August 18

August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 135 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 684 – Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria.
• 1487 – The Siege of Málaga ends with the taking of the city by Castilian and Aragonese forces.
• 1572 – Marriage in Paris, France of the Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre to Margaret of 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 Roanoke Colony, 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 Great Britain 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 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, United States with Ontario, Canada over the Saint Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1942 – A group of freedom fighter of Sherpur hoisted the Tricoloure at Mohammadabad Tehsil, Ghazipur India
• 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 Panmunjom, 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 one of the largest and most widespread power outages in history.
• 2008 – President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf resigns due to the threat of impeachment.

Births

• 1414 – Jami, Persian poet (d. 1492)
• 1450 – Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (d. 1524)
• 1579 – Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (d. 1640)
• 1587 – Virginia Dare, English child first born in the Americas
• 1596 – Jean Bolland, Flemish writer (d. 1665)
• 1605 – Henry Hammond, English churchman (d. 1660)
• 1606 – Maria Anna of Spain (d. 1646)
• 1611 – Marie Louise Gonzaga, French wife of John II Casimir Vasa (d. 1650)
• 1657 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect and painter (d. 1743)
• 1685 – Brook Taylor, English mathematician (d. 1731)
• 1692 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, French statesman (d. 1740)
• 1700 – Baji Rao I, Indian emperor (d. 1740)
• 1720 – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English politician and murderer (d. 1760)
• 1750 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer (d. 1825)
• 1754 – François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general (d. 1833)
• 1774 – Meriwether Lewis, American soldier and explorer, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (d. 1809)
• 1792 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
• 1803 – Nathan Clifford, American diplomat and jurist, 19th United States Attorney General (d. 1881)
• 1819 – Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna, Duchess of Leuchtenberg (d. 1876)
• 1822 – Isaac P. Rodman, American general (d. 1862)
• 1830 – Franz Joseph I of Austria (d. 1916)
• 1831 – Ernest Noel, British businessman and MP (d. 1931)
• 1834 – Marshall Field, American businessman, founded Marshall Field's (d. 1906)
• 1841 – William Halford, American navy officer (d. 1919)
• 1855 – Alfred Wallis, English painter (d. 1942)
• 1857 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian prelate (d. 1926)
• 1869 – Carl Rungius, German-American painter (d. 1959)
• 1870 – Hugh Bromley-Davenport, England cricketer (d. 1954)
• 1870 – Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (d. 1918)
• 1872 – Adolf Schmal, Austrian fencer and cyclist (d. 1919)
• 1879 – Aleksandr Rodzyanko, Russian general (d. 1970)
• 1882 – Herman Groman, American runner (d. 1954)
• 1883 – Sidney Hatch, American runner (d. 1966)
• 1885 – Nettie Palmer, Australian poet and essayist (d. 1964)
• 1886 – Charles Bartliff, American soccer player (d. 1962)
• 1890 – Walther Funk, German Nazi politician (d. 1960)
• 1892 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American illustrator (d. 1982)
• 1893 – Burleigh Grimes, American baseball player (d. 1985)
• 1893 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor and composer (d. 1973)
• 1896 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor (d. 1933)
• 1900 – Glenn Albert Black, American archaeologist (d. 1964)
• 1902 – Adamson-Eric, Estonian painter (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Margaret Murie, American environmentalist and author (d. 2003)
• 1903 – Lucienne Boyer, French singer (d. 1983)
