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What happened in history on this day: August 18?
On August 18 in ...
- 472 - Birth of Flavius Ricimer, general of the Western Roman Empire, kingmaker.
- 1227 - Genghis Khan Mongol conqueror, died.
- 1503 - Death of Pope Alexander VI, born Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia.
- 1587 - Birth of Virginia Dare, first child born to English parents in America, to Governor John White's daughter Eleanor and Ananias Dare, a member of the governor's staff.
- 1685 - Birth of Brook Taylor England, mathematician, discoverer of Taylor's Theorem.
- 1686 - Cassini reports seeing a satellite orbiting Venus.
- 1750 - Birth of Antonio Salieri Italy, composer (Tatare).
- 1778 - Birth of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen; first to circumnavigate Antarctica.
- 1789 - Citizens of Spa and Liège revolt, declaring a republic and forcing prince-bishop Prince Constantine de Hoensbroek to abdicate and flee.
- 1792 - Birth of John first Earl Russell; British Whig Prime Minister (1846-52, 1865-66).
- 1817 - Gloucester, Massachusetts, newspapers tell of wild sea serpent seen offshore.
- 1834 - Birth of Marshall Field; founded Chicago-based store chain (Field's).
- 1834 - Mount Vesuvius erupts.
- 1835 - Last Pottawatomie Indians leave Chicago, Illinois.
- 1838 - First US marine expedition.
- 1842 - The Sultan of Brunei appoints Charles James Brooke rajah of Sarawak on the island of Borneo.
- 1846 - General Stephen W Kearney's US forces captures Santa Fe, New Mexico.
- 1852 - Death of Margaret Taylor in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA; spouse of US President Zachary Taylor.
- 1866 - In Buffalo, New York, horse Dexter runs the mile under saddle in 2:18 minutes.
- 1868 - Pierre Janssan discovers helium in solar spectrum during eclipse.
- 1873 - First ascent of Mount Whitney, California (14,494 feet).
- 1873 - Birth of Otto Harbach; songwriter ("Smoke Gets in Your Eyes").
- 1896 - Birth of Alan Mowbray in London, England; actor (Dante, Colonel Flack).
- 1900 - Birth of Walter O'Keefe in Hartford, Connecticut, USA; songwriter/TV host (Mayor of Hollywood).
- 1904 - Birth of Max Factor Junior; CEO (Max Factor Cosmetics).
- 1904 - Birth of Sterling W Cole; American politician (Representative-Republican-New York).
- 1906 - Birth of Andre Van Gyseghem in England; actor (Search for the Nile).
- 1907 - Birth of Enoch Light in Canton, Ohio, USA; orchestra leader (Gulf Road Show with Bob Smith).
- 1914 - President Woodrow Wilson issues Proclamation of Neutrality.
- 1916 - Birth of Elsa Morante in Italy; writer (L'isola di Arturo).
- 1916 - Birth of Moura Lympany in Saltash, England; pianist (Order of the British Empire-1979).
- 1917 - Birth of Casper Weinberger; US Secretary of Defense (1981-87).
- 1919 - Birth of Walter J Hickel; American politician (Governor-Republican-Alaska)/US Secretary of Interior (1969-71).
- 1920 - Tennessee ratifies 19th Amendment, guarantees women voting right.
- 1922 - Birth of Alain Robbe-Grillet in France; novelist (Voyeur).
- 1922 - Birth of Shelley Winters AKA Shirley Schrift in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; actress (Poseidon Adventure, Nana Mary - Roseanne).
- 1924 - Birth of Mohammad Zia Ul-Haq; president of Pakistan (1978-88).
- 1927 - Birth of Rosalynn Carter in Georgia, USA; first lady to President Jimmy Carter.
- 1930 - Birth of Grant Williams in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Greg - Hawaiian Eye).
- 1930 - Birth of Johnny Preston in Port Arthur, Texas, USA; rocker ("Feel So Fine").
- 1930 - Eastern Airlines begins passenger service.
- 1931 - Birth of Bramwell Tillsley; General of The Salvation Army.
- 1931 - Birth of Hans van Mierlo; Dutch politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister (dies 2010).
- 1933 - Birth of Roman Polanski in Paris, France; film director (Knife in the Water, Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown).
- 1934 - Birth of Rafer Lewis Johnson; American decathalete (Olympic-gold-1960).
- 1934 - Birth of Roberto Clemente; pro baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates).
- 1935 - Birth of Gail Fisher in Orange, New Jersey, USA; actress (Peggy - Mannix).
- 1936 - Birth of Robert Redford in California, USA; actor (The Sting, The Candidate, The Natural, The Great Gatsby, Iconoclasts, The Iceman Cometh).
