December 19 in Pop Culture History

1732 – Benjamin Franklin published the first edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac in Philadelphia.

1843 – Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol was published.

1871 – Samuel Clemens received a patent (# 121,992) for “An Improvement in Adjustable and Detachable Garment Straps,” a type of cumberbund/belt.

1903 – The Williamsburg Bridge was opened in New York City.

1907 – A coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania, killed 239 workers; there was one survivor, Joseph Mapleton, in the Darr Mine Disaster.

1924 – The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. the first ‘Best Car in the World’ was sold in London, England.

1930 – Amelia Earhart at Pitcairn Field, Willow Grove, PA was the first autogyro pilot to carry a passenger.

1932 – BBC World Service began broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service.

1950 – Rose Marie Reid of Los Angeles, California, received a patent (#2,535,018) for a one-piece bathing suit “embodying a novel construction for causing it to snugly fit the body of a wearer in a flattering manner,” using elastic fabric.

1957 – The Music Man (Broadway Musical) Opened on December 19, 1957, and closed on on April 15, 1961

1964 – #1 Hit December 19, 1964 – December 25, 1964: The Supremes – Come See About Me

1974 -The Altair 8800 microcomputer was sold in the U.S. as a do-it-yourself computer kit for $397.

1985 – Mary Lund of Minnesota became the first woman to receive a Jarvik VII artificial heart in Minneapolis.

1986 – Platoon and Little Shop of Horrors debuted in theaters.

1997 – Tomorrow Never Dies was released in theaters.

1997 – Titanic premiered in theaters.

1998 – President Bill Clinton was charged with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. Clinton, the second president in American history to be impeached, vowed to finish his term. His lie was about an affair with a 21-year-old intern, Monica Lewinsky.

2001 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring debuted in theaters.

2005 – Deal Or No Deal premiered on NBC

2012 – Zero Dark Thirty, The Guilt Trip, and Monsters Inc (3D) were released in theaters.

2014 – Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and Annie were released in theaters.

2020 – #1 Hit December 19, 2020 – December 25, 2020: All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey