On this day in 1865, by proclamation of the U.S. Secretary of State, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery, officially entered into force, having been ratified by the requisite states on December 6. As a footnote, the slaves in Texas only belatedly got the word of their liberation in the middle of the following June — in 1866. Hence, the origin of the annual “Juneteenth” celebrations — recently enshrined as a Federal holiday.
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On December 18, 1737, famed Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona. A rare Stradivarius violin sold for near-record $15.3 million, in 2022.
December 18th is the birthday of Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788). He wrote more than 1,700 hymns.
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Today is also the birthday of Jørgen Haagen Schmith (born December 18, 1910, died October 15, 1944.) He was better known under the codename Citron and was a famous Danish resistance fighter in occupied Denmark. His biographical sketch at Wikipedia describes his death, after he was tracked down by the Nazis: “German soldiers arrived at the house to arrest or kill Schmith. He fought for hours against an overwhelming force of enemy troops killing 11 and wounded scores of others before the house was set on fire and he was shot attempting to escape the flames.” His exploits were dramatized in the movie Flame and Citron.