Today in History: Discovery of nuclear fission

The following are some of the major notable events that occurred on December 19 throughout history:

1776 – Thomas Paine’s “American Crisis” published: Amid the American Revolutionary War, writer Thomas Paine published the first of his American Crisis essays on December 19, 1776. Its opening line (“These are the times that try men’s souls”) rallied Patriot morale during a critical moment of struggle.

1777 – Washington’s troops winter at Valley Forge: On December 19, 1777, General George Washington led the battered Continental Army into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. This forced encampment tested the Revolution’s resolve under harsh conditions, but ultimately the army endured and reformed during the hard winter.

1842 – U.S. recognizes Hawaiian independence: In mid-19th-century diplomacy, a Hawaiian royal delegation secured U.S. recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s independence on December 19, 1842. President John Tyler formally assured Queen Kamehameha III’s envoys that the United States acknowledged the sovereignty of the Sandwich Islands.

1843 – Dickens publishes A Christmas Carol: On December 19, 1843, British author Charles Dickens released his novella A Christmas Carol. The tale of Ebenezer Scrooge became an instant cultural classic, celebrating the spirit of Christmas and influencing holiday traditions worldwide.

1938 – Discovery of nuclear fission: German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann made a groundbreaking scientific discovery on December 19, 1938. By bombarding uranium with neutrons, they identified barium among the products – evidence that the uranium nucleus had split. This confirmed nuclear fission, opening the path to nuclear energy and atomic weapons.

1941 – Hitler assumes command of the German Army: In World War II, Adolf Hitler reshaped Germany’s military leadership on December 19, 1941. He relieved Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch and took direct control of the Army’s High Command (OKH). This consolidation of power reflected Hitler’s tightening grip over strategy as the Eastern Front stalled near Moscow.

1961 – Liberation of Goa (India): On December 19, 1961, India’s armed forces completed Operation Vijay by capturing Goa and ending over 450 years of Portuguese colonial rule. The surrender of Portuguese Governor General Vassalo e Silva that day integrated Goa into India, a pivotal event in the era of decolonization.

1972 – Last Apollo Moon mission ends: The final lunar voyage of NASA’s Apollo program concluded on December 19, 1972. Three astronauts of Apollo 17 splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on that date, bringing home Moon rocks and marking the end of the U.S. lunar-landing era. Apollo 17’s return signified both a peak of space exploration achievement and the close of humanity’s last manned Moon expeditions.

1984 – Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong: In a major Cold War–era diplomatic accord, the United Kingdom and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration on December 19, 1984. In Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang agreed that China would resume sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, under the “one country, two systems” formula.

1986 – Sakharov freed from exile: Soviet dissident and Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov was released from internal exile on December 19, 1986. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ordered the return of Sakharov (and his wife, Elena Bonner) to Moscow, a move hailed as a sign of easing repression under glasnost. Sakharov’s reinstatement symbolized the USSR’s political thaw in its final years.