# What happened on August 18 in history?

**Date:** August 18  
**Events recorded:** 51  
**Years spanned:** 684 – 2019  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/august/18/

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## Featured Event

**2019** — One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after having once covered six square miles (15.5 km2).

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland)

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## Events on this date

- **684** — Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marj_Rahit_(684)))
- **707** — Princess Abe accedes to the imperial Japanese throne as Empress Genmei. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AD_707))
- **1304** — The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle is fought to a draw between the French army and the Flemish militias. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mons-en-P%C3%A9v%C3%A8le))
- **1487** — The Siege of Málaga ends with the taking of the city by Castilian and Aragonese forces. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_M%C3%A1laga_(1487)))
- **1492** — The first grammar of the Spanish language (Gramática de la lengua castellana) is presented to Queen Isabella I. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar))
- **1572** — The Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre marries the Catholic Margaret of Valois, ostensibly to reconcile the feuding Protestants and Catholics of France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenots))
- **1590** — John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_White_(colonist_and_artist)))
- **1612** — The trials of the Pendle witches and Samlesbury witches, one of England's most famous witch trials, begin at the Lancaster Assizes. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendle_witches))
- **1634** — Father Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbain_Grandier))
- **1721** — The city of Shamakhi in Safavid Shirvan is sacked. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamakhi))
- **1783** — A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1783_Great_Meteor))
- **1809** — The Senate of Finland is established in the Grand Duchy of Finland after the official adoption of the Statute of the Government Council by Tsar Alexander I of Russia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_of_Finland))
- **1826** — Major Gordon Laing becomes the first European to enter Timbuktu. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Gordon_Laing))
- **1838** — The Wilkes Expedition, which would explore the Puget Sound and Antarctica, weighs anchor at Hampton Roads. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Exploring_Expedition))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War))
- **1868** — French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomer))
- **1870** — Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte is fought. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War))
- **1877** — American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Phobos, one of Mars's moons. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomer))
- **1891** — A major hurricane strikes Martinique, leaving 700 dead. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1891_Martinique_hurricane))
- **1903** — German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Jatho))
- **1917** — A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece, destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Thessaloniki_Fire_of_1917))
- **1920** — The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution))
- **1923** — The first British Track and Field championships for women are held in London, Great Britain. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_WAAA_Championships))
- **1933** — The Volksempfänger is first presented to the German public at a radio exhibition; the presiding Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, delivers an accompanying speech heralding the radio as the 'eighth great power'. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksempf%C3%A4nger))
- **1937** — A lightning strike starts the Blackwater Fire of 1937 in Shoshone National Forest, killing 15 firefighters within three days and prompting the United States Forest Service to develop their smokejumper program. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Fire_of_1937))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Islands_Bridge))
- **1940** — World War II: The Hardest Day air battle, part of the Battle of Britain, takes place. At that point, it is the largest aerial engagement in history with heavy losses sustained on both sides. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1945** — Sukarno takes office as the first president of Indonesia, following the country's declaration of independence the previous day. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukarno))
- **1945** — Soviet-Japanese War: Battle of Shumshu: Soviet forces land at Takeda Beach on Shumshu Island and launch the Battle of Shumshu; the Soviet Union's Invasion of the Kuril Islands commences. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Japanese_War))
- **1949** — 1949 Kemi strike: Two protesters die in the scuffle between the police and the strikers' protest procession in Kemi, Finland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Kemi_strike))
- **1950** — Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium, is assassinated. The Party newspaper blames royalists and Rexists. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julien_Lahaut))
- **1958** — Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov))
- **1958** — Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so, placing first among the 39 competitors. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brojen_Das))
- **1963** — Civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movement))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Tan))
- **1971** — Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam))
- **1973** — Aeroflot Flight A-13 crashes after takeoff from Baku-Bina International Airport in Azerbaijan, killing 56 people and injuring eight. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_A-13))
- **1976** — The Korean axe murder incident in Panmunjom results in the deaths of two US Army officers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panmunjom_axe_murder_incident))
- **1976** — The Soviet Union's robotic probe Luna 24 successfully lands on the Moon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union))
- **1977** — Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under 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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko))
- **1983** — Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 21 people and causing over US$1 billion in damage (1983 dollars). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Alicia))
- **1989** — Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Carlos_Gal%C3%A1n))
- **1993** — American International Airways Flight 808 crashes at Leeward Point Field at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, injuring the three crew members. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_International_Airways_Flight_808))
- **2003** — One-year-old Zachary Turner is murdered in Newfoundland by his mother, who was awarded custody despite facing trial for the murder of Zachary's father. The case was documented in the film Dear Zachary and led to reform of Canada's bail laws. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Andrew_Bagby_and_Zachary_Turner))
- **2005** — A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java; affecting almost 100 million people, it is one of the largest and most widespread power outages in history. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Java%E2%80%93Bali_blackout))
- **2008** — The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, resigns under threat of impeachment. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervez_Musharraf))
- **2008** — War of Afghanistan: The Uzbin Valley ambush occurs. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbin_Valley_ambush))
- **2011** — A terrorist attack on Israel's Highway 12 near the Egyptian border kills 16 and injures 40. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_southern_Israel_cross-border_attacks))
- **2017** — The Turku terror attack occurs in Finland when a knifeman kills two and injures eight. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Turku_attack))
- **2019** — One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after having once covered six square miles (15.5 km2). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland))

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## Notable births on August 18

- **2006** — **Summer McIntosh** — Canadian swimmer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_McIntosh))
- **1999** — **Cassius Stanley** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Stanley))
- **1998** — **Brian To'o** — Australian-Samoan rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_To'o))
- **1998** — **Clairo** — American singer-songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clairo))
- **1998** — **Nick Fuentes** — American far-right political commentator ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Fuentes))
- **1997** — **Josephine Langford** — Australian actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Langford))
- **1997** — **Renato Sanches** — Portuguese footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renato_Sanches))
- **1995** — **Alīna Fjodorova** — Latvian figure skater ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%C4%ABna_Fjodorova))
- **1995** — **Parker McKenna Posey** — American actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_McKenna_Posey))
- **1994** — **Madelaine Petsch** — American actress and YouTuber ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelaine_Petsch))

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## Notable deaths on August 18

- **2024** — **Ruth Johnson Colvin** — American author and educator, founded ProLiteracy Worldwide (born 1916) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Johnson_Colvin))
- **2024** — **Alain Delon** — French-Swiss actor (born 1935) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Delon))
- **2024** — **Phil Donahue** — American talk show host and producer (born 1935) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Donahue))
- **2023** — **Lolita** — the second-oldest orca in captivity (born ca. 1966) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita_(orca)))
- **2023** — **Al Quie** — American politician, 35th Governor of Minnesota (born 1923) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Quie))
- **2020** — **Ben Cross** — English stage and film actor (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Cross))
- **2018** — **Denis Edozie** — Nigerian Supreme Court judge (born 1935) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Edozie))
- **2018** — **Kofi Annan** — Ghanaian diplomat and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1938) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Annan))
- **2017** — **Bruce Forsyth** — English television presenter and entertainer (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Forsyth))
- **2017** — **Zoe Laskari** — Greek actress and beauty pageant winner (born 1944) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Laskari))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/august/18/](https://thisday.info/events/august/18/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.