JULY 18TH
- TODAY IS NATIONAL SPLURGE DAY
- TODAY IS NATIONAL GO FISHING DAY
BIRTHDAYS:
- PAUL MCCARTNEY (1942, 76)
- ROGER EBERT (1942-2013)
- CAROL KANE (1952, 66)
- ISABELLA ROSSELLINI (1952, 66)
- BLAKE SHELTON (1976, 42)
ON THIS DAY:
- IN 1682, WILLIAM PENN FOUNDS PHILADELPHIA
- IN 1767, SAMUEL WALLIS DISCOVERS TAHITI
- IN 1778, BRITISH SOLDIERS OCCUPY AND EVACUATE PHILADELPHIA
- IN 1812, THE U.S. DECLARES WAR ON GREAT BRITAIN IN THE WAR OF 1812
- IN 1815, NAPOLEON IS DEFEATED BY BRITISH AND PRUSSIAN FORCES AT WATERLOO
- IN 1864, GENERAL GRANT ATTACKS AND BEGINS THE BATTLE OF PETERSBURG
- IN 1873, SUSAN B. ANTHONY IS FINED $100 FOR VOTING FOR THE U.S. PRESIDENT
- IN 1879, W.H. RICHARDSON PATENTS THE BABY CARRIAGE
- IN 1892, MACADAMIA NUTS ARE PLANTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HAWAII
- IN 1898, ATLANTIC CITY OPENS ITS FIRST “AMUSEMENT PIER”
- IN 1912, THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION SPLITS ITS VOTES BETWEEN PRESIDENT TAFT AND FORMER PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT. WHEN TAFT WINS THE NOMINATION, ROOSEVELT LEAVES TO FORM THE PROGRESSIVE “BULL MOOSE” PARTY
- IN 1928, AMELIA EARHART BECOMES THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY SOLO ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN WHEN SHE LANDS IN WALES
- IN 1948, THE UNITED NATIONS ADOPTS THE INTERNATIONAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
- IN 1953, THE BOSTON RED SOX SCORE 17 RUNS IN ONE INNING IN A 23-3 WIN AGAINST THE DETRIOT TIGERS
- IN 1953, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. MARRIES CORETTA SCOTT
- IN 1956, CBS DEBUTS “TO TELL THE TRUTH”
- IN 1959, GOVERNOR EARL LONG OF LOUISIANA IS COMMITTED TO A STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL. RATHER THAN GO, HE HAS THE HOSPITAL’S DIRECTOR FIRED AND REPLACED WITH A FRIEND OF HIS WHO PROCLAIMS HIM SANE AND ABLE TO STAY IN OFFICE
- IN 1963, 3,000 BLACK STUDENTS BOYCOTT THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
- IN 1968, THE SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS A BAN ON RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING SALE OR RENTALS
- IN 1969, SAM PECKINPAH RELEASES “THE WILD BUNCH”
- IN 1971, HOWARD HUGHES DIVORCES HIS SECOND WIFE JEAN PETERS
- IN 1972, THE SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS ITS PREVIOUS RULING THAT BASEBALL IS EXEMPT FROM ANTITRUST LAWS
- IN 1973, LEONID BREZHNEV VISITS PRESIDDENT NIXON IN WASHINGTON DC
- IN 1973, THE NCAA BEGINS MANDATORY URINE TESTING
- IN 1977, FLEETWOOD MAC HIT #1 WITH “DREAMS”
- IN 1979, PRESIDENT CARTER AND SOVIET LEADER BREZHNEV SIGN THE SALT II NUCLEAR TREATY TO LIMIT NUCLEAR WEAPONS
- IN 1981, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE POTTER STEWART RETIRES, LEAVING A SPACE FOR PRESIDENT REAGAN TO NOMINATE SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR AS THE FIRST WOMAN ON THE COURT
- IN 1981, MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IN SAN FRANCISCO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE THE AIDS VIRUS FOR THE FIRST TIME
- IN 1982, THE SENATE EXTENDS THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
- IN 1983, SALLY RIDE BECOMES THE FIRST WOMAN IN SPACE WHEN THE CHALLENGER 2 MISSION LAUNCHES
- IN 1986, CONGRESS VOTES TO STRENGTHEN SANCTIONS AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA
- IN 1989, JOHN AND LORENA BOBBIT GET MARRIED
- IN 1991, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN VISITS THE U.S.
- IN 1991, BRYAN ADAMS RELEASES “EVERYTHING I DO, I DO IT FOR YOU”
- IN 1996, UNABOMBER TED KACZYNSKI IS INDICTED ON TEN CHARGES
- IN 2001, THE FIRST “FAST AND THE FURIOUS” MOVIE IS RELEASED
- IN 2003, GOOGLE LAUNCHES ADSENSE, A PROGRAM WHICH ALLOWS WEBSITES TO TARGET ADS TO THEIR SPECIFIC VIEWERS, LARGELY CONSIDERED RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING RUNNING A WEBSITE A PROFITABLE ENDEAVOR
- IN 2010, EMINEM RELEASES “RECOVERY”
- IN 2011, E STREET BAND SAXOPHONIST CLARENCE CLEMONS DIES
- IN 2013, RUSSIA PASSES A LAW MAKING IT ILLEGAL FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO ADOPT RUSSIAN CHILDREN
- IN 2015, POPE FRANCIS PUBLISHES AN ENCYCLICAL IN WHICH HE BLAMES HUMAN SELFISHNESS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE