Historical events on August 18
AUGUST 18, 1487
Reconquista: After a four-month siege, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain conquered the city of Málaga from the Emirate of Granada.
The Reconquista or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian kingdoms waged against the
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AUGUST 18, 1891
A hurricane struck the Caribbean island of Martinique, killing about 700 people, injuring at least 1,000 others, and causing severe damage.
The 1891 Martinique hurricane, also known as Hurricane San Magín, was an intense major hurricane that struck the island of Martinique and
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AUGUST 18, 1864
American Civil War: At the Battle of Globe Tavern, Union forces attempted to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersburg.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in
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AUGUST 18, 1612
The trials of the Pendle and Samlesbury witches (statue pictured), among the most famous of England's witch trials, began at the assizes in Lancaster.
The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the
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AUGUST 18, 2008
Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf resigned under pressure from a movement to impeach him.
Pervez Musharraf was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.
(Image Credits)
"Pervez Musharraf - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos - 2008 (cropped)" by World Economic Forum - CC BY-SA 2.0<div class='copyrightSmall'>originally posted to Flickr as Pervez Musharraf - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2008Copyright World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) swiss-image.ch/Photo by Remy Steinegger</div>
AUGUST 18, 1966
Vietnam 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.
The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies.
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AUGUST 18, 1919
Russian Civil War: British motor torpedo boats raided the Bolshevik Baltic Fleet's home base of Kronstadt, sinking a depot ship and damaging a battleship.
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian
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AUGUST 18, 1937
A lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire (pictured) in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, consuming 1,700 acres (7 km2) of old-growth forest and killing 15 firefighters.
On August 18, 1937, a lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire in Shoshone National Forest, approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Cody,
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AUGUST 18, 1783
A meteor procession blazed across the night sky over Great Britain.
A meteor procession occurs when an Earth-grazing meteor breaks apart, and the fragments travel across the sky in the same path. According
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AUGUST 18, 684
Second Fitna: Umayyad partisans defeated the supporters of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr near Damascus, cementing Umayyad control of Syria.
The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early
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AUGUST 18, 1940
Second World War: During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe made an all-out effort to destroy RAF Fighter Command, with both sides combined losing more aircraft on this day than at any other point during the campaign.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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AUGUST 18, 1920
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage in the country.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to
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AUGUST 18, 1948
Australia won the fifth Test of the 1948 Ashes series, becoming the first Test cricket team to go undefeated in England, earning them the nickname "The Invincibles".
The Fifth Test of the 1948 Ashes series, held at The Oval in London, was the final Test in that cricket series
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AUGUST 18, 1823
At least 9,000 enslaved people rebelled in the British colony in Demerara-Essequibo (in present-day Guyana), demanding emancipation.
The Demerara rebellion of 1823 was an uprising involving between 9,000 and 12,000 slaves that took place in the British colony of
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AUGUST 18, 1983
Hurricane Alicia made landfall near Galveston, Texas, causing $3 billion in damage and 21 fatalities.
Hurricane Alicia was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant destruction in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas in
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AUGUST 18, 1945
World War II: Amid a Soviet invasion of Japanese-held Sakhalin, Japanese police massacred 18 Koreans in Kamishisuka.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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AUGUST 18, 1964
East German Communist Party member Hildegard Trabant was killed while attempting to cross the Berlin Wall.
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic from the country's foundation in
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AUGUST 18, 1877
American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Phobos, the larger of Mars's two moons, six days after discovering Deimos, the smaller one.
Asaph Hall III was an American astronomer who is best known for having discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos,
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AUGUST 18, 1590
John White, governor of the Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in North America (located in present-day North Carolina), returned after a three-year absence to find it deserted (depicted).
John White was an English colonial governor, explorer, artist, and cartographer. White was among those who sailed with Richard Grenville in the
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