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War of 1812 begins

Born on This Day

Paul McCartney

1942 -

Singer-songwriter who rose to fame with his fellow Liverpool lads in the most influential pop band of all time, The Beatles.

Roger Ebert

1942 - 2013

Film critic whose iconic partnership and long-running TV show with Gene Siskel helped shape how generations thought about movies.

Isabella Rossellini

1952 -

Italian actress and daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, known for her work in "Conclave" and "Blue Velvet."

Paul McCartneyTim P. Whitby/Getty Images

Roger EbertWireImage

Isabella RosselliniWireImage

1178

JUN18

After sunset, five terrified monks in Canterbury, England, witness an explosion on the surface of the moon: "A flaming torch sprang up, spewing out...fire, hot coals and sparks," wrote the abbey's chronicler. "The Moon throbbed like a wounded snake."

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 June 18th

British abandon Philadelphia

On June 18, 1778, after almost nine months of occupation, 15,000 British troops under General Sir Henry Clinton evacuate Philadelphia, the former U.S. capital. The British had captured Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, following General George Washington’s defeats at the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of the Clouds. British General William Howe had made […]

President John Adams oversees passage of first of Alien and Sedition Acts

President John Adams oversees the passage of the Naturalization Act, the first of four pieces of controversial legislation known together as the Alien and Sedition Acts, on June 18, 1798. Strong political opposition to these acts succeeded in undermining the Adams administration, helping Thomas Jefferson to win the presidency in 1800. At the time, America […]

Napoleon defeated at Waterloo

At Waterloo in Belgium on June 18, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte suffers defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European history. The Corsica-born Napoleon, one of the greatest military strategists in history, rapidly rose in the ranks of the French Revolutionary Army during the late 1790s. […]

Indian Reorganization Act is signed into law

In a major reversal of federal policy toward Native Americans, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Indian Reorganization Act into law on June 18, 1934. Also known as the IRA, the Indian New Deal and the Wheeler-Howard Act, the act granted a new degree of autonomy to Native Americans in the United States, giving them […]

Hitler and Mussolini meet in Munich

On June 18, 1940, Benito Mussolini arrives in Munich with his foreign minister, Count Ciano, to discuss immediate plans with the Fuhrer, and doesn’t like what he hears. Embarrassed over the late entry of Italy in the war against the Allies, and its rather tepid performance since, Mussolini met with Hitler determined to convince his […]

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Arnold Palmer wins U.S. Open

On June 18, 1960, Arnold Palmer shoots a 65 to win the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado. The extraordinary tournament featured three players who each defined consecutive eras in the game with their dominance: Ben Hogan, Palmer and the then-amateur champion Jack Nicklaus. Palmer, from Latrobe, Pennsylvania was the son of […]

The Monterey Pop Festival reaches its climax

On June 18, 1967, the Monterey Pop Festival comes to a close with a lineup that includes not-yet-iconic figures of the 1960s music scene—Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Who and the Grateful Dead—as well as Ravi Shankar, Buffalo Springfield and the Mamas and the Papas. Held over three days during the height of the Summer […]

Jet crashes after takeoff at Heathrow, killing 118 people

On June 18, 1972, a Trident jetliner crashes after takeoff from Heathrow Airport in London, killing 118 people. The official cause of this accident, which becomes known as the Staines air disaster, remains unknown, but investigations later show that the pilot (who suffered from a heart condition) failed to maintain the recommended airspeed. As the […]

Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT-II nuclear treaty

During a summit meeting in Vienna, President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT-II agreement dealing with limitations and guidelines for nuclear weapons. The treaty, which never formally went into effect, proved to be one of the most controversial U.S.-Soviet agreements of the Cold War. The SALT-II agreement was the result of […]

Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space

On June 18, 1983, the space shuttle Challenger is launched into space on its second mission. On board the shuttle is Dr. Sally K. Ride, who as a mission specialist, becomes the first American woman to travel into space. Ride, who had earlier pursued a professional tennis career, answered a newspaper ad in 1977 from NASA […]

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Denver radio host gunned down by white supremacists

Talk radio host Alan Berg is gunned down and killed instantly in the driveway of his home in Denver, Colorado, on June 18, 1984. The 50-year-old host, whose show on the station KOA gained a strong following in the early 1980s, stirred up controversy with his outspoken personality and liberal views. He had already been […]

Submersible Titan implodes on its way to tour the Titanic wreckage

All five passengers died in the Titan disaster.

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