August 18

Events
Up to 1900
1201 - The city of Riga in present-day Latvia is founded.
1487 - The Siege of Malaga comes to an end, with the taking of the city by Castilian and Aragonese forces.
1572 - Henry IV of France and Margaret of Valois marry.
1587 - Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, Virginia, becomes the first child of English parents to be born in the Americas. Exactly three years later, White returns from a supply trip to England to find that everyone from the colony had disappeared.
1612 - The trial of the Pendle witches, one of England's most well-known witch trials, begins at Lancaster Assizes.
1634 - Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudon, France.
1783 - A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast.
1807 - Napoleon Bonaparte creates the Kingdom of Westphalia and installs his brother Jerome Bonaparte as its king.
1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern.
1868 - French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.
1870 - Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte.
1877 - Mars' moon Phobos is discovered by Asaph Hall.
1891 - A major hurricane strikes Martinique, killing around 700 people.
From 1901
1917 - The city of Thessaloniki in present-day Greece is largely destroyed by fire.
1920 - The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain's "Hardest Day", on which both sides suffer their heaviest losses.
1945 - Sukarno becomes President of Indonesia, a day after declaring Indonesia independent from the Netherlands.
1946 - The Vergarolla explosion in Croatia kills 70 people.
1948 - The Australian cricket team completes a 4-0 Ashes series win over England during its undefeated "Invincibles" tour.
1950 - Julien Lahaut, chairman of the Belgian Communist Party, is murdered by far-right extremists.
1958 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
1958 - Brojen Das from Bangladesh becomes the first Asian to swim across the English Channel.
1959 - The Mini automobile goes on sale.
1960 - The combined oral contraceptive pill becomes available in the United States.
1963 - James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
1965 - Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins - US marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the major American ground battle of the war.
1966 - Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phuoc Tuy province.
1971 - Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
1976 - The Soviet Luna 24 probe lands on the Moon.
1976 - In the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, the axe murder incident results in the deaths of two US soldiers.
1977 - Steve Biko is arrested. His death a few weeks later, at the hands of the police, makes him a symbol of the brutality of South Africa's apartheid system.
1983 - Hurricane Alicia hits Texas, killing 22 people.
1988 - George H. W. Bush makes his campaign promise Read my lips, no new taxes during a speech in Louisiana.
1989 - Leading Presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galan is murdered near Bogota, Colombia.
1991 - The August Coup against Mikhail Gorbachev begins.
1994 - A magnitude 5.9 earthquake kills 159 people in Algeria.
2005 - A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java, affecting around 100 million people.
2008 - Pervez Musharraf announces his resignation as President of Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari succeeds him in September.
2017 - Two people are killed and several are injured in a stabbing attack in Turku, Finland.
2018 - The 2018 Asian Games, co-hosted by the cities of Jakarta and Palembang (in Indonesia), begin.
2018 - Former cricketer Imran Khan becomes Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Births
Up to 1900
1414 - Jami, Persian poet (d. 1492)
1450 - Marko Marulic, Croatian poet (d. 1524)
1497 - Francesco Canovada Milano, Italian composer (d. 1543)
1587 - Virginia Dare, first child of English parents to be born in what is now the United States (d. before 1591)
1596 - Jean Bolland, Flemish painter (d. 1665)
1606 - Maria Anna of Spain (d. 1646)
1611 - Marie Louise Gonzaga, Queen Consort of Poland (d. 1667)
1657 - Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect and painter (d. 1743)
1685 - Brook Taylor, English mathematician (d. 1731)
1692 - Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (d. 1740)
1700 - Baji Rao I, Indian Emperor (d. 1740)
1748 - Pierre Sonnerat, French naturalist and explorer (d. 1814)
