On this day: 18th August


Events:

1304 - The battle of Mons-en-Pevele is fought to a draw between the French army and the Flemish militias.

1487 - The seige of Malaga 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 in the Americas.

1612 - The trial of the Pendle witches, one of England's most famous witch trials, begins at Lancaster Assizes.

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.

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.

1891 - Major hurricane strikes Martinique, leaving 700 dead.

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 woman's suffrage.

1950 - Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the communist party of Belgium is assassinated by far-right elements.

1958 - Vladmir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.

1983 - Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over $1 billion US dollars in damage.

1989 - Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galan is assassinated near Bogota in Colombia.

2005 - A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java, affecting almost 100 million people, one of the largest and most widespread power outage in history.


Births:

1700 - Baji Rao I, Indian Emperor

1792 - John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English Politician, Prime minister of the United Kingdom

1819 - Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia

1855 - Alfred Wallis, English painter and illustrator

1885 - Nettie Palmer, Australian poet and critic 

1887 - John Anthony Sydney Ritson, English rugby player, mines inspector, engineer and professor of mining.

1898 - Clemente Biondetti, Italian race car driver

1903 - Lucienne Boyer, French singer

1904 - Max Factor Jr, American businessman

1908 - Edgar Faure, French historian and politician, 139th Prime minister of France

1920 - Godfrey Evans, English cricketer 
           Bob Kennedy, American baseball player and manager
           Shelley Winters, American actress

1952 - Patrick Swayze, American actor and dancer

1978 - Andy Samburg, American actor and comedian

1980 - Rob Nguyen, Australian race car driver

1988 - Jack Hobbs, English footballer

1990 - Elliot Justham, English footballer


Holidays and Observances:

Thailand - National Science Day

Australia - Long Tan Day (also called Vietnam Veterans' Day)

Indonesia - Constitution Day

Macedonia - Armed Forces Day

Pakistan - Arbor Day

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