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. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Sunday or Monday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Wednesday or Friday (56).
Events
684 – Battle of Marj Rahit : Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria .1304 – The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle is fought to a draw between the French army and the Flemish militias.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.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 .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.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 .1940 – World War II: The Hardest Day air battle, part of the Battle of Britain . At that point, the largest aerial engagement in history with heavy losses sustained on both sides.1945 – Sukarno takes office as the first president of Indonesia , following the country's declaration of independence the previous day.1950 – Julien Lahaut , the chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium is assassinated by far-right elements.1958 – Vladimir Nabokov 's controversial novel Lolita 1958 – Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition, as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so. He came 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 Phước 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 later dies from 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 US$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, one of the largest and most widespread power outages in history.2008 – President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf resigns under threat of impeachment .2008 – War of Afghanistan: Uzbin Valley ambush occurs.
Births
1450 – Marko Marulić , Croatian poet and author (d. 1524)1542 – Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland (d. 1601)1579 – Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (d. 1640)1596 – Jean Bolland , Flemish priest and hagiographer (d. 1665)1605 – Henry Hammond , English churchman and theologian (d. 1660)1606 – Maria Anna of Spain (d. 1646)1657 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena , Italian architect and painter (d. 1743)1685 – Brook Taylor , English mathematician and theorist (d. 1731)1692 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (d. 1740)1700 – Baji Rao I , Indian emperor (d. 1740)1720 – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers , English politician (d. 1760)1750 – Antonio Salieri , Italian composer and conductor (d. 1825)1754 – François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat , French general and engineer (d. 1833)1774 – Meriwether Lewis , American soldier, explorer, and politician, co-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 lawyer, jurist, and politician, 19th United States Attorney General (d. 1881)1819 – Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1876)1822 – Isaac P. Rodman , American general and politician (d. 1862)1830 – Franz Joseph I of Austria (d. 1916)1831 – Ernest Noel , Scottish businessman and politician (d. 1931)1834 – Marshall Field , American businessman, founded Marshall Field's (d. 1906)1841 – William Halford , English-American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1919)1855 – Alfred Wallis , English painter and illustrator (d. 1942)1857 – Libert H. Boeynaems , Belgian-American bishop and missionary (d. 1926)1869 – Carl Rungius , German-American painter and educator (d. 1959)1870 – Lavr Kornilov , Russian general and explorer (d. 1918)1879 – Alexander Rodzyanko , Russian general (d. 1970)1883 – Sidney Hatch , American runner and soldier (d. 1966)1885 – Nettie Palmer , Australian poet and critic (d. 1964)1887 – John Anthony Sydney Ritson , English rugby player, mines inspector, engineer and professor of mining (d. 1957)1890 – Walther Funk , German economist and politician, Reich Minister of Economics (d. 1960)1893 – Burleigh Grimes , American baseball player and manager (d. 1985)1893 – Ernest MacMillan , Canadian conductor and composer (d. 1973)
1896 – Jack Pickford , Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1933)1898 – Clemente Biondetti , Italian race car driver (d. 1955)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 and screenwriter (d. 1996)1908 – Edgar Faure , French historian and politician, 139th Prime Minister of France (d. 1988)1908 – Olav H. Hauge , Norwegian poet and gardener (d. 1994)
