Historical Events on October 18
- 1648: Shoemakers in Boston organize and form the very first American labor organization.
- 1748: The War of the Austrian Succession ends when the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed.
- 1775: African-American poet Phillis Wheatley gets her freedom from slavery.
- 1779: The Siege of Savannah ends during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1867: After buying it from Russia for approximately $7.2 million dollars, Alaska is officially turned over to the United States.
- 1898: Spain officially hands over possession of Puerto Rico to the United States.
- 1944: Russia begins the liberation of Czechoslovakia from Nazi Germany during WWII.
- 1945: Klaus Fuchs hands over plans for the U.S plutonium bomb to the Soviet Union.
- 1954: The first transistor radio is announced by Texas Instruments.
Famous Birthdays on October 18
- German Emperor Frederick III is born in 1831.
- Ottoman general Mehmet Esat Bulkat is born in 1862.
- Swedish author Ernst Didring is born in 1868.
- American author and poet H.L. Davis is born in 1894.
- American actress Miriam Hopkins is born in 1902.
- American author and journalist A.J. Liebling is born in 1904.
- American painter James Brooks is born in 1906.
- American guitarist and singer-songwriter Chuck Berry is born in 1926.
- German-American actor, screenwriter and director, Klaus Kinski is born in 1926.
- American actor and director George C. Scott is born in 1927.
- American actor Peter Boyle is born in 1935.
- American actress and producer Pam Dawber is born in 1951.
- American director, screenwriter and sitcom producer, Chuck Lorre is born in 1952.
- American baseball player Allen Ripley is born in 1952.
- American actress Erin Moran is born in 1960.
- American trumpet player and composer Wynton Marsalis is born in 1961.
- American author and composer Rick Moody is born in 1961.
- Australian cricketer Nathan Hauritz is born in 1981.
- American football player Greg Warren is born in 1981.
- French singer-songwriter Thierry Amiel is born in 1982.
- German discus thrower Robert Harting is born in 1984.
- Indian actress and model Freida Pinto is born in 1984.
- American bassist and singer-songwriter Esperanza Spalding is born in 1984.