October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 74 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church's foundations down to bedrock.
- 1016 - The Danes defeat the Saxons in the Battle of Ashingdon.
- 1081 - The Normans defeat the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Dyrrhachium.
- 1210 - Pope Innocent III excommunicates German leader Otto IV .
- 1356 - Basel earthquake, the most significant historic seismological event north of the Alps, destroyed the town of Basel, Switzerland.
- 1386 - Opening of the University of Heidelberg
- 1561 - Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima -- Takeda Shingen defeats Uesugi Kenshin in the climax of their ongoing conflicts.
- 1648 - Boston Shoemakers form first U.S. labor organization.
- 1685 - Louis XIV of France revokes the Edict of Nantes, which has protected French Protestants.
- 1748 - Signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession.
- 1767 - Mason-Dixon line, survey separating Maryland from Pennsylvania is completed.
- 1775 - African-American poet Phillis Wheatley freed from slavery.
- 1851 - Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is first published as The Whale by Richard Bentley of London.
- 1860 - The Second Opium War finally ends at the Convention of Peking with the ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin, an unequal treaty.
- 1867 - United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.
- 1898 - United States takes possession of Puerto Rico.
- 1908 - Belgium annexes the Congo Free State.
- 1912 - The First Balkan War begins.
- 1914 - The Schoenstatt Movement is founded in Germany.
- 1922 - The British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) is founded by a consortium, to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters to provide a national broadcasting service.
- 1925 - The Grand Ole Opry opens in Nashville, Tennessee.
- 1929 - Women are considered "Persons" under Canadian law.
- 1944 - Adolf Hitler orders the establishment of a German national militia.
- 1944 - Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia.
- 1945 - The USSR's nuclear program receives plans for the USA's plutonium bomb from Klaus Fuchs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- 1945 - A group of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, led by Mario Vargas, Marcos Pérez Jiménez and Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, staged a coup d'etát against then president Isaías Medina Angarita, who was overthrown by the end of the day.
- 1954 - Texas Instruments announces the first Transistor radio.
- 1964 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair closes for its first season after a six-month run.
- 1967 - The Soviet probe Venera 4 reaches Venus and becomes the first spacecraft to measure the atmosphere of another planet.
- 1968 - The U.S. Olympic Committee suspends two black athletes for giving a "black power" salute during a victory ceremony at the Mexico City games.
- 1968 - Bob Beamon sets a world record of 8.90m in the long jump at the Mexico City games. This becomes the longest unbroken track and field record in history, standing for 23 years, and is later named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the five greatest sporting moments of the 20th century.
- 1977 - German Autumn: a set of events revolving around the kidnapping of Hanns-Martin Schleyer and the hijacking of a Lufthansa flight by the Red Army Faction (RAF) comes to an end when Schleyer is executed and various RAF members allegedly commit suicide. The West German government states that it would never again negotiate with terrorists.
- 1989 - East German leader Erich Honecker resigns.
- 1991 - Azerbaijan declares independence from USSR.
- 2003 - Bolivian Gas War: President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, is forced to resign and leave Bolivia.
- 2007 - After 8 years in exile, Benazir Bhutto returns to her homeland Pakistan. The same night, suicide attackers blow themselves up near Bhutto's convoy, killing over 100 in the cheering crowd, including 20 police officers. Bhutto escaped uninjured.