1908 – Bill Merritt , New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1977)
1909 – Gérard Filion , Canadian businessman and journalist (d. 2005)1910 – Herman Berlinski , Polish-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2001)1910 – Robert Winters , Canadian colonel, engineer, and politician, 26th Canadian Minister of Public Works (d. 1969)
1911 – Amelia Boynton Robinson , American activist (d. 2015)1911 – Klara Dan von Neumann , Hungarian computer scientist and programmer (d. 1963)
1912 – Otto Ernst Remer , German general (d. 1997)1913 – Romain Maes , Belgian cyclist (d. 1983)1914 – Lucy Ozarin , psychiatrist, United States Navy lieutenant commander 1915 – Max Lanier , American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)1916 – Neagu Djuvara , Romanian historian, journalist, and diplomat1916 – Moura Lympany , English pianist (d. 2005)
1917 – Caspar Weinberger , American captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2006)1918 – Cisco Houston , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1961)1919 – Wally Hickel , American businessman and politician, 2nd Governor of Alaska (d. 2010)1920 – Godfrey Evans , English cricketer (d. 1999)1920 – Bob Kennedy , American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
1920 – Shelley Winters , American actress (d. 2006)
1921 – Lydia Litvyak , Russian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1943)1921 – Zdzisław Żygulski , Polish historian and academic (d. 2015)
1922 – Alain Robbe-Grillet , French director, screenwriter, and novelist (d. 2008)1925 – Brian Aldiss , English author and critic1925 – Pierre Grondin , Canadian surgeon and academic (d. 2006)
1925 – Anis Mansour , Egyptian journalist and author (d. 2011)
1928 – Sonny Til , American singer (d. 1981)1928 – Marge Schott , American businesswoman (d. 2004)1929 – Hugues Aufray , French singer-songwriter1930 – Liviu Librescu , Romanian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)1930 – Rafael Pineda Ponce , Honduran academic and politician (d. 2014)
1931 – Bramwell Tillsley , Canadian 14th General of The Salvation Army 1931 – Hans van Mierlo , Dutch journalist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010)
1932 – Bill Bennett , Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of British Columbia (d. 2015)1932 – Luc Montagnier , French virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1933 – Just Fontaine , Moroccan-French footballer and manager1933 – Roman Polanski , French-Polish director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
1934 – Gulzar , Indian director, producer, and songwriter1934 – Vincent Bugliosi , American lawyer and author (d. 2015)
1934 – Ronnie Carroll , Irish singer and politician (d. 2015)
1934 – Roberto Clemente , Puerto Rican-American baseball player and soldier (d. 1972)
1934 – Michael May , German-Swiss race car driver and engineer
1935 – Gail Fisher , American actress (d. 2000)1935 – Howard Morrison , New Zealand singer (d. 2009)
1935 – Hifikepunye Pohamba , Namibian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Namibia
1936 – Robert Redford , American actor, director, and producer1937 – Sheila Cassidy , English physician and author1939 – Robert Horton , English businessman (d. 2011)1940 – Adam Makowicz , Polish-Canadian pianist and composer1940 – Gil Whitney , American journalist (d. 1982)
1940 – Charles Wilson , Scottish journalist
1941 – Christopher Jones , American actor (d. 2014)1943 – Martin Mull , American actor and comedian1943 – Gianni Rivera , Italian footballer and politician
1943 – Carl Wayne , English singer and actor (d. 2004)
1944 – Paula Danziger , American author (d. 2004)1944 – Robert Hitchcock , Australian sculptor and illustrator
1945 – Värner Lootsmann , Estonian lawyer and politician1945 – Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr. , American soldier, lawyer, and author (d. 1994)
1948 – James Jones , English bishop1948 – John Scarlett , English intelligence officer
1949 – Nigel Griggs , English bass player, songwriter, and producer1950 – Dennis Elliott , English drummer and sculptor1952 – Elayne Boosler , American actress, director, and screenwriter1952 – Patrick Swayze , American actor and dancer (d. 2009)
1952 – Ricardo Villa , Argentinian footballer and coach
