Today in History....December 19

On this day in …

1777, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter

1813, British forces captured Fort Niagara during the War of 1812
1907, 239 workers died in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pa

1946, war broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French

1972, Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, winding up the Apollo program of manned lunar landings

1974, Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States

1986,


Lawrence E. Walsh was appointed independent counsel to investigate the Iran-Contra affair

The Soviet Union announced it had freed dissident Andrei Sakharov from internal exile, and pardoned his wife, Yelena Bonner
1998, President Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House for perjury and obstruction of justice (he was later acquitted by the Senate)

1996,


The television industry unveiled a plan to rate programs using tags such as "TV-G," "TV-Y" and "TV-M"

The school board of Oakland, Calif., voted to recognize Black English, also known as "Ebonics," in a decision that set off a firestorm of controversy (the board later modified its stance)
2001,


Argentina's president, Fernando de la Rua, decreed a state of siege as his country's economic crisis triggered violence

The fires that had burned beneath the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York City for the previous three months were declared extinguished except for a few scattered hot spots