Births
- 1127 - Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (d. 1192)
- 1405 - Pope Pius II (d. 1464)
- 1517 - Manoel da Nóbrega, Portuguese Jesuit in Brazil (d. 1570)
- 1547 - Justus Lipsius, Flemish humanist (d. 1606)
- 1569 - Giambattista Marini, Italian poet (d. 1625)
- 1595 - Edward Winslow, Plymouth Colony founder (d. 1655)
- 1634 - Luca Giordano, Italian artist (d. 1705)
- 1653 - Abraham van Riebeeck, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1713)
- 1662 - Matthew Henry, English non-conformist minister (d. 1714)
- 1668 - John George IV, Elector of Saxony (d. 1694)
- 1679 - Ann Putnam, Jr., American accuser in the Salem Witch Trials (d. 1716)
- 1701 - Charles le Beau, French historian (d. 1778)
- 1706 - Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (d. 1785)
- 1741 - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French general and author (d. 1803)
- 1777 - Heinrich von Kleist, German writer (d. 1811)
- 1785 - Thomas Love Peacock, English satirist (d. 1866)
- 1854 - Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (d. 1911)
- 1859 - Henri Bergson, French philosopher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 1941)
- 1865 - Arie de Jong, Dutch linguist (d. 1957)
- 1865 - Logan Pearsall Smith, American essayist and critic (d. 1946)
- 1868 - Ernst Didring, Swedish author (d. 1931)
- 1870 - Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Japanese scholar (d. 1966)
- 1873 - Ivanoe Bonomi, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1951)
- 1882 - Lucien Petit-Breton, Argentine-French cyclist (d. 1917)
- 1893 - Georges Ohsawa, Japanese founder of Macrobiotics (d. 1966)
- 1894 - H. L. Davis, American author (d. 1960)
- 1897 - Isabel Briggs Myers, American psychological theorist (d. 1980)
- 1900 - Lotte Lenya, Austrian singer and actress (d. 1981)
- 1902 - Miriam Hopkins, American actress (d. 1972)
- 1902 - Pascual Jordan, German physicist (d. 1980)
- 1903 - Lina Radke, German athlete (d. 1983)
- 1904 - A. J. Liebling, American journalist (d. 1963)
- 1905 - Jan Gies, Dutch resistance fighter (d. 1993)
- 1906 - James Brooks, American painter (d. 1992)
- 1909 - Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher and legal theorist (d. 2004)
- 1913 - Robert Gilruth, American aviation and space pioneer (d. 2000)
- 1915 - Victor Sen Yung, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1918 - Bobby Troup, American musician (d. 1999)
- 1919 - Ric Nordman, Canadian politician (d. 1996)
- 1919 - Anita O'Day, American singer (d. 2006)
- 1919 - Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2000)
- 1920 - Melina Mercouri, Greek actress and political activist (d. 1994)
- 1921 - Jesse Helms, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1924 - Hugh Allan "Buddy" MacMaster, Canadian musician
- 1925 - Ramiz Alia, political leader of Albania
- 1926 - Chuck Berry, American musician
- 1926 - Klaus Kinski, German actor (d. 1991)
- 1927 - George C. Scott, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1928 - Keith Jackson, American football commentator
- 1929 - Violeta Chamorro, President of Nicaragua
- 1931 - Chris Albertson, American jazz historian
- 1932 - Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuanian politician
- 1933 - Forrest Gregg, American football player
- 1934 - Calvin Lockhart, Bahamian actor (d. 2007)
- 1934 - Inger Stevens, Swedish actress (d. 1970)
- 1934 - Chuck Swindoll, American evangelist
- 1935 - Peter Boyle, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1937 - Cynthia Weil, American songwriter
- 1938 - Dawn Wells, American actress
- 1939 - Mike Ditka, American football player, coach, and commentator
- 1939 - Lee Harvey Oswald, purported American assassin of John F. Kennedy (d. 1963)
- 1939 - Flavio Cotti, member of the Swiss Federal Council
- 1942 - Larry Pickering, Australian newspaper cartoonist
- 1943 - Birthe Rønn Hornbech, Danish politician
- 1945 - Chris Shays, Member of the United States Congress from Connecticut
