September 18
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- Independence Day in Chile
- Feast Day of St Joseph, patron saint of aviators, air passengers, and astronauts
On this day . . .
- George Anson sets out on his voyage around the world (1740)
- Chile declares its independence from Spain (1810)
- The New York Times is first published (1851)
- One of first 'private eye' stories is published (1866)
- Blackpool illuminations are switched on for first time (1879)
- CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System, is inaugurated in the USA (1927)
- The USSR is admitted to the League of Nations (1934)
- France abolishes execution by guillotine (1981)
Births
- Samuel Johnson, English lexicographer (1709)
- Jean Bernard Leon Foucault, French physicist (1819)
- Greta Garbo (Greta Lovisa Gustafsson), Swedish-born actress (1905)
- Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman), American singer-songwriter (1933)
- Frankie Avalon, American singer (1939)
- Lance Armstrong, American cyclist (1971)
Deaths
- Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (1783)
- William Hazlitt, British essayist and critic (1830)
- Sean O'Casey, Irish dramatist (1964)
- John Douglas Cockcroft, English nuclear physicist (1967)
- Jimi Hendrix, American rock guitarist (1970)
- Jimmy Witherspoon, American blues singer (1997)
- Russ Meyer, American film director (2004)