August
18
Events
1572
– Marriage in Paris of the future Huguenot King
Henry IV of Navarre to Marguerite de Valois, in
a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants and
Catholics.
1587 – Virginia Dare, granddaughter of governor
John White of the Colony of Roanoke, becomes the
first English child born in the Americas.
1590 – John White, the governor of the Colony
of Roanoke, returns from a supply trip to England
and finds his settlement deserted.
1634 – Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted
of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France.
1783 – A huge fireball meteor is seen across the
United Kingdom as it passes over the east coast.
1838 – The Wilkes Expedition, which would explore
the Puget Sound and Antarctica, weighs anchor
at Hampton Roads in 1838
1848 – Camila O'Gorman and Ladislao Gutierrez
are executed on the orders of Argentine dictator
Juan Manuel de Rosas.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern
– Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate
supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking
the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
1868 – French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen
discovers helium.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte
is fought.
1877 – Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos.
1891 – Major hurricane strikes Martinique, leaving
700 dead.
1903 – German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies
his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months
before the first flight of the Wright Brothers.
1917 – A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece destroys
32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing
women's suffrage.
1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting
New York State, United States with Ontario, Canada
over the St. Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1948 – The Australian cricket team completed a
4–0 Ashes series win over England during their
undefeated Invincibles tour.
1950 – Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the Communist
Party of Belgium is assassinated by far-right
elements.
1958 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel
Lolita is published in the United States.
1958 – Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across
the English Channel in a competition, as the first
Bangali as well as the first Asian to ever do
it. He became first among 39 competitors.
1963 – American civil rights movement: James Meredith
becomes the first black person to graduate from
the University of Mississippi.
1965 – Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins
– United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold
on the Van Tuong peninsula in the first major
American ground battle of the war.
1966 – Vietnam War: the Battle of Long Tan ensues
after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian
Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phuoc
Tuy Province.
1971 – Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand
decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
1976 – In the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjeom,
the Axe Murder Incident results in the death of
two US soldiers.
1977 – Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock
under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in King
William's Town, South Africa. He would later die
of the injuries sustained during this arrest bringing
attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.
1983 – Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast,
killing 22 people and causing over USD $1 billion
in damage (1983 dollars).
1989 – Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos
Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
2005 – A Massive power blackout hits the Indonesian
island of Java, affecting almost 100 million people,
the largest and most widespread power outage in
history.
2008 – President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf resigns
due to the threat of impeachment.
Holidays
and observances
Birthday
of Virginia Dare (Roanoke Island)
Christian Feast Day:
Agapitus of Palestrina
Alberto Hurtado
Helena of Constantinople (Roman Catholic Church)
August 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Long Tan Day, also called Vietnam Veterans' Day
(Australia)
National Science Day (Thailand)
For details, contact Datacentre
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