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. [edit] 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.
- 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.
- 1912 – The First Balkan War begins.
- 1914 – The Schoenstatt Movement is founded in Germany.
- 1921 – The Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic is formed as part of the RSFSR.
- 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.
- 1936 – Adolf Hitler announces the Four Year Economic Plan to the German people. The plan details the rebuilding of the German military from 1936 to 1940.
- 1944 – Adolf Hitler orders the establishment of a German national militia.
- 1944 – Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia.
- 1944 – Adolf Hitler orders the public funeral procession of Nazi field Marshall Erwin Rommel, commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps
- 1945 – The USSR's nuclear program receives plans for the United States 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'état against then president Isaías Medina Angarita, who is 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 Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving a "black power" salute during a victory ceremony at the Mexico City games.
- 1968 – Bob Beamon sets a world record of 8.90 m in the long jump at the Mexico City games.
- 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 murdered and various RAF members allegedly commit suicide.
- 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 – Karachi bombings: attempted assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
[edit] 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)
- 1831 – Emperor Friedrich III of Germany (d. 1888)
- 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)
- 1898 – 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)
- 1905 – Félix Houphouët-Boigny, first President of Côte d'Ivoire (d. 1993)
- 1906 – James Brooks, American painter (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher and legal theorist (d. 2004)
- 1914 – Raymond Lambert, Swiss mountaineer (d. 1997)
- 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 Minister for Culture of Greece (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)
- 1938 – Dawn Wells, American actress
- 1939 – Mike Ditka, American football player, coach, and commentator
- 1939 – Lee Harvey Oswald, assassin of John F. Kennedy (d. 1963)
- 1939 – Flavio Cotti, member of the Swiss Federal Council
- 1940 – Cynthia Weil, American songwriter
- 1942 – Larry Pickering, Australian newspaper cartoonist
- 1943 – Birthe Rønn Hornbech, Danish politician
- 1944 – Peter Tosh, Jamaican musician (d. 1987)
- 1945 – Chris Shays, Former 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
- 1946 – Frank Beamer, American football coach Virginia Tech Hokies football
- 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
- 1948 – Hans Köchler, Austrian philosopher
- 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 – Patrick Morrow, Canadian mountaineer, first to complete the Seven Summits
- 1952 – Bảo Ninh, Vietnamese novelist
- 1952 – Jerry Royster, American baseball player
- 1954 – Liz Burch, Australian actress
- 1954 – Arliss Howard, American actor
- 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)
- 1956 – Martina Navrátilová, Czech-born tennis player
- 1956 – Craig Bartlett, American animator
- 1956 – Jim Talent, American 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 jazz 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
- 1964 – Charles Stross, British speculative-fiction author
- 1965 – Curtis Stigers, American jazz vocalist and saxophonist.
- 1965 – Zakir Naik, Indian Islamic speaker and doctor.
- 1966 – Slavi Trifonov, Bulgarian showman
- 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
- 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 – 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
- 1978 – Jyothika Saravanan, Indian actress popular in Tamil
- 1978 – Priyanka Trivedi, Indian actress
- 1978 – Jake Farrow, American actor
- 1980 – Josh Gracin, American singer
- 1981 – Greg Warren, American football player
- 1982 – Ne-Yo, American R&B singer
- 1982 – Thierry Amiel, French singer
- 1984 – Lindsey Vonn, American alpine skier
- 1984 – Freida Pinto, Indian actress and model
- 1985 – Derrick Tribbett, American musician (Twisted Method)
- 1987 – Zac Efron, American actor
- 1987 – Freja Beha Erichsen, Danish model
- 1990 – Carly Schroeder, American actress
- 1991 – Tyler Posey, American actor
- 1991 – Tyler Posey, American actor
[edit] Deaths - 1035 – Sancho III of Navarre
- 1101 – Hugh of Vermandois, son of Henry I of France (b. 1053)
- 1141 – Margrave Leopold IV of Austria
- 1382 – James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde (b. 1331)
- 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 (b. 1603)
- 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)
- 1892 – William W. Chapman, American politician (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 – Walt Kelly, American cartoonist, (Pogo) (b. 1913)
- 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
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- 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)
- 2008 – Dee Dee Warwick, American soul singer (b. 1945)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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