On This Day: 18 August

18 August in Indian history

• 1958Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so, placing first among the 39 competitors.India

18 August in world history

• 2019One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after having once covered six square miles (15.5 km2).
• 2011A terrorist attack on Israel's Highway 12 near the Egyptian border kills 16 and injures 40.
• 1983Hurricane Alicia made landfall near Galveston, Texas, causing $3 billion in damage and 21 fatalities.
• 1976The Soviet Union's robotic probe Luna 24 successfully lands on the Moon.
• 1966Vietnam War: Members of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment were surrounded by a much larger Viet Cong unit at the Battle of Long Tan, but held them off for several hours until reinforcements arrived.
• 1965Vietnam 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.
• 1963Civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
• 1945Soviet-Japanese War: Battle of Shumshu: Soviet forces land at Takeda Beach on Shumshu Island and launch the Battle of Shumshu; the Soviet Union's Invasion of the Kuril Islands commences.
• 1937A lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, consuming 1,700 acres (7 km2) of old-growth forest and killing 15 firefighters.
• 1920The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage in the country.
• 1917A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece, destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
• 1891A hurricane struck the Caribbean island of Martinique, killing about 700 people, injuring at least 1,000 others, and causing severe damage.
• 1877American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Phobos, one of Mars's moons.
• 1868French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.
• 1864American Civil War: At the Battle of Globe Tavern, Union forces attempted to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersburg.
• 1612The trials of the Pendle and Samlesbury witches, among the most famous of England's witch trials, began at the assizes in Lancaster.
• 684Second Fitna: Umayyad partisans defeated the supporters of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr near Damascus, cementing Umayyad control of Syria.

Born on 18 August

• 1983Mika, Lebanese-born English recording artist and singer-songwriter
• 1956Sandeep Patil, Indian cricketer and coachIndia
• 1934Gulzar, Indian poet, lyricist and film directorIndia
• 1934Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and soldier (died 1972)
• 1900Ruth Norman, American religious leader (died 1993)
• 1700Baji Rao I, first Peshwa of Maratha Empire (died 1740)India

Died on 18 August

• 2012Ra. Ki. Rangarajan, Indian journalist and author (born 1927)India
• 1945Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (born 1897)India
• 1712Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (born 1660)
• 1258Theodore II Laskaris, emperor of Nicea (Byzantine emperor in exile)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 18 August in history?

2019: One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after having once covered six square miles (15.5 km2). 2011: A terrorist attack on Israel's Highway 12 near the Egyptian border kills 16 and injures 40. 1983: Hurricane Alicia made landfall near Galveston, Texas, causing $3 billion in damage and 21 fatalities. 1976: The Soviet Union's robotic probe Luna 24 successfully lands on the Moon.

What happened on 18 August in Indian history?

1958: Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so, placing first among the 39 competitors.

Which famous people were born on 18 August?

Mika, Lebanese-born English recording artist and singer-songwriter (1983); Sandeep Patil, Indian cricketer and coach (1956); Gulzar, Indian poet, lyricist and film director (1934); Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and soldier (died 1972) (1934).

Which day is observed on 18 August?

Arbor Day (Pakistan); Armed Forces Day (North Macedonia); Birthday of Virginia Dare (Roanoke Island); Constitution Day (Indonesia); Long Tan Day, also called Vietnam Veterans' Day (Australia).