Historical Events on August 18

  • 1587: The first English child born is America is born on this date. She was Virginia Dare, the granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke.
  • 1590: Governor John White returns to the Roanoke Colony only to find out the settlement has been deserted.
  • 1612: The most famous witch trials in England’s history – the Pendle Witch Trials – begines at Lancaster Assizes.
  • 1634: Urbain Grandier is convicted of sorcery and is burned at the stake in Loudun, France.
  • 1783: A flaming meteor steaks across Great Britain on this date.
  • 1864: Union forces attack Wilmington and Weldon Railroad in an attempt to cut an important Confederate supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia during the American Civil War.
  • 1868: Helium is discovered by French astronomer Pierre Janssen.
  • 1903: German engineer Karl Jatho flies a self-made gliding airplane.
  • 1920: The 19th Amendment to the U.S Constitution is ratified, giving women the right to vote.
  • 1963: James Meredith becomes the first African-American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
  • 1965:S Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula during the Vietnam War. This battle – known as Operation Starlite – is considered to be the first major American ground offensive of the war.
  • 1966: A Royal Australian Regiment engages a Viet Cong force in the PhÆ°á»›c Tuy province – this battle would come to be known as The Battle of Long Tan.
  • 1971: New Zealand and Australia withdraws troops from Vietnam on this day.
  • 1983: 22 people are killed when Hurricane Alicia hits the coast of Texas. It is estimated this hurricane caused approximately a billion dollars in damages.

Famous Birthdays on August 18

  • American captain and politician Louie Gohmert is born in 1953.
  • Italian astrophysicist and politician Umberto Guidoni is born in 1954.
  • German Cardinal Rainer Woelki is born in 1956.
  • American actress Madeleine Stowe is born in 1958.
  • American actor Edward Norton is born in 1969.
  • American actor Christian Slater is born in 1969.
  • American economist Jason Furman is born in 1970.
  • American actor and producer Malcolm-Jamal Warner is born in 1970.