Portal:United States/On this day/August 18
On this day for the United States
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Events
- 1636 – The Covenant of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, is first signed.
- 1862 – Minnesota trader Andrew Myrick is killed and has his mouth stuffed with grass.
- 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.
- 1877 – Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos.
- 1909 – Mayor of Tokyo Yukio Ozaki presents Washington, D.C., with 2,000 cherry trees, which President Taft decides to plant near the Potomac River.
- 1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
- 1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York State, United States, with Ontario, Canada, over the St. Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1958 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
- 1963 – American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
- 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.
- 1969 – Jimi Hendrix plays the unofficial last day of Woodstock.
- 1971 – Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
- 1983 – Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over USD $1 billion in damage (1983 dollars).
- 1992 – Wang Laboratories files for bankruptcy.
- 2000 – A federal jury finds the US EPA guilty of discrimination against Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, later inspiring passage of the No FEAR Act.
- 2005 – Dennis Rader is sentenced to 175 years in prison for the BTK serial killings.
Births
- 1803 – Nathan Clifford, American statesman, diplomat, and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1881)
- 1822 – Isaac P. Rodman, American Union general (d. 1862)
- 1841 – William Halford, American naval officer (d. 1919)
- 1893 – Burleigh Grimes, American baseball player (d. 1985)
- 1900 – Glenn Albert Black, American archaeologist (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Margaret Murie, American conservationist, naturalist, and author (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Caspar Weinberger, American politician (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Cisco Houston, American folk singer (d. 1961)
- 1919 – Wally Hickel, 2nd and 8th Governor of Alaska
- 1920 – Bob Kennedy, baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Shelley Winters, American actress (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Rosalynn Carter, First Lady of the United States
- 1928 – Marge Schott, baseball team owner (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Vincent Bugliosi, American attorney
- 1935 – Rafer Johnson, American athlete
- 1936 – Robert Redford, American actor
- 1938 – Joe Frank, American radio personality
- 1939 – Johnny Preston, American singer
- 1943 – Martin Mull, American comedian
- 1945 – Barbara Harris, American singer (Toys)
- 1952 – Elayne Boosler, American comedian
- 1952 – Patrick Swayze, American actor
- 1953 – Louie Gohmert, American politician
- 1956 – John Debney, American composer
- 1956 – Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, American musician
- 1957 – Denis Leary, American comedian and actor
- 1958 – Madeleine Stowe, American actress
- 1959 – Tom Prichard, American wrestler
- 1960 – Fat Lever, American basketball player
- 1961 – Bob Woodruff, American journalist, anchor
- 1964 – Edith Frost, American singer/songwriter
- 1964 – Craig Bierko, American actor
- 1964 – Kenny Walker, American basketball player
- 1965 – Jim Florentine, American comedian
- 1967 – Brian Michael Bendis, American comic-book writer
- 1967 – Dan Peters, American musician
- 1969 – Masta Killa, American rapper
- 1969 – Everlast, American musician
- 1969 – Edward Norton, American actor
- 1969 – Christian Slater, American actor
- 1970 – Greg Dean Schmitz, American online film journalist
- 1970 – Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor
- 1971 – Jacob Vargas, American actor
- 1976 – Daphnee Duplaix Samuel, American actress, Playboy Playmate
- 1976 – Bryan Volpenhein, American rower
- 1978 – Andy Samberg, American comedian
- 1980 – Jeremy Shockey, American football player
- 1980 – Bart Scott, American football player
- 1981 – Jonathan Schneck, American musician (Relient K)
- 1983 – Michael Montgomery, American football player
- 1983 – Daniel Keith Swain (Danny!), American record producer/hip-hop artist
- 1987 – Mika Boorem, American actress
- 1994 – Jessie Flower, American actress
- 1995 – Parker McKenna Posey, American actress
Deaths
- 1815 – Chauncey Goodrich, American politician (b. 1759)
- 1940 – Walter P. Chrysler, American automobile executive (b. 1875)
- 1949 – Paul Mares, American musician (b. 1900)
- 1963 – Clifford Odets, American playwright (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Anita Loos, American screenwriter (b. 1889)
- 1990 – B. F. Skinner, American psychological theorist (b. 1904)
- 1992 – John Sturges, American film director (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Dean Riesner, American film and television writer (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer (b. 1922)
- 2004 – Hiram Fong, former U.S. Senator from Hawaii (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Christopher Bauman, American wrestler (b. 1982)
- 2007 – Michael Deaver, Reagan Administration Deputy White House Chief of Staff (b. 1938)