1750 - Antonio Salieri, Italian composer (d. 1825)
1774 - Meriwether Lewis, American explorer (d. 1809)
1786 - Jean Guillaume Lugol, French physician (d. 1851)
1792 - John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
1803 - Nathan Clifford, 19th United States Attorney General (d. 1881)
1807 - Charles Francis Adams, Jr., American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer (d. 1886)
1819 - Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1876)
1822 - Isaac P. Rodman, American general (d. 1862)
1830 - Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (d. 1916)
1855 - Alfred Wallis, British painter (d. 1942)
1856 - Ahad Ha'am, Hebrew essayist and Zionist thinker (d. 1927)
1857 - Eusebius Mandyczewski, Austrian composer and musicologist (d. 1929)
1859 - Anna Ancher, Danish painter (d. 1935)
1870 - Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (d. 1918)
1875 - King Prithvi of Nepal (d. 1911)
1877 - Jimmy Michael, Welsh cyclist (d. 1904)
1879 - Aleksandr Rodzyanko, Russian general (d. 1970)
1879 - Manuel Arce y Ochoterena, Spanish cardinal, Archbishop of Tarragona (d. 1948)
1882 - Herman Groman, American runner (d. 1954)
1883 - Sidney Hatch, American runner (d. 1966)
1890 - Walther Funk, Nazi politician (d. 1960)
1892 - Hal Foster, Canadian-American illustrator (d. 1982)
1893 - Burleigh Grimes, American baseball player and manager (d. 1985)
1896 - Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor (d. 1933)
1900 - Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Indian politician ans diplomat (d. 1990)
1901 1950
1901 - Arne Borg, Swedish swimmer (d. 1987)
1901 - Jean Guitton, French philosopher and writer (d. 1999)
1904 - Max Factor, Polish-born cosmetics entrepreneur (d. 1996)
1908 - Edgar Faure, French politician and historian (d. 1988)
1908 - Sam English, Irish footballer (d. 1967)
1911 - Amelia Boynton Robinson, American activist (d. 2015)
1912 - Ertugrul Osman, head of the Ottoman dynasty (d. 2009)
1913 - Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1983)
1915 - Joseph Arthur Ankrah, leader of Ghana (d. 1992)
1916 - Neagu Djuvara, Romanian historian, journalist and diplomat (d. 2018)
1916 - Don Keefer, American actor (d. 2014)
1917 - Caspar Weinberger, American politician (d. 2006)
1919 - Wally Hickel, American politician, 2nd and 8th Governor of Alaska (d. 2010)
1920 - Shelley Winters, American actress (d. 2006)
1921 - Lydia Litvyak, Soviet pilot (d. 1943)
1921 - Zdzislaw Zigulski, Jr., Polish art historian (d. 2015)
1922 - Alain Robbe-Grillet, French writer and movie maker (d. 2008)
1924 - Julien Bogaert, Belgian cartoonist (d. 2018)
1925 - Brian Aldiss, British science-fiction writer (d. 2017)
1927 - Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady of the United States
1929 - Hugues Aufray, French singer
1930 - Bo Hi Pak, South Korean church leader
1930 - Liviu Librescu, Romanian-American scientist (d. 2007)
1931 - Bramwell Tillsley, 14th General of the Salvation Army
1931 - Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician (d. 2010)
1932 - Luc Montagnier, French microbiologist
1933 - Just Fontaine, French footballer
1933 - Roman Polanski, movie director
1934 - Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 1972)
1934 - Ronnie Carroll, Northern Irish singer, entertainer and political candidate (d. 2015)
1935 - Hifikepunye Pohamba, 2nd President of Namibia
1935 - Rafer Johnson, American athlete and actor
1936 - Gulzar, Indian director, producer and songwriter
1936 - Robert Redford, American actor
1939 - Johnny Preston, American singer (d. 2011)
1940 - Stanley Johnson, British author and politician, father of Boris Johnson
1941 - Mohamed Ghannouci, former Prime Minister of Tunisia
1941 - Christopher Jones, American actor (d. 2014)
1943 - Norma Pons, Argentine actress (d. 2014)
1943 - Gianni Rivera, Italian footballer and politician
1943 - Roberto Rosato, Italian footballer (d. 2010)
1943 - Carl Wayne, British singer and actor (d. 2004)
1945 - Paula Danziger, American author (d. 2004)
1950 - Dennis Elliott, English drummer and sculptor
1951 1975
1952 - Patrick Swayze, American actor, singer and dancer (d. 2009)
1952 - Ricardo Villa, Argentine footballer
1952 - Mohammad Sarwar, British-Pakistani politician, former Glasgow MP and two-time Governor of the Punjab.
1953 - Sergio Castellitto, Italian actor, screenwriter and director
1954 - Umberto Guidoni, Italian astronaut
1954 - Rustem Khamitov, Russian politician
1954- VK Sasikala,Indian Businesswoman turned politician.
