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U.S. takes possession of Alaska

Born on This Day

Chuck Berry

1926 - 2017

Father of rock ’n’ roll known for innovative guitar playing and and dynamic performances on hits like “Johnny B. Goode.”

Martina Navratilova

1956 -

Czech-American tennis player who dominated the sport in 1970s and ’80s, winning a record nine Wimbeldon singles titles.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

1960 -

Belgian martial artist and action-film star in pugilistic box office hits like “Bloodsport” and “Double Impact.”

Martina NavratilovaCorbis via Getty Images

Jean-Claude Van DammeGetty Images

1963

OCT18

Félicette, a Parisian stray, becomes the first—and only—cat in space. The black-and-white kitty traveled 98 miles into space for 13 minutes before her capsule safely parachuted to Earth.

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 October 18th

Peking’s Summer Palace destroyed

British troops occupying Peking, China, loot and then burn the Yuanmingyuan, the fabulous summer residence built by the Manchu emperors in the 18th century. China’s Qing leadership surrendered to the Franco-British expeditionary force soon after, ending the Second Opium War and Chinese hopes of reversing the tide of foreign domination in its national affairs. In […]

U.S. takes control of Puerto Rico

Only one year after Spain granted Puerto Rico self-rule, American troops raise the U.S. flag over the Caribbean nation, formalizing U.S. authority over the island’s one million inhabitants. In July 1898, near the end of the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launched an invasion of Puerto Rico, the 108-mile-long, 40-mile-wide island that was one of Spain’s […]

British soldier Harry Farr executed for cowardice

At dawn on October 18, 1916, Private Harry Farr of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) is executed for cowardice after he refused to go forward into the front-line trenches on the Western Front during World War I. After joining the BEF in 1914, Farr was sent to the front in France; the following May, he […]

Thomas Edison dies

Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, dies in West Orange, New Jersey, at the age of 84. Born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847, Edison received little formal schooling, which was customary for most Americans at the time. He developed serious hearing problems at an early age thought to be the […]

R. Buckminster Fuller tries to patent his Dymaxion Car

On October 18, 1933, the American philosopher-inventor R. Buckminster Fuller applies for a patent for his Dymaxion Car. The Dymaxion—the word itself was another Fuller invention, a combination of “dynamic,” “maximum,” and “ion”—looked and drove like no vehicle anyone had ever seen. It was a three-wheeled, 20-foot-long, pod-shaped automobile that could carry 11 passengers and […]

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John Lennon and Yoko Ono arrested for drug possession

John Lennon and Yoko Ono are arrested for drug possession at their home near Montagu Square in London, England. The arrests came at a tempestuous time for the couple. Only days earlier, an announcement was made that Ono was pregnant, creating a scandal because both Lennon and Ono were still married to other people. Her […]

Clean Water Act becomes law

The Clean Water Act becomes law on October 18, 1972. After centuries of reckless treatment of American rivers, streams, lakes and bays, the landmark act institutes strict regulations on pollution and quality controls for the nation’s waters for the first time in its history. The ’60s had been marked by some truly horrific revelations regarding […]

Soul singer Al Green is attacked in his own bathtub

In the early morning hours of October 18, 1974, an ex-girlfriend of soul singer Al Green bursts in on him in while he is taking a bath in his Memphis, Tennessee, home and pours a pot of scalding-hot grits on his back. She then retreats to a bedroom and shoots herself dead with Green’s own […]

Reggie Jackson—aka “Mr. October”—hits three homers in three swings

On October 18, 1977, in the sixth game of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson hits three home runs in a row off of three consecutive pitches from three different pitchers. Only the great Babe Ruth had ever hit three homers in a single World Series game […]

U.S. aid to Contras signed into law

In a short-lived victory for the Nicaraguan policy of the Reagan administration, the President signs into law an act of Congress approving $100 million of military and “humanitarian” aid for the Contras. Unfortunately for Ronald Reagan and his advisors, the Iran-Contra scandal is just about to break wide open, seriously compromising their goal of overthrowing […]

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“Roseanne” debuts

On October 18, 1988, “Roseanne,“ a television sitcom about a blue-collar American family starring the comedian Roseanne Barr, premieres on ABC. The show was considered groundbreaking for its realistic portrayal of a working-class family and the issues they faced. Barr’s portrayal of the loud and abrasive Roseanne Conner posed a sharp contrast to the stereotypical […]

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