- 1945 - Huell Howser, American TV host
- 1945 - Yıldo, Turkish famous showman and football player
- 1946 - James Robert Baker, American novelist, screenwriter
- 1946 - Howard Shore, Canadian film composer
- 1947 - Job Cohen, Dutch politician, mayor of Amsterdam
- 1947 - Joe Morton, American actor
- 1947 - Laura Nyro, American singer and songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1947 - Paul Chuckle, British comedian
- 1948 - Ntozake Shange, American author
- 1949 - Joe Egan, British musician (Stealers Wheel)
- 1949 - George Hendrick, baseball player
- 1949 - Gary Richrath, American musician (REO Speedwagon)
- 1950 - Om Puri, Indian actor
- 1950 - Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright (d. 2006)
- 1950 - Sheila White, English actress
- 1951 - Mike Antonovich, American ice hockey player and executive
- 1951 - Terry McMillan, American author
- 1951 - Pam Dawber, American actress
- 1952 - Bảo Ninh, Vietnamese novelist
- 1952 - Jerry Royster, American baseball player
- 1954 - Liz Burch, Australian actress
- 1955 - Timmy Mallett, British TV presenter
- 1955 - David Twohy, American movie director and screenwriter
- 1955 - Rita Verdonk, Dutch politician
- 1955 - Vanessa Briscoe Hay, American singer and songwriter (Pylon (band) & Supercluster (band))
- 1956 - Martina Navrátilová, Czech-born tennis player
- 1956 - Craig Bartlett, American animator
- 1956 - Jim Talent, American politician
- 1957 - Doug Isaacson, Alaskan politician
- 1957 - Catherine Ringer, French singer and songwriter (Les Rita Mitsouko)
- 1958 - Corinne Bohrer, American actress
- 1958 - Thomas Hearns, American boxer
- 1958 - Kjell Samuelsson, National Hockey League defenseman
- 1959 - Kirby Chambliss, Aerobatic pilot and Red Bull Air Racer
- 1959 - Milčo Mančevski, Macedonian film director and screenwriter
- 1959 - John Nord, former American pro wrestler
- 1959 - Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, American sports talk show host
- 1959 - Steve Swayne, Dartmouth Professor
- 1960 - Jean-Claude Van Damme, Belgian actor
- 1960 - Erin Moran, American actress
- 1961 - Wynton Marsalis, American musician
- 1961 - Rick Moody, American author
- 1962 - Vincent Spano, American actor
- 1964 - Dan Lilker, American musician, bassist for Anthrax, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, and Brutal Truth
- 1965 - Curtis Stigers, American jazz vocalist and saxophonist
- 1969 - Nelson Vivas, Argentine former footballer
- 1970 - José Padilla, American former gang member and alleged supporter of terrorism
- 1970 - Doug Mirabelli, American baseball player
- 1972 - Alex Tagliani, Quebec racing driver
- 1972 - Jake Farrow, actor
- 1973 - Michalis Kapsis, Greek footballer
- 1974 - Robbie Savage, Welsh footballer
- 1974 - Peter Svensson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)
- 1974 - Candy Lo, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
- 1975 - Alex Cora, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1976 - Azlea Antistia, American pornographic actress
- 1976 - Zhou Xun, Chinese actress and singer
- 1977 - Ryan Nelsen, New Zealand footballer
- 1977 - David Vuillemin, Pro Motocross Rider
- 1978 - Wesley Jonathan, American actor
- 1978 - Mike Tindall, English rugby union player
- 1982 - Ne-Yo, an R&B singer
- 1984 - Lindsey Vonn, American alpine skier
- 1987 - Zac Efron, American actor
- 1987 - Freja Beha Erichsen, Danish model
- 1990 - Carly Schroeder, American actress
- 1991 - Tyler Posey, American actor
- 1998 - Julia Wróblewska, Polish actress
- 2001 - Annelise Manojlovic, English actress
Deaths
- 1035 - Sancho III of Navarre
- 1101 - Hugh of Vermandois, son of Henry I of France (b. 1053)
- 1141 - Margrave Leopold IV of Austria
- 1417 - Pope Gregory XII
- 1503 - Pope Pius III (b. 1439)
- 1541 - Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland (b. 1489)
- 1545 - John Taverner, English composer