• 1904 – Max Factor, Jr., American businessman (d. 1996)
• 1906 – Marcel Carné, French director (d. 1996)
• 1908 – Edgar Faure, French politician and historian (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Bill Merritt, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1977)
• 1909 – Gérard Filion, Canadian businessman and journalist (d. 2005)
• 1910 – Herman Berlinski, Polish-American composer (d. 2001)
• 1911 – Amelia Boynton Robinson, American activist
• 1912 – Otto Ernst Remer, German Wehrmacht officer (d. 1997)
• 1913 – Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1983)
• 1915 – Max Lanier, American baseball player (d. 2007)
• 1916 – Neagu Djuvara, Romanian historian, writer, and diplomat
• 1916 – Don Keefer, American actor
• 1916 – Moura Lympany, English pianist (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Caspar Weinberger, American politician, 15th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Cisco Houston, American singer-songwriter (Almanac Singers) (d. 1961)
• 1919 – Wally Hickel, American politician, 2nd Governor of Alaska (d. 2010)
• 1920 – Godfrey Evans, English cricketer (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Bob Kennedy, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Shelley Winters, American actress (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Lydia Litvyak, Soviet pilot (d. 1943)
• 1921 – Zdzisław Żygulski, Jr., Polish historian
• 1922 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French writer (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Jenni Irani, Indian cricketer (d. 1982)
• 1923 – Sadashiv Shinde, Indian cricketer (d. 1955)
• 1925 – Brian Aldiss, English author
• 1925 – Pierre Grondin, Canadian surgeon (d. 2006)
• 1926 – John P. Finnegan, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1927 – Rosalynn Carter, American wife of Jimmy Carter, 41st First Lady of the United States
• 1928 – Marge Schott, American baseball team owner (d. 2004)
• 1929 – Hugues Aufray, French singer
• 1930 – Bo Hi Pak, Korean church leader
• 1930 – Liviu Librescu, Romanian-American scientist and Holocaust survivor, victim of the Virginia Tech massacre (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Bramwell Tillsley, Canadian 14th general of The Salvation Army
• 1931 – Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010)
• 1931 – Dick White, English footballer
• 1932 – Bill Bennett, Canadian politician
• 1932 – Luc Montagnier, French microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1933 – Just Fontaine, French footballer
• 1933 – Roman Polanski, French-Polish director, producer, writer, and actor
• 1934 – Gulzar, Indian director, screenwriter, and songwriter
• 1934 – Vincent Bugliosi, American attorney and author
• 1934 – Ronnie Carroll, Irish singer
• 1934 – Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 1972)
• 1935 – Rafer Johnson, American decathlete and actor
• 1935 – Howard Morrison, New Zealand singer (Howard Morrison Quartet) (d. 2009)
• 1935 – Hifikepunye Pohamba, Namibian politician, 2nd President of Namibia
• 1936 – Robert Redford, American actor
• 1939 – Harald Heide-Steen Jr., Norwegian actor and comedian (d. 2008)
• 1939 – Robert Horton, English businessman (d. 2011)
• 1939 – Johnny Preston, American singer (d. 2011)
• 1940 – Adam Makowicz, Polish-Canadian pianist and composer
• 1940 – Gil Whitney, American weatherman (d. 1982)
• 1942 – Judith Keppel, English game show contestant, first winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
• 1943 – Sarah Dash, American singer-songwriter and actress (Labelle)
• 1943 – Martin Mull, American actor and singer
• 1943 – Gianni Rivera, Italian footballer and politician
• 1943 – Carl Wayne, English singer and actor (The Move and The Hollies) (d. 2004)
• 1944 – Robert Hitchcock, Australian sculptor
• 1945 – Paula Danziger, American author (d. 2004)
• 1945 – Barbara Harris, American singer-songwriter (The Toys)
• 1948 – Joseph Marcell, English actor
• 1949 – Nigel Griggs, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (Split Enz and Schnell Fenster)
• 1949 – Rudy Hartono, Indonesian badminton player
