Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
On 18, Sunday July 1869, Laurent Clerc, French advocate for the American deaf, died (b. 1785)
On 18, Wednesday July 1894, Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer, born (d. 1940)
On 18, Wednesday July 1894, Mariano Rossell y Arellano, Guatemalan Roman Catholic clergyman, born (d. 1964)
On 18, Friday July 1919, Lilia Dale, Italian actress
On 18, Friday July 1919, Raymonde de Laroche, French aviator, the first woman to receive an aviator’s license, died (b. 1882)
On 18, Tuesday July 1944, WWII: American forces push back the Germans in Saint-Lô, capturing the city.
On 18, Tuesday July 1944, British forces launch Operation Goodwood, an armoured offensive aimed at driving the Germans from the high ground to the south of Caen. The offensive ends 2 days later with minimal gains.
On 18, Tuesday July 1944, Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan due to numerous setbacks in the war effort and is succeeded (on July 22) by Kuniaki Koiso.
On 18, Tuesday July 1944, David Hemery, British Olympic athlete, born
On 18, Tuesday July 1944, Augusto De Angelis, Italian writer and journalist, died (b. 1888)
On 18, Tuesday July 1944, George Holt, American actor and director, died (b. 1878)
On 18, Tuesday July 1944, Rex Whistler, British artist, died (b. 1905)
On 18, Saturday July 1959, Mel Purcell, American tennis player, born
On 18, Friday July 1969, Chappaquiddick incident: Edward M. Kennedy drives off a bridge on his way home from a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts. Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign aide to his brother, dies in the early morning hours of July 19 in the submerged car.
On 18, Friday July 1969, Masanori Murakawa, Japanese wrestler, born
On 18, Friday July 1969, Mary Jo Kopechne, American teacher, secretary, and political campaign specialist, died (b. 1940)
On 18, Friday July 1969, Barbara Pepper, American actress, died (b. 1915)
On 18, Wednesday July 1979, Rick Baxter, American politician, born
On 18, Wednesday July 1979, Jaska Raatikainen, Finnish drummer (Children of Bodom), born
On 18, Wednesday July 1979, Jason Weaver, American actor and singer, born
On 18, Wednesday July 1979, Pavel Prokkonen, Karelian Soviet politician, died (b. 1909)
On 18, Tuesday July 1989, Sebastian Ryall, soccer player, born
On 18, Tuesday July 1989, Actress Rebecca Schaeffer is murdered by an obsessed fan, leading to stricter stalking laws in California.
On 18, Tuesday July 1989, Yohan Mollo, French footballer, born
On 18, Tuesday July 1989, Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player, born
On 18, Tuesday July 1989, Donnie Moore, American baseball player, died (b. 1954)
On 18, Tuesday July 1989, Rebecca Schaeffer, American actress, died (b. 1967)
On 18, Monday July 1994, Kirby Wallace (née Bate), born
On 18, Monday July 1994, AMIA bombing: In Buenos Aires, a terrorist attack destroys a building housing several Jewish organizations, killing 85 and injuring many more.
On 18, Monday July 1994, Rwandan Patriotic Front troops capture Gisenyi, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the Rwandan genocide.
On 18, Saturday July 2009, Five members of the Lin family are murdered in their North Epping home. A relative, Robert Xie, is arrested in 2011, and found guilty of the murders in 2017 after numerous retrials.
On 18, Friday July 2014, Fiona Lowry wins the 2014 Archibald Prize for her portrait of architect Penelope Seidler.
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch
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