Timeline Dec 18 to 20

Dec 18
1856  Sir J J Thompson, English physicist, was born.
1888 Robert Moses, the American public servant who supervised the construction of many New York landmarks, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Shea Stadium , was born.
1939  The First Canadian Division reached Aldershot, England, after sailing from Halifax on December 10.
1958  The world's first communications satellite was launched by the United States aboard an Atlas rocket.

Dec 19
1732  Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."
1777  Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, PA., to camp for the winter.
1813  A force under Col. John Murray captured Fort Niagara above Youngstown, New York.
1837  William Lyon Mackenzie proclaimed from Navy Island in the Niagara River, that 300 acres of Canadian land and 100 dollars in silver would be paid to volunteers joining the patriot forces.
1843  Charles Dickens' Yuletide tale, "A Christmas Carol," was first published in England.
1984  Britain and China signed an accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997.

Dec 20
1803  The Louisiana Purchase was completed as the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States during ceremonies in New Orleans.
1854  The first train of the Bytown and Prescott Railway arrived in Bytown.
1859  The first sod was turned for the parliament buildings in Ottawa.
1879  Thomas Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light at Menlo Park, N.J.
1901  Robert Van de Graaff, American physicist and inventor, was born.
1919  A federal government order-in-council announced the takeover of the bankrupt Grand Trunk and Canadian Northern Railways, which, with two other lines, would become the Canadian National Railways.