1953 – Louie Gohmert , American captain, lawyer, and politician1954 – Umberto Guidoni , Italian astrophysicist, astronaut, and politician1955 – Bruce Benedict , American baseball player and coach1955 – Taher Elgamal , Egyptian-American cryptographer
1956 – John Debney , American composer and conductor1956 – Sandeep Patil , Indian cricketer and coach
1956 – Jon Schwartz , American drummer and producer
1956 – Kelly Willard , American singer-songwriter
1956 – Rainer Woelki , German cardinal
1957 – Denis Leary , American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter1957 – Ron Strykert , Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1958 – Didier Auriol , French race car driver1958 – Madeleine Stowe , American actress
1959 – Tom Prichard , American wrestler and trainer1960 – Mike LaValliere , American baseball player1960 – Fat Lever , American basketball player and sportscaster
1961 – Huw Edwards , Welsh-English journalist and author1961 – Timothy Geithner , American banker and politician, 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury
1961 – Bob Woodruff , American journalist and author
1962 – Felipe Calderón , Mexican lawyer and politician, 56th President of Mexico 1962 – Geoff Courtnall , Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1964 – Craig Bierko , American actor and singer1964 – Mark Sargent , Australian rugby league player
1964 – Kenny Walker , American basketball player and sportscaster
1965 – Ikue Ōtani , Japanese voice actress1966 – Gustavo Charif , Argentinian director and producer1967 – Brian Michael Bendis , American author and illustrator1967 – Daler Mehndi , Indian singer-songwriter and producer
1969 – Everlast , American rapper1969 – Mark Kuhlmann , German rugby player and coach
1969 – Edward Norton , American actor
1969 – Christian Slater , American actor and producer
1970 – Jason Furman , American economist and politician1970 – Malcolm-Jamal Warner , American actor and producer
1971 – Tom Middleton , English DJ and producer1972 – Victoria Coren Mitchell , English journalist and poker player1973 – Paulo Schroeber , Brazilian guitarist (d. 2014)1974 – Nicole Krauss , American novelist and critic1977 – Paraskevas Antzas , Greek footballer1977 – Even Kruse Skatrud , Norwegian trombonist, composer, and educator
1978 – Andy Samberg , American actor and comedian1979 – Stuart Dew , Australian footballer1980 – Esteban Cambiasso , Argentinian footballer1980 – Rob Nguyen , Australian race car driver
1980 – Ryan O'Hara , Australian rugby league player
1980 – Bart Scott , American football player
1980 – Jeremy Shockey , American football player
1981 – César Delgado , Argentinian footballer1981 – Dimitris Salpingidis , Greek footballer
1983 – Cameron White , Australian cricketer1984 – Sigourney Bandjar , Dutch footballer1984 – Robert Huth , German footballer
1985 – Inge Dekker , Dutch swimmer1985 – Bryan Ruiz , Costa Rican footballer
1986 – Evan Gattis , American baseball player1986 – Ross McCormack , Scottish footballer
1986 – Andreas Weise , Swedish singer-songwriter
1988 – G-Dragon , South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, rapper, artist, and producer1988 – Jack Hobbs , English footballer
1988 – Luke Jackson , English author
1988 – Eggert Jónsson , Icelandic footballer
1990 – Elliot Justham , English footballer1992 – Elizabeth Beisel , American swimmer1993 – Jung Eun-ji , South Korean singer-songwriter1995 – Alīna Fjodorova , Latvian figure skater1997 – Renato Sanches , Portuguese footballer
Deaths
353 – Decentius , Roman usurper440 – Pope Sixtus III 472 – Ricimer , Roman general and politician (b. 405)673 – Gim Yu-sin , Korean general (b. 595)849 – Walafrid Strabo , German monk and theologian (b. 808)1227 – Genghis Khan , Mongolian emperor (b. 1162)1276 – Pope Adrian V (b. 1220)1318 – Clare of Montefalco , Italian nun and saint (b. 1268)1430 – Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros , English soldier and politician (b. 1406)1503 – Pope Alexander VI (b. 1431)1550 – Antonio Ferramolino , Italian architect and military engineer1559 – Pope Paul IV (b. 1476)1563 – Étienne de La Boétie , French judge and philosopher (b. 1530)1613 – Giovanni Artusi , Italian composer and theorist (b. 1540)1620 – Wanli Emperor of China (b. 1563)1634 – Urbain Grandier , French priest (b. 1590)1642 – Guido Reni , Italian painter and educator (b. 1575)1645 – Eudoxia Streshneva , Russian wife of Michael I of Russia (b. 