August 18
is the 230th day of the year (231st in
leap years) in the
Gregorian calendar. There are 135 days remaining.
*
1201 - The
city of
Riga is founded.
*
1541 - A
Portuguese ship drifts ashore in the ancient
Japanese province of
Higo (modern day
Kumamoto Prefecture). (Traditional
Japanese date:
July 27, 1541)
*
1572 -
Wedding in
Paris of the
Huguenot King
Henry III of
Navarre with
Marguerite de Valois, in a supposed attempt to reconcile
Protestants and
Catholics.
*
1587 -
Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Gov.
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, burned alive in
Loudun, France.
*
1864 -
American Civil War:
Battle of Globe Tavern -
Union forces try to cut a vital
Confederate supply-line into
Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking the
Weldon Railroad.
*
1868 -
French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers helium.
*
1877 -
Asaph Hall discovers
Martian moon
Phobos.
*
1903 -
German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding
airplane four months before the first flight of the
Wright Brothers.
*
1904 -
Chris Watson resigns as
Prime Minister of Australia and is succeeded by
George Reid.
*
1909 -
Tokyo mayor
Yukio Ozaki presents
Washington, D.C. with 2,000 cherry trees, which
President Taft decides to plant near the
Potomac River.
*
1920 -
19th Amendment to US constitution passes, 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.
*
1941 -
Adolf Hitler orders a temporary halt to
Nazi Germany's systematic
euthanasia of
mentally ill and
handicapped due to protests.
*
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.
*
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 occurs, when a patrol of
Royal Australian Regiment encounter the
Viet Cong.
*
1969 -
Jimi Hendrix plays the unofficial last day of
Woodstock.
*
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.
*
1982 -
Japanese election law is amended to allow for
proportional representation.
*
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.
*
1991 -
Collapse of the Soviet Union:
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is put under
house arrest while on holiday in the town of
Foros,
Crimea.
*
1992 -
Wang Laboratories files for bankruptcy.
* 1992 - NBA
basketball player
Larry Bird announces his retirement after winning an
Olympic gold medal as a member of the U.S.
Dream Team.
*
2004 - In
Dublin,
Ireland the
Dublin Port Tunnel excavation works are completed.
*
2005 - Dennis Rader is sentenced to 175 years in prison for the
BTK serial killings.
* 2005 -
Massive power blackout hits the
Indonesian island of
Java, affecting almost 100 million people.
*
1414 -
Jami, Persian poet (d.
1492)
*
1450 -
Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (d.
1524)
*
1587 -
Virginia Dare, first English child born in North America (d.
1588)
*
1596 -
Jean Bolland, Flemish Jesuit writer (d.
1665)
*
1605 -
Henry Hammond, English churchman (d.
1660)
*
1685 -
Brook Taylor, English mathematician (d.
1731)
*
1692 -
Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon,
Prime Minister of France (d.
1740)
*
1720 -
Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English murderer (d.
1760)
*
1750 -
Antonio Salieri, Italian composer (d.
1825)
*
1754 -
François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general (d.
1833)
*
1774 -
Meriwether Lewis, American explorer (d.
1809)
*
1822 -
Isaac P. Rodman, American Union General (d.
1862)
*
1830 - Emperor
Franz Josef I of Austria (d.
1916)
*
1841 -
William Halford, American naval officer (d.
1919)
*
1855 -
Alfred Wallis, English Primitive Artist & Mariner (d.
1942)
*
1857 -
Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian Catholic prelate (d.
1926)
*
1870 -
Lavr Georgevich Kornilov, Russian general (d.
1918)
*
1879 -
Aleksandr Rodzyanko, Russian general (d.
1970)
*
1890 -
Walther Funk, German Nazi politician (d.
1960)
*
1893 -
Ernest MacMillan, Canadian musician (d.
1973)
* 1893 -
Burleigh Grimes, baseball player (d.
1985)
*
1896 -
Jack Pickford, Canadian-born actor (d.
1933)
*
1900 -
Glenn Albert Black, American archaeologist (d.
1964)
*
1902 -
Adamson-Eric, Estonian painter (d.
1968)
*
1904 -
Max Factor, Polish-born cosmetics entrepreneur (d.
1996)
*
1913 -
Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist (d.
1983)
*
1915 -
Max Lanier, baseball player
*
1917 -
Caspar Weinberger,
United States Secretary of Defense (d.
2006)
*
1918 -
Walter Joseph Hickel, Governor of Alaska and
US Secretary of the Interior*
1920 -
Bob Kennedy, baseball player and manager (d.
2005)
* 1920 -
Shelley Winters, American actress (d.
2006)
*
1922 -
Alain Robbe-Grillet, French writer
*
1925 -
Brian Aldiss, English writer
*
1927 -
Rosalynn Carter,
First Lady of the United States*
1928 -
Marge Schott, baseball team owner (d.
