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Soviet hard-liners launch coup against Gorbachev

Born on This Day

Roberto Clemente

1934 - 1972

Puerto Rican baseball player and humanitarian whose career was cut short by his death in a 1972 plane crash.

Rosalynn Carter

1927 - 2023

First Lady and wife of President Jimmy Carter known for her mental health advocacy work and humanitarian efforts.

Robert Redford

1936 - 2025

Actor (All the President’s Men), Oscar-winning director (Ordinary People) and founder of the Sundance Film Festival.

Roberto ClementeBettmann Archive

Rosalynn CarterGetty Images

Robert RedfordCorbis via Getty Images

1956

AUG18

Horror movie icon Bela Lugosi, who died two days earlier, is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver Cuty, California. He is wearing his Dracula costume, complete with a replica cape, just in case.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on August 18th

Genghis Khan dies

Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who forged an empire stretching from the east coast of China west to the Aral Sea, dies in camp during a campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia. The great Khan, who was over 60 and in failing health, may have succumbed to injuries incurred during a fall from […]

Roanoke Colony found deserted

John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a supply trip to England to find the settlement completely deserted. White and his men found no trace of the 100 or so colonists he left behind, and there was no sign of violence. The Roanoke Island colony was the […]

19th Amendment ratified thanks to one vote

A dramatic battle in the Tennessee House of Representatives ends with the state ratifying the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution on August 18, 1920. After decades of struggle and protest by suffragettes across the country, the decisive vote is cast by a 24-year-old representative who reputedly changed his vote after receiving a note […]

A Seattle judge involved in a sex scandal dies by suicide

The Honorable Gary M. Little shoots himself just hours before the Seattle Post-Intelligencer releases an article accusing him of abusing his power by sexually exploiting juvenile defendants who appeared before him. The front-page article also suggested that he had exploited his teenage students as a teacher in the 1960s and 1970s. The scandal raised questions about […]

Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird hangs it up

On August 18, 1992, celebrated Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird retires. Bird was a high school basketball star in his native Indiana. After graduation, he received a scholarship to play for legendary coach Bobby Knight at Indiana University, one of the finest teams in the country. However, Bird was homesick and uncomfortable in the spotlight […]

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