1608)1648 – Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1615)1683 – Charles Hart , English actor (b. 1625)1707 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire , English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire (b. 1640)1712 – Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers , English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (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 lawyer and politician, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (b. 1759)1842 – Louis de Freycinet , French explorer and navigator (b. 1779)1850 – Honoré de Balzac , French novelist and playwright (b. 1799)1886 – Eli Whitney Blake , American inventor, invented the Mortise lock (b. 1795)1889 – Jacques Damala , Greek-French actor (b. 1855)1919 – Joseph E. Seagram , Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company (b. 1841)1940 – Walter Chrysler , American businessman, founded Chrysler (b. 1875)1943 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski , Azerbaijani general (b. 1865)1944 – Ernst Thälmann , German soldier and politician (b. 1886)1945 – Subhas Chandra Bose , Indian freedom fighter and politician (b. 1897)1949 – Paul Mares , American trumpet player and bandleader (New Orleans Rhythm Kings ) (b. 1900)1950 – Julien Lahaut , Belgian soldier and politician (b. 1884)1952 – Alberto Hurtado , Chilean priest, lawyer, and saint (b. 1901)1968 – Arthur Marshall , American pianist and composer (b. 1881)1979 – Vasantrao Naik , Indian politician (b. 1913)1981 – Anita Loos , American author and screenwriter (b. 1889)1983 – Nikolaus Pevsner , German-English historian and scholar (b. 1902)1990 – B. F. Skinner , American psychologist and philosopher, invented the Skinner box (b. 1904)1994 – Francis Raymond Shea , American bishop (b. 1913)1998 – Persis Khambatta , Indian model, actress and author (b. 1948)2001 – David Peakall , English chemist and toxicologist (b. 1931)2002 – Dean Riesner , American actor and screenwriter (b. 1918)2003 – Tony Jackson , English singer and bass player (b. 1938)2004 – Elmer Bernstein , American composer and conductor (b. 1922)2004 – Hiram Fong , American soldier and politician (b. 1906)
2005 – Chri$ Ca$h , American wrestler (b. 1982)2006 – George Astaphan , Caribbean physician (b. 1946)2006 – Fernand Gignac , Canadian singer and actor (b. 1934)
2006 – Ken Kearney , Australian rugby player (b. 1924)
2007 – Michael Deaver , American soldier and politician, White House Deputy Chief of Staff (b. 1938)2007 – Magdalen Nabb , English author (b. 1947)
2009 – Kim Dae-jung , South Korean lieutenant and politician, 15th President of South Korea , Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)2009 – Rose Friedman , Ukrainian-American economist and author (b. 1910)
2009 – Robert Novak , American journalist and author (b. 1931)
2010 – Hal Connolly , American hammer thrower and coach (b. 1931)2010 – Scott Davis , American sportscaster (b. 1943)
2010 – Benjamin Kaplan , American scholar and jurist (b. 1911)
2012 – Harrison Begay , American painter (b. 1917)2012 – John Kovatch , American football player (b. 1920)
2012 – Scott McKenzie , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
2012 – Ra. Ki. Rangarajan , Indian journalist and author (b. 1927)
2012 – Jesse Robredo , Filipino public servant and politician, 23rd Filipino Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (b. 1958)
2013 – Josephine D'Angelo , American baseball player (b. 1924)2013 – Dezső Gyarmati , Hungarian water polo player and coach (b. 1927)
2013 – Jean Kahn , French lawyer and activist (b. 1929)
2013 – Albert Murray , American author and critic (b. 1916)
2014 – Gordon Faber , American soldier and politician, 39th Mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon (b. 1930)2014 – Jim Jeffords , American captain, lawyer, and politician (b. 1934)
2014 – Levente Lengyel , Hungarian chess player (b. 1933)
2014 – Don Pardo , American radio and television announcer (b. 1918)
2015 – Khaled al-Asaad , Syrian archaeologist and author (b. 1932)2015 – Roger Smalley , English-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1943)
2015 – Louis Stokes , American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
2015 – Bud Yorkin , American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
Holidays and observances External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
