August 18
1227 - Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan died in China.
1587 - Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents born in North America on what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
1846 - During the Mexican-American War, U.S. forces led by Gen. Stephen W. Kearny captured Santa Fe, New Mexico.
1894 - Congress established the Bureau of Immigration, forerunner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
1914 - President Woodrow Wilson issued his Proclamation of Neutrality, aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.
1920 - The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing American women’s right to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.
1954 - During the Eisenhower administration, Assistant Secretary of Labor James Ernest Wilkins became the first Black official to attend a meeting of the president’s Cabinet as he sat in for Labor Secretary James P. Mitchell.
1963 - James Meredith became the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
1983 - Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 22 dead and causing more than a billion dollars in damage.
1988 - Vice President George H.W. Bush accepted the presidential nomination of the Republican National Convention in New Orleans.
1991 - Soviet hard-liners launched a coup aimed at toppling President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who was vacationing in the Crimea.
1993 - A judge in Sarasota, Florida, ruled that Kimberly Mays, the 14-year-old girl who had been switched at birth with another baby, need never again see her biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, in accordance with her stated wishes. (However, Kimberly later moved in with the Twiggs.)
1997 - The Virginia Military Institute admitted a female student for the first time in its 158-year history.
2005 - A judge in Wichita, Kansas sentenced BTK serial killer Dennis Rader to 10 consecutive life sentences.
2008 - Pervez Musharraf resigned as the president of Pakistan amid efforts by opposition lawmakers to seek his impeachment.
2011 - President Barack Obama and European leaders demanded that Syrian President Bashar Assad resign, saying his brutal suppression of his people made him unfit to lead.
2014 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the National Guard to Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis convulsed by protests over the fatal shooting of a Black teen.
2017 - Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s top White House strategist, was forced out of his post by Trump. (Bannon would step down as Breitbart News chairman in January 2018 after the release of a book in which he criticized Trump and members of his family; he was pardoned by Trump in the final hours of Trump’s term after being charged with diverting money from donors who believed the money would be used to build a wall along the southern border.)
2020 - Democrats formally made Joe Biden their 2020 presidential nominee at their all-virtual national convention.
Birthdays
24 - Josephine Langford (actress)
26 - Parker McKenna Posey (actress)
27 - Madelaine Petsch (actress)
28 - Maia Mitchell (actress)
34 - Mika Boorem (actress)
43 - Andy Samberg (actor/comedian)
46 - Kaitlin Olson (actress)
51 - Malcolm-Jamal Warner (actor)
52 - Edward Norton (actor)
52 - Christian Slater (actor)
57 - Craig Bierko (actor)
59 - Adam Storke (actor)
60 - Bob Woodruff (news reporter)
63 - Madeleine Stowe (actress)
64 - Denis Leary (actor)
78 - Martin Mull (actor/comedian)
79 - Henry G. Sanders (actor)
85 - Robert Redford (actor)
88 - Roman Polanski (director)
94 - Rosalynn Carter (wife of President Jimmy Carter)
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Today in Sports History - August 18
1956 - The Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Braves combined for a National League record of 10 home runs. The Reds won 13-4. Bob Thurman (Cincinnati Reds) hit three of the home runs.
1964 - South Africa is banned from Olympic competition due to its apartheid policies.
1973 - Hank Aaron set a major league record with his 1,378th extra base.
1981 - University of Georgia running back Herschel Walker took out an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London for $1 million.
1982 - Pete Rose sets an MLB record with his 13,941st career plate appearance.
1983 - The Kansas City Royals defeat the New York Yankees 5-4 to complete the "pine tar" game.
1986 - Quarterback Jim Kelly signs with the Buffalo Bills with a record 5-year, $75 million contract.
1987 - Earl Campbell of the Houston Oilers announced his retirement from football.
1992 - Boston Celtics great Larry Bird announced his retirement after a 13-year career.
1995 - Tom Henke (St. Louis) became only the seventh major league player to record 300 saves.
1996 - Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox) became the fourth player to reach 100 RBIs in each of his first six seasons.
2004 - American Adam Nelson wins gold in the shot put at the Olympic Games in Athens. The event was contested in Ancient Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games.
2016 - At the Rio Games, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt completed an unprecedented third consecutive sweep of the 100- and 200-meter sprints.
1227 - Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan died in China.