• 1950 – Dennis Elliott, English drummer and sculptor (Foreigner)
• 1952 – Elayne Boosler, American comedian, actress, and activist
• 1952 – Patrick Swayze, American actor (d. 2009)
• 1952 – Ricardo Villa, Argentine footballer and coach
• 1953 – Louie Gohmert, American politician
• 1954 – Angela Dimitriou, Greek singer
• 1954 – Umberto Guidoni, Italian astronaut
• 1955 – Bruce Benedict, American baseball player
• 1955 – Taher Elgamal, Egyptian cryptographer
• 1956 – John Debney, American composer and conductor
• 1956 – Sandeep Patil, Indian cricketer
• 1956 – Jon Schwartz, American drummer and producer
• 1956 – Kelly Willard, American singer-songwriter
• 1956 – Rainer Woelki, German cardinal
• 1957 – Carole Bouquet, French actress
• 1957 – Denis Leary, American comedian and actor
• 1957 – Ron Strykert, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Men at Work)
• 1958 – Madeleine Stowe, American actress
• 1959 – Tom Prichard, American wrestler
• 1960 – Mike LaValliere, American baseball player
• 1960 – Fat Lever, American basketball player
• 1961 – Timothy Geithner, American politician, 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury
• 1961 – Glenn Plummer, American actor
• 1961 – Birol Ünel, German-Turkish actor
• 1961 – Bob Woodruff, American journalist
• 1962 – Felipe Calderón, Mexican politician, 56th President of Mexico
• 1962 – Geoff Courtnall, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1963 – Heino Ferch, German actor
• 1964 – Jim Florentine, American comedian, writer, and actor
• 1965 – Kōji Kikkawa, Japanese singer (Complex)
• 1965 – Ikue Ōtani, Japanese actress
• 1966 – Gustavo Charif, Argentine artist
• 1966 – Kang Soo-yeon, South Korean actress
• 1967 – Brian Michael Bendis, American writer and illustrator
• 1967 – Daler Mehndi, Indian singer-songwriter
• 1967 – Dan Peters, American drummer (Bundle of Hiss, Mudhoney, Nirvana, and Love Battery)
• 1968 – Lee Seung-yeon, South Korean actress
• 1969 – Everlast, American rapper (House of Pain and La Coka Nostra)
• 1969 – Mark Kuhlmann, German rugby player
• 1969 – Edward Norton, American actor
• 1969 – Christian Slater, American actor
• 1970 – Jessica Hsuan, Hong Kong actress
• 1970 – Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor
• 1971 – Jacob Vargas, American actor
• 1972 – Victoria Coren, English journalist and poker player
• 1972 – Leo Ku, Hong Kong singer, actor, producer, and director
• 1972 – Masahiro Nakai, Japanese singer and actor (SMAP)
• 1972 – Shaun Wilson, Australian painter and director
• 1975 – Kaitlin Olson, American actress
• 1976 – Paraskevas Antzas, Greek footballer
• 1977 – Régine Chassagne, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician (Arcade Fire)
• 1978 – Andy Samberg, American actor, writer, and rapper (The Lonely Island)
• 1979 – Stuart Dew, Australian footballer
• 1979 – Mohib Mirza, Pakistani actor
• 1980 – Esteban Cambiasso, Argentine footballer
• 1980 – Preeti Jhangiani, Indian actress
• 1980 – Rob Nguyen, Australian race car driver
• 1980 – Athina Papayianni, Greek race walker
• 1980 – Bart Scott, American football player
• 1980 – Jeremy Shockey, American football player
• 1981 – César Delgado, Argentine footballer
• 1981 – Dimitris Salpingidis, Greek footballer
• 1983 – Danny!, American rapper and producer
• 1983 – Mika, Lebanese-English singer-songwriter
• 1983 – Cameron White, Australian cricketer
• 1984 – Sigourney Bandjar, Dutch footballer
• 1984 – Robert Huth, German footballer
• 1985 – Inge Dekker, Dutch swimmer
• 1985 – Julen Goikoetxea, Spanish-Basque cyclist (d. 2006)
• 1985 – Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rican footballer
• 1986 – Ross McCormack, Scottish footballer
• 1986 – Andreas Weise, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1987 – Mika Boorem, American actress
• 1987 – Zuzana Jandová, Czech model, Miss Czech Republic 2008
• 1987 – Siri Tollerød, Norwegian model
• 1988 – Jack Hobbs, English footballer
• 1988 – Luke Jackson, English author
• 1988 – Eggert Jónsson, Icelandic footballer
• 1988 – G-Dragon, Korean singer
• 1992 – Elizabeth Beisel, American swimmer
• 1992 – Riko Narumi, Japanese actress

Deaths

• 353 – Decentius, Roman usurper
