Today is Wednesday, December 19th, the 353rd day of the year. There are 12 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1903, the Williamsburg Bridge was opened in New York City. It was America's first major suspension bridge.
In 1917, the National Hockey League made its debut. The original members of the league were the Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Wanderers.
In 1918, Robert Ripley began his "Believe It or Not" column in the "New York Globe."
In 1985, ABC Sports announced it was releasing announcer Howard Cosell from all television commitments.
In 1998, President Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House on perjury and obstruction of justice articles. The 42nd chief executive became only the second in history to be ordered to stand trial in the Senate, where, like Andrew Johnson before him, he was acquitted.
In 1998, two days after his confession of marital infidelity, Republican House Speaker-elect Bob Livingston told the House he would not serve as its next speaker.
In 2008, struggling automakers finally got the lifeline they'd been waiting for with a more than 17-billion-dollar plan announced by President Bush. The cash infusion required General Motors and Chrysler to come up with a restructuring plan to make their companies viable by a March 2009 deadline, or return the money.