1587 - Virginia Dare became the first child of English parents born in North America on what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
1846 - During the Mexican-American War, U.S. forces led by Gen. Stephen W. Kearny captured Santa Fe, New Mexico.
1894 - Congress established the Bureau of Immigration, forerunner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
1914 - President Woodrow Wilson issued his Proclamation of Neutrality, aimed at keeping the United States out of World War I.
1920 - The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing American women’s right to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.
1954 - During the Eisenhower administration, Assistant Secretary of Labor James Ernest Wilkins became the first Black official to attend a meeting of the president’s Cabinet as he sat in for Labor Secretary James P. Mitchell.
1963 - James Meredith became the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
1983 - Hurricane Alicia slammed into the Texas coast, leaving 22 dead and causing more than a billion dollars in damage.
1988 - Vice President George H.W. Bush accepted the presidential nomination of the Republican National Convention in New Orleans.
1991 - Soviet hard-liners launched a coup aimed at toppling President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who was vacationing in the Crimea.
1993 - A judge in Sarasota, Florida, ruled that Kimberly Mays, the 14-year-old girl who had been switched at birth with another baby, need never again see her biological parents, Ernest and Regina Twigg, in accordance with her stated wishes. (However, Kimberly later moved in with the Twiggs.)
1997 - The Virginia Military Institute admitted a female student for the first time in its 158-year history.
2005 - A judge in Wichita, Kansas sentenced BTK serial killer Dennis Rader to 10 consecutive life sentences.
2008 - Pervez Musharraf resigned as the president of Pakistan amid efforts by opposition lawmakers to seek his impeachment.
2011 - President Barack Obama and European leaders demanded that Syrian President Bashar Assad resign, saying his brutal suppression of his people made him unfit to lead.
2014 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the National Guard to Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis convulsed by protests over the fatal shooting of a Black teen.
2017 - Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s top White House strategist, was forced out of his post by Trump. (Bannon would step down as Breitbart News chairman in January 2018 after the release of a book in which he criticized Trump and members of his family; he was pardoned by Trump in the final hours of Trump’s term after being charged with diverting money from donors who believed the money would be used to build a wall along the southern border.)
2020 - Democrats formally made Joe Biden their 2020 presidential nominee at their all-virtual national convention.
Birthdays
24 - Josephine Langford (actress)
26 - Parker McKenna Posey (actress)
27 - Madelaine Petsch (actress)
28 - Maia Mitchell (actress)
34 - Mika Boorem (actress)
43 - Andy Samberg (actor/comedian)
46 - Kaitlin Olson (actress)
51 - Malcolm-Jamal Warner (actor)
52 - Edward Norton (actor)
52 - Christian Slater (actor)
57 - Craig Bierko (actor)
59 - Adam Storke (actor)
60 - Bob Woodruff (news reporter)
63 - Madeleine Stowe (actress)
64 - Denis Leary (actor)
78 - Martin Mull (actor/comedian)
79 - Henry G. Sanders (actor)
85 - Robert Redford (actor)
88 - Roman Polanski (director)
94 - Rosalynn Carter (wife of President Jimmy Carter)
==============================================
Today in Sports History - August 18
1956 - The Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Braves combined for a National League record of 10 home runs. The Reds won 13-4. Bob Thurman (Cincinnati Reds) hit three of the home runs.
1964 - South Africa is banned from Olympic competition due to its apartheid policies.
1973 - Hank Aaron set a major league record with his 1,378th extra base.
1981 - University of Georgia running back Herschel Walker took out an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London for $1 million.
1982 - Pete Rose sets an MLB record with his 13,941st career plate appearance.
1983 - The Kansas City Royals defeat the New York Yankees 5-4 to complete the "pine tar" game.
1986 - Quarterback Jim Kelly signs with the Buffalo Bills with a record 5-year, $75 million contract.
1987 - Earl Campbell of the Houston Oilers announced his retirement from football.
1992 - Boston Celtics great Larry Bird announced his retirement after a 13-year career.
1995 - Tom Henke (St. Louis) became only the seventh major league player to record 300 saves.
1996 - Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox) became the fourth player to reach 100 RBIs in each of his first six seasons.
2004 - American Adam Nelson wins gold in the shot put at the Olympic Games in Athens. The event was contested in Ancient Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games.
2016 - At the Rio Games, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt completed an unprecedented third consecutive sweep of the 100- and 200-meter sprints.
