Barack Obama will be handed the political task of ruling on their future. The bailout will be putting $13.4 billion into the companies by mid-January from the fund that Congress has authorized to rescue the financial industry. The two companies have until March 31st to produce a plan for long-term profitability, including concessions from unions, creditors, suppliers and dealers.

2008 United States -- Paris Hilton’s jewelry stolen

A burglar has broken into the Los Angeles home of socialite Paris Hilton and stolen jewelry worth about $2 million. The break-in occurred in the early hours of the morning at Miss Hilton's home in the Sherman Oaks area of L.A. Police have said a man wearing a hooded top and gloves broke in through the home's front door, ransacked Miss Hilton's bedroom and stole her belongings.

2011 Sweden -- Swedish Carmaker Saab Files For Bankruptcy

Swedish carmaker Saab filed for bankruptcy after the company failed to secure funds from Chinese investors. General Motors, a part owner of Saab, halted plans for Chinese companies to take over the manufacturer over concerns that the Chinese car manufacturers were going to gain access to technology licenses.

2012 United States -- Breakfast at Tiffany's Added to Film Archive

The 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's and twenty-four other movies were added to the US National Film Registry as an important part of American culture. Some of the other films that made the cut this year were A Christmas Story and Anatomy of a Murder.

2013 United States -- Target Reveals Card Data Breach

Retailer Target announced that the credit card data of over forty-million customers was stolen from stores throughout the country starting on November 29th, the beginning of the holiday shopping season. It was believed that the information theft was taking place for nearly three weeks before being discovered.

Part of 1920s Hats

Fancy Dress Hat 1923 1923 Fancy Dress Hat
Price: $6.45

Perfectly gorgeous and our best large brim fancy dress hat. Handmade wired frame covered with lovely gold or silver metallic lace, recovered with single layer of silk maline which extends softly over the edge. Stylish six-pieced crown of fine silk faced velvet. High grade wreath of mixed colored fiber silk plush novelty morning glories.


Part of 1920s Appliances

20s Motor Driven Brush Cleaner ( Hoover )

Motor Driven Brush and Suction Cleaner

Price: $28.95

This cleaner not only uses suction to lift the dirt and dust it also includes a motor driven brush to help remove dust and dirt from the carpet before the suction lifts the dirt into the bag



Visit our 1950's Section

1950s Prices including inflation prices for homes, wages, etc.

Baby Boomers raise families following 20 years of unrest (Great Depression and World War II) the peak of the Baby Boomer Years

Includes Music, Fashion, Prices, News for each Year, Popular Culture, Technology and More.