What are the important events that happened on August 18? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 18: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 18 is the 231st day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 135 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 5, 2024 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,732,320 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectatriacontahenagon’ day.
Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 164 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,258 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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August 18 Historical Events
- 1201 –The city of Riga is founded.
- 1572 –Marriage in Paris of the future Huguenot King Henry IV of Navarre to Marguerite de Valois, in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants and Catholics.
- 1590 –John White, the governor of the Colony of Roanoke, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted.
- 1783 –A huge fireball meteor is seen across the United Kingdom as it passes over the east coast.
- 1868 –French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers helium.
- 1877 –Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos.
- 1903 –German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright Brothers.
- 1920 –The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women’s suffrage.
- 1948 –The Australian cricket team completed a 4–0 Ashes series win over England during their undefeated Invincibles tour.
- 1966 –Vietnam War: the Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phuoc Tuy Province.
Who were born on August 18?
- 1657 –Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (d. 1743)
- 1685 –Brook Taylor, English mathematician (d. 1731)
- 1925 –Brian Aldiss, English writer
- 1967 –Blas Elias, drummer
- 1972 –Keiko Yamada, Japanese singer
- 1976 –Bryan Volpenhein, American rower
- 1979 –Stuart Dew, Australian rules footballer
- 1980 –Jeremy Shockey, American football player
- 1988 –Eggert Jónsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1988 –G-Dragon, South Korean musician (Big Bang)
Who died on August 18?
- 1276 –Pope Adrian V
- 1634 –Urbain Grandier, French priest (b. 1590)
- 1683 –Charles Hart, English actor (b. 1625)
- 1944 –Ernst Thälmann, Leader of the Communist Party of Germany (b. 1886)
- 1963 –Clifford Odets, American playwright (b. 1906)
- 1968 –Cy Walter, American pianist (b. 1915)
- 1998 –Nelly’s, Greek photographer (b. 1899)
- 2001 –David Peakall, British scientist (b. 1931)
- 2006 –Jamie Astaphan, Caribbean-born physician (b. 1946)
- 2010 –Benjamin Kaplan, copyright scholar (b. 1911)
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