- 1938 - Canadian Prime Minister William King and US President Franklin Roosevelt dedicate the Thousand Islands Bridge connecting US and Canada.
- 1938 - US President Franklin Roosevelt in Ontario, Canada, says "the United States will not stand idly by" if Canada is attacked.
- 1939 - German troops occupy Slovakia.
- 1941 - Birth of Christopher Jones in Jackson, Tennessee, USA; actor (Wild in the Streets, Legend of Jesse James).
- 1941 - Philadelphia Phillies commit 8 errors in a game.
- 1942 - Birth of Henry G. Sanders; actor (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman).
- 1943 - Birth of Martin Mull in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actor/comedian (Bad Manners, Flick, Serial, Rosanne, The Ellen Show, Fernwood Tonight).
- 1943 - Final convoy of Jews from Salonika Greece arrive at Auschwitz.
- 1943 - (0017-0043 hours) Operation Hydra takes place, 597 British bombers in three waves attack the German rocket research site at Peenemünde targeting scientists' housing, the rocket-production plant, and the Experimental Works. 40 planes are shot down during the raid. Eight Mosquito planes make a diversionary attack on Berlin, dropping "Window" reflective strips to fool radar operators into reporting a major attack there.
- 1945 - Birth of Nona Hendryx in Trenton, New Jersey, USA; rocker (LaBelle - "Lady Marmalade").
- 1946 - Golf Writers Associaton of America formed.
- 1947 - Naval torpedo and mine factory explodes at Cadiz, Spain, killing 168, injuring 4000.
- 1948 - Birth of Rudy Hartono Kurniawan in Indonesia; All-England tennis champ.
- 1950 - South Korean government moves from Taegu to Pusan.
- 1951 - Birth of Candice Earley; actress (Donna Tyler - All My Children).
- 1952 - Birth of Patrick Swayze in Houston, Texas, USA; actor/dancer (Dirty Dancing, Ghostm The Beast, North and South).
- 1952 - Ralph Byrd, actor (Dick Tracy TV Show), dies at age 43.
- 1955 - Birth of Steve Wilkinson; country singer (The Wilkinsons).
- 1956 - Cincinnati Reds (8) and Chicago Cubs (2) combine to hit ten home runs in a 9-inning game.
- 1957 - Amelia Wershoven sets record of female throwing a baseball (252 feet 4.5 inches).
- 1957 - Juan Manuel Fangio wins his last auto World Championship at age 46.
- 1957 - Birth of Denis Leary; comedian-actor (Rescue Me).
- 1958 - Fidel Castro makes a speech on Cuban pirate radio Rebelde.
- 1958 - Great Britain post office issues first regional postage stamps (Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Principality of Wales).
- 1958 - Birth of Madeleine Stowe; actress (Raines, Beulah Land).
- 1958 - American TV game show scandal investigation starts.
- 1960 - First commercially-produced oral contraceptive marketed by G.D. Searle Drug Company of Skokie, Illinois, called Enovid 10.
- 1960 - First photograph bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- 1961 - Birth of John Viscardi in New York City, USA; actor (Father Tony - One Life to Live).
- 1961 - Construction on Berlin Wall completed.
- 1961 - Learned Hand, Chief judge of US Court of Appeals, dies at age 89.
- 1961 - Birth of Bob Woodruff; ABC News reporter.
- 1965 - Hank Aaron loses a home run, because he hit it while standing out of the batter's box.
- 1965 - Birth of Craig Bierko; actor (Sex and the City, Boston Legal).
- 1967 - Birth of Blas Elias Gomez in Kennedy, Texas, USA; rock drummer (Slaughter - "Stick it Live").
- 1967 - Birth of Tracy Tracy; rocker (Primitives - "Lovely, Lump of Coal").
- 1967 - Boston Red Sox player Tony Conigliaro's left cheekbone is shattered by a fastball thrown by California Angels' pitcher Jack Hamilton, causing him to miss the rest of the 1967 season and all of 1968.
- 1968 - Birth of Greta Lind; actress (Katie Kennicott - All My Children).
- 1968 - Cy Walter, pianist (Three's Company), dies at age 52.
- 1968 - Birth of Zac Maloy; singer (The Nixons).
- 1969 - Birth of Everlast; musician (House of Pain).
- 1969 - Birth of Masta Killa; rapper (Wu-Tang Clan).
- 1969 - Birth of Edward Norton; actor (Strange Days on Planet Earth).
- 1969 - Birth of Christian Slater; actor (Legend of Billie Jean, My Own Worst Enemy, The Forgotten).