• 440 – Pope Sixtus III
• 472 – Ricimer, Roman general (b. 405)
• 849 – Walafrid Strabo, German monk and theologian (b. 808)
• 1258 – Theodore II Laskaris, Byzantine-Greek Emperor (b. 1222)
• 1276 – Pope Adrian V (b. 1220)
• 1318 – Clare of Montefalco, Italian nun (b. 1268)
• 1430 – Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English nobleman (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, theorist, and writer (b. 1540)
• 1620 – Wanli Emperor of China (b. 1563)
• 1634 – Urbain Grandier, French priest (b. 1590)
• 1642 – Guido Reni, Italian painter (b. 1575)
• 1645 – Eudoxia Streshneva, Russian wife of Michael I of Russia (b. 1608)
• 1683 – Charles Hart, English actor (b. 1625)
• 1707 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and politician (b. 1640)
• 1712 – Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, English soldier (b. 1660)
• 1765 – Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1708)
• 1809 – Matthew Boulton, English businessman and engineer, co-founded Boulton and Watt (b. 1728)
• 1815 – Chauncey Goodrich, American politician (b. 1759)
• 1842 – Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (b. 1779)
• 1850 – Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (b. 1799)
• 1886 – Eli Whitney Blake, American inventor, invented the Mortise lock (b. 1795)
• 1919 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded Seagram Company (b. 1841)
• 1940 – Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (b. 1875)
• 1942 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (b. 1888)
• 1943 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (b. 1865)
• 1944 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (b. 1886)
• 1945 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian independence leader (b. 1897)
• 1949 – Paul Mares, American trumpet player and bandleader (New Orleans Rhythm Kings) (b. 1900)
• 1950 – Julien Lahaut, Belgian politician (b. 1884)
• 1952 – Alberto Hurtado, Chilean priest, lawyer, writer, and saint (b. 1901)
• 1963 – Clifford Odets, American playwright (b. 1906)
• 1968 – Cy Walter, American pianist (b. 1915)
• 1970 – Soledad Miranda, Spanish actress (b. 1943)
• 1981 – Anita Loos, American screenwriter and author (b. 1889)
• 1983 – Nikolaus Pevsner, German-English historian (b. 1902)
• 1990 – Grethe Ingmann, Danish singer (b. 1938)
• 1990 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist, invented the Skinner box (b. 1904)
• 1992 – Christopher McCandless, American adventurer (b. 1968)
• 1994 – Martin Cahill, Irish criminal (b. 1949)
• 1998 – Nelly's, Greek photographer (b. 1899)
• 1998 – Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (b. 1950)
• 2001 – David Peakall, English scientist (b. 1931)
• 2002 – Dean Riesner, American screenwriter (b. 1918)
• 2003 – Tony Jackson, English singer and bass player (The Searchers) (b. 1938)
• 2004 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Hiram Fong, American politician (b. 1906)
• 2005 – Christopher Bauman, American wrestler (b. 1982)
• 2005 – Gao Xiumin, Chinese actress (b. 1959)
• 2006 – George Astaphan, Caribbean physician (b. 1946)
• 2006 – Fernand Gignac, Canadian singer and actor (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Michael Deaver, American politician (b. 1938)
• 2009 – Kim Dae-jung, South Korean politician, 15th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Rose Friedman, American economist (b. 1910)
• 2009 – Robert Novak, American journalist (b. 1931)
• 2010 – Hal Connolly, American hammer thrower (b. 1931)
• 2010 – Scott Davis, American sportscaster (b. 1943)
• 2010 – Benjamin Kaplan, American scholar and jurist (b. 1911)
• 2012 – Hisham al-Hayali, Iraqi politician
• 2012 – Tayseer al-Mashhadani, Iraqi engineer and politician
• 2012 – John Lynch-Staunton, Canadian politician (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
• 2012 – Ra. Ki. Rangarajan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Jesse Robredo, Filipino politician (b. 1958)

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)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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