Today is Sunday, Dec. 18, the 353rd day of 2016. There are 13 days left in the year.

Today’s birthdays: Former US attorney general Ramsey Clark is 89. Rock guitarist Keith Richards is 73. Director Steven Spielberg is 70. Movie reviewer Leonard Maltin is 66. Actor Ray Liotta is 61. Actor Brad Pitt is 53. Professional wrestler-turned-actor ‘‘Stone Cold’’ Steve Austin is 52. Actress Rachel Griffiths is 48. Rapper DMX is 46. Actress Katie Holmes is 38. Singer Christina Aguilera is 36.

In 1863, in a speech to the Prussian Parliament, Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck declared, ‘‘Politics is not an exact science.’’

In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William Seward.

In 1892, Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘‘The Nutcracker’’ publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 1916, during World War I, the 10-month Battle of Verdun ended with French troops succeeding in repulsing a major German offensive.

In 1944, the Supreme Court upheld the government’s wartime evacuation of people of Japanese descent from the West Coast while at the same time ruling that ‘‘concededly loyal’’ Americans of Japanese ancestry could not continue to be detained.

In 1956, Japan was admitted to the United Nations. The controversial movie ‘‘Baby Doll,’’ starring Carroll Baker, was released by Warner Bros. The panel game show ‘‘To Tell the Truth’’ debuted on CBS-TV.

In 1966, the animated TV special ‘‘Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’’ starring Boris Karloff as the narrator as well as the voice of the Grinch, first aired on CBS.

In 1972, the United States began heavy bombing of North Vietnamese targets during the Vietnam War. (The bombardment ended 11 days later.)

In 1992, Kim Young-sam was elected South Korea’s first civilian president in three decades.

In1995, the Ted William Tunnel, connecting South Boston to East Boston and Logan International Airport, opened after four years of construction.

In 2006, Robert Gates was sworn in as US defense secretary. In 2011, the last convoy of heavily armored US troops left Iraq, crossing into Kuwait in darkness in the final moments of a nine-year war. Vaclav Havel, 75, the dissident playwright who became Czechoslovakia’s first democratically elected president, died.

Last year, Congress ended a chaotic year on a surprising note of bipartisan unity as it approved a tax and spending package and sent it to President Obama, who signed it.