TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – OCT 18
1009 The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church’s foundations down to bedrock
1648 The “shoemakers of Boston”–the first labor organization in what would become the United States–was authorized by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1685 Edict of Nantes lifted by Louis XIV. The edict, signed at Nantes, France, by King Henry IV in 1598, gave the Huguenots religious liberty, civil rights and security. By revoking the Edict of Nantes, Louis XIV abrogated their religious liberties.
1767 The boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, the Mason-Dixon line, was agreed upon.
1851 Moby Dick is Published for the First Time
1867 The Alaska territory is formally transferred to the U.S. from Russian control.
1898 The United States takes formal possession of Island of Puerto Rico when the American flag is raised over San Juan.
1912 The First Balkan War breaks out between the members of the Balkan League–Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro–and the Ottoman Empire.
1919 Madrid opens a subway system.
1921 Russian Soviets grant Crimean independence.
1924 The current election funds for the Democrats and Republican parties have been released for the upcoming national elections. Democrats had $750,000 and Republicans had $3,000,000.
1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt bans war submarines from U.S. ports and waters.
1962 US launches Ranger 5 for lunar impact; misses Moon
1967 A Russian unmanned spacecraft makes the first landing on the surface of Venus.
1968 US athletes Tommi Smith and John Carlos suspended by US Olympic Committee for giving “black power” salute while receiving their medals at the Olympic Games in Mexico City.
1969 Federal govt bans use of cyclamates artificial sweeteners
1998 Jesse Pipeline Explosion in Nigeria Kills Over 200 The oil pipeline, which was owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, was situated just outside the city of Lagos.
2007 Suicide attack on a motorcade in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 139 and wounds 450; the subject of the attack, Pakistan’s former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, is not harmed.
2011 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement release new figures showing that about 400,000 illegal immigrants were deported from the United States in the 2011 fiscal year, the most deportations ever in 1 year in United States history.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