- 1970 - Birth of Malcolm Jamal Warner in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; actor (Theodore - Cosby Show, Malcolm and Eddie).
- 1971 - Birth of Trey Ames in Canton, Ohio, USA; actor (David - A Year in the Life).
- 1973 - Hank Aaron's record 1,378 extra base hit surpasses Stan Musial record.
- 1974 - In Naragh, Iran, a building is hit by a falling meteorite.
- 1976 - USSR's Luna 24 soft-lands on Moon.
- 1978 - Birth of Andy Samberg; comedian (Saturday Night Live).
- 1980 - Near the coast of Ecuador, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurs. Eight people killed, 100 injured and extensive damage in the Guayaquil area.
- 1982 - Passing Hank Aaron, Pete Rose becomes the all-time leader in plate appearances when he steps up the plate for the 13,941st time.
- 1982 - Death of Vladek Spiegelman, father of cartoonist Art Spiegelman and main character/narrator of Maus (a graphic novel of his life during the Holocaust) (born 1906).
- 1982 - First time NYSE trading volume tops 100 million figure, 132.69 million shares traded during business day.
- 1982 - Los Angeles Dodgers beat Chicago Cubs, 6-5, in 21 innings (game started August 17).
- 1983 - Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 and causing extensive damage.
- 1983 - Samantha Druce, age 12 years 119 days is youngest woman to swim English Channel.
- 1984 - Triangle Oil Corp, above-ground storage tank at Jacksonville Florida, spills 2.5 million gallons of oil burned after lightning sparked a fire.
- 1987 - Philip Rush of New Zealand sets record for triple crossing English Channel. His time, 28:21, is ten hours faster than the first man to do it.
- 1988 - American FDA approves Minoxidil as a hair loss treatment.
- 1988 - Frederick Ashton, choreographer (Cinderella), dies at age 83.
- 1988 - The Republican National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana nominates George H.W. Bush for President and James "Dan" Quayle for Vice President of the United States of America.
- 1989 - Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as New York Yankees' manager.
- 1989 - Arturo Barrios of Mexico sets the 10 km record (27:08.23) in Berlin, Germany.
- 1989 - The Soviet Government acknowledges for the first time since the end of World War II that they and Germany secretly and illegally divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence before the start of the war.
- 1989 - Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
- 1990 - B.F. Skinner, American psychologist (Skinner Box), dies from Leukemia at age 86 (born 1904).
- 1991 - Pan Am games close in Havana, Cuba.
- 1992 - Wang Laboratories files for bankruptcy.
- 1992 - Death of John Sturges, American director (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven) (born 1911).
- 1994 - In Northern Algeria, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurs. At least 159 people are killed, 289 injured, 8,000 to 10,000 left homeless and thousands of houses destroyed in Mascara Province.
- 1994 - Death of Richard Laurence Millington Synge, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1914).
- 1995 - Birth of Parker McKenna Posey; actress (My Wife and Kids).
- 2004 - In Dublin, Ireland, the Dublin Port Tunnel excavation works are completed and the final tunnel boring machine breakthrough ceremony takes place.
- 2005 - In the USA, BTK killer Dennis Rader receives ten consecutive life sentences.
- 2005 - Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its eight-day training on the Shandong peninsula.
- 2006 - At Fenway Park, the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 14-11 in the longest nine-inning game in Major Leage history, at 4 hours and 45 minutes.
- 2007 - Typhoon Sepat makes landfall in eastern Taiwan.
- 2007 - Parliamentary elections take place in Kazakhstan. Nursultan Nazarbayev is re-elected President. His Nur Otan Party wins all contested seats (98) of the lower house of parliament, with 88 percent of the vote.
- 2007 - In Myanmar, the government imposes fuel price increases: gasoline up 67 percent, diesel up 100 percent, canisters of gas up 500 percent.
- 2008 - Russian Proton Breeze M rocket launches one of the biggest commercial satellites ever built - the Inmarsat-4 (I4-F3). The telecommunications satellite is 7m long, with a 9m wide antenna reflector. Inmarsat's network delivers high-speed mobile internet and phone services to users on land, at sea and in the air.
- 2008 - In Nepal, Prachanda is sworn in as prime minister by President Ram Baran Yadav.
- 2008 - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announces his resignation. Speaker of the Pakistani Senate, Muhammad Mian Sumroo, takes over as caretaker president.
- 2009 - Veteran US newspaper columnist Robert Novak dies at age 78 after a battle with brain cancer.
- 2009 - Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung dies at age 85 in Seoul.
- 2018 - (to September 2) The 2018 Asian Games are held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
- 2020 - A mutiny in a military base by soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces develops into a coup d'état. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, among other senior governmental and military officers, are arrested.
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