2004)
*
1929 -
Hugues Aufray, French singer
*
1931 -
Bramwell Tillsley, Canadian Salvation Army general
*
1932 -
William R. Bennett, Premier of British Columbia
*
1933 -
Roman Polanski, French-born director and actor
* 1933 -
Just Fontaine, French footballer
*
1934 -
Vincent Bugliosi, American attorney
* 1934 -
Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican
Major League Baseball player (d.
1972)
* 1934 -
Ronnie Carroll, British singer
*
1935 -
Rafer Johnson, American athlete
* 1935 -
Howard Morrison, New Zealand entertainer
*
1936 -
Robert Redford, American actor and director
*
1939 -
Robert Horton, British businessman
*
1943 -
Martin Mull, American comedian and actor
* 1943 -
Carl Wayne, English singer (d.
2004)
*
1945 -
Barbara Harris, American singer (
Toys)
*
1952 -
Elayne Boosler, American Comedian
* 1952 -
Patrick Swayze, American actor
*
1953 -
Louie Gohmert, American politician
*
1955 -
Taher ElGamal, Egyptian scientist
*
1957 -
Carole Bouquet, French actress
* 1957 -
Denis Leary, American comedian and actor
*
1958 -
Madeleine Stowe, American actress
*
1960 -
Fat Lever, American basketball player
* 1960 -
Mike LaValliere, baseball player
*
1966 -
Gustavo Charif, Argentine artist
*
1965 -
Koji Kikkawa, Japanese singer
*
1969 -
Masta Killa, American rapper
* 1969 -
Everlast, American musician
* 1969 -
Edward Norton, American actor
* 1969 -
Christian Slater, American actor
*
1970 -
Jessica Hsuan, Hong Kong actress
* 1970 -
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor
*
1971 -
Richard D James, Irish-born musician
*
1972 -
Keiko Yamada, Japanese singer
* 1972 -
Leo Ku, Hong Kong singer
*
1974 -
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, West Indian cricketer
*
1978 -
Andy Samberg, American comedian
*
1979 -
Selena Silver, Australian actress
*
1980 -
Esteban Cambiasso, Argentine footballer
*
1981 -
Jonathan Schneck, American musician (
Relient K)
*
1984 -
Robert Huth, German footballer
*
1992 -
Frances Bean Cobain, Daughter of late
Nirvana frontman
Kurt Cobain and singer/actress
Courtney Love*
353 -
Decentius,
Roman usurper*
472 -
Ricimer, Roman general
*
849 -
Walafrid Strabo, German monk and theologian
*
1227 -
Genghis Khan, Mongol leader
*
1258 -
Theodore II Lascaris, Emperor of the
Empire of Nicaea*
1276 -
Pope Adrian V*
1318 -
Clare of Montefalco, Italian Abbess and religious leader (born c.
1268).
*
1430 -
Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (drowned) (b.
1406)
*
1503 -
Pope Alexander VI (b.
1431)
*
1559 -
Pope Paul IV (b.
1476)
*
1563 -
Étienne de La Boétie, French judge and writer (b.
1530)
*
1613 -
Giovanni Artusi, Italian composer
*
1620 -
Wanli,
Emperor of China (b.
1563)
*
1634 -
Urbain Grandier, French priest (b.
1590)
*
1642 -
Guido Reni, Italian painter (b.
1575)
*
1645 -
Eudoxia Streshneva, Tsarina of
Mikhail I of Russia (b.
1608)
*
1683 -
Charles Hart, English actor (b.
1625)
*
1707 -
William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and statesman (b.
1640)
*
1712 -
Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, English soldier
*
1765 -
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1708)
*
1809 -
Matthew Boulton, English manufacturer and engineer (b.
1728)
*
1815 -
Chauncey Goodrich, U.S. Senator from Connecticut (b.
1759)
*
1842 -
Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (b.
1779)
*
1850 -
Honoré de Balzac, French writer (b.
1799)
*
1940 -
Walter P. Chrysler, American automobile executive (b.
1875)
*
1943 -
Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (b.
1865)
*
1949 -
Paul Mares, American musician (b.
1900)
*
1963 -
Clifford Odets, American playwright (b.
1906)
*
1981 -
Anita Loos, American screenwriter, playwright, and author (b.
1889)
*
1983 -
Nikolaus Pevsner, German-born art historian (b.
1902)
*
1990 -
Grethe Ingmann, Danish singer (b.
1938)
*
1994 -
Richard Laurence Millington Synge, English chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1914)
*
1998 -
Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (b.
1950)
*
2004 -
Elmer Bernstein, American composer (b.
1922)
*
2005 -
Christopher Bauman, Professional wrestler better known as Chri$ Ca$h (b.
1982)
*
Roman Catholic Saints - Saint
Helena of Constantinople, and
Saint Alberto Hurtado*
Buhe in the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church*
BBC: On This Day*
New York Times: On This DayAugust 17 -
August 19 -
July 18 -
September 18 --
listing of all days