- 1558 - Maria of Austria, wife of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia (b. 1505)
- 1564 - Johannes Acronius Frisius, German physician and mathematician (b. 1520)
- 1570 - Manoel da Nóbrega, Portuguese Jesuit in Brazil (b. 1517)
- 1604 - Igram van Achelen, Dutch statesman (b. 1528)
- 1646 - Isaac Jogues, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1607)
- 1667 - Fasilides, Emperor of Ethiopia
- 1678 - Jacob Jordaens, Flemish painter (b. 1593)
- 1739 - Antônio José da Silva, Brazilian-born dramatist (b. 1705)
- 1744 - Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, close friend of Queen Anne of Great Britain (b. 1660)
- 1770 - John Manners, Marquess of Granby, British soldier (b. 1721)
- 1775 - Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1715)
- 1817 - Etienne-Nicolas Méhul, French composer (b. 1763)
- 1871 - Charles Babbage, English mathematician and inventor (b. 1791)
- 1865 - Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1784)
- 1886 - Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician (b. 1796)
- 1889 - Antonio Meucci, Italian inventor (b. 1808)
- 1893 - Charles Gounod, French composer (b. 1818)
- 1911 - Alfred Binet, French psychologist (b. 1857)
- 1921 - King Ludwig III of Bavaria (b. 1845)
- 1931 - Thomas Edison, American inventor (b. 1847)
- 1932 - Ioannis Chrysafis, Greek gymnast (b. 1873)
- 1941 - Manuel Teixeira Gomes, 7th President of Portugal (b. 1860)
- 1942 - Mikhail Nesterov, Russian painter (b. 1862)
- 1948 - Walther von Brauchitsch, German field marshal (b. 1881)
- 1959 - Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (b. 1898)
- 1961 - Tsuru Aoki, Japanese-born American actress (b. 1892)
- 1965 - Henry Travers, British actor (b. 1874)
- 1966 - Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman (b. 1878)
- 1966 - Sebastian S. Kresge, American merchant (Kmart) (b. 1867)
- 1973 - Margaret Caroline Anderson, American magazine publisher (b. 1886)
- 1973 - Leo Strauss, German-American philosopher (b. 1899)
- 1975 - Al Lettieri, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1976 - Kavi Samrat Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Telugu writer (b. 1895)
- 1977 - Red Army Faction Stammheim Prison suicides
- 1977 - Andreas Baader (b. 1943)
- 1977 - Gudrun Ensslin (b. 1940)
- 1977 - Jan-Carl Raspe (b. 1944)
- 1978 - Ramón Mercader, Assassin of Leon Trotsky (b. 1914)
- 1982 - Bess Truman, First Lady of the United States (b. 1885)
- 1982 - Dwain Esper, American film director (b. 1892)
- 1982 - Pierre Mendès-France, French politician (b. 1907)
- 1982 - John Robarts, Canadian politician, Premier of Ontario (b. 1917)
- 1983 - Willie Jones, baseball player (b. 1925)
- 1983 - Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish anarchist (b. 1897)
- 1984 - Jon-Erik Hexum, American actor (b. 1957)
- 1984 - Henri Michaux, French painter and poet (b. 1899)
- 2000 - Julie London, American singer and actress (b. 1926)
- 2000 - Gwen Verdon, American dancer and actress (b. 1925)
- 2001 - Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician (b. 1922)
- 2002 - Nikolai Rukavishnikov, cosmonaut (b. 1932)
- 2002 - Roman Tam, Hong Kong singer (b. 1950)
- 2003 - Preston Smith, Governor of Texas (b. 1912)
- 2003 - Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Spanish writer (b. 1939)
- 2004 - Veerappan, Indian bandit and smuggler (b. 1945)
- 2005 - John Hollis, British actor (b. 1931)
- 2005 - Johnny Haynes, English footballer (b. 1934)
- 2005 - Bill King, American sports broadcaster (b. 1927)
- 2006 - Mario Francesco Cardinal Pompedda (b. 1929)
- 2006 - Anna Russell, English music satirist (b. 1911)
- 2007 - Alan Coren, English writer and satirist (b. 1938)
- 2007 - William J. Crowe, American admiral and ambassador (b. 1925)
- 2007 - Vincent DeDomenico, American entrepreneur (b. 1915)
- 2007 - Lucky Dube, South African musician (b. 1964)
Holidays and observances
External links
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