1957 - Denis Leary, American actor
1957 - Carole Bouquet, French actress and model
1957 - Harald Schmidt, German television presenter
1958 - Reg E. Cathey, American actor (d. 2018)
1958 - Sergei Treshchov, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut
1958 - Madeleine Stowe, American actress
1961 - Huw Edwards, Welsh journalist and news presenter
1961 - Timothy Geithner, 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury
1962 - Felipe Calderon, former President of Mexico
1963 - Billy Reid, Scottish footballer
1964 - Kenny Walker, American basketball player
1968 - Lee Seung-yeon, South Korean actress and talk show host
1969 - Edward Norton, American actor
1969 - Christian Slater, American actor
1970 - Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor
1971 - Aphex Twin, Irish-born musician
1972 - Masahiro Nakai, Japanese actor, singer and television presenter
1972 - Keiko Yamada, Japanese singer
1972 - Victoria Coren Mitchell, British television presenter and poker player
1973 - Paulo Schroeber, Brazilian guitarist (d. 2014)
1975 - Kaitlin Olson, American actress
From 1976
1977 - Regine Chassagne, Canadian singer-songwriter (Arcade Fire)
1978 - Steve Chen, Taiwanese-American internet entrepreneur, co-founder of YouTube
1978 - Andy Samberg, American actor and comedian
1980 - Esteban Cambiasso, Argentine footballer
1981 - Dimitris Salpingidis, Greek footballer
1981 - Jan Frodeno, German triathlete
1982 - Florian Kringe, German footballer
1983 - Kris Boyd, Scottish footballer
1983 - Mika, Lebanese-English singer
1983 - Georgina Bardach, Argentine swimmer
1983 - Danny!, American rapper and producer
1984 - Robert Huth, German footballer
1985 - Bryan Ruiz Gonzalez, Costa Rican footballer
1986 - Ross McCormack, Scottish footballer
1987 - Tine Thing Helseth, Norwegian trumpeter
1987 - Mika Boorem, American actress
1988 - Luke Jackson, British author
1988 - Eggert Jonsson, Icelandic footballer
1988 - G-Dragon, South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer
1992 - Elizabeth Beisel, American swimmer
1992 - Amy Willerton, English model
1992 - Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love
1993 - Maia Mitchell, Australian actress
1995 - Parker McKenna Posey, American actress
1997 - Renato Sanches, Portuguese footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
353 - Decentius, Roman usurper
440 - Pope Sixtus III
472 - Ricimer, Roman general (b. 405)
673 - Kim Yu-shin, Korean general (b. 595)
1095 - Olaf I of Denmark (b. 1050)
1227 - Genghis Khan, Mongol ruler (b. around 1160)
1258 - Theodore II Laskaris, Byzantine-Greek Emperor (b. 1222)
1276 - Pope Adrian V (b. 1520)
1503 - Pope Alexander VI (b. 1431)
1559 - Pope Paul IV (b. 1476)
1613 - Giovanni Artusi, Italian composer, theorist and thinker (b. 1540)
1620 - Wanli, Chinese emperor (b. 1563)
1642 - Guido Reni, Italian painter (b. 1775)
1645 - Eudoxia Streshneva, Russian Empress (b. 1608)
1648 - Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1615)
1707 - William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and politician (b. 1640)
1765 - Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1708)
1842 - Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (b. 1779)
1850 - Honore de Balzac, French writer (b. 1799)
1886 - Eli Whitney Blake, American inventor (b. 1795)
1901 2000
1919 - Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1841)
1939 - Frank Wild, English explorer (b. 1873)
1940 - Walter Chrysler, American automobile executive (b. 1875)
1942 - Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (b. 1888)
1944 - Ernst Thalmann, German politician (b. 1886)
1945 - Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian independence fighter (b. 1897)
1950 - Julien Lahaut, Belgian politician (b. 1884)
1952 - Alberto Hurtado, Chilean priest, lawyer, writer and saint (b. 1901)
1963 - Clifford Odets, American playwright (b. 1906)
1968 - Cy Walter, American pianist (b. 1915)
1970 - Soledad Miranda, Spanish actress (b. 1943)
1981 - Anita Loos, American screenwriter and author (b. 1889)
1989 - Luis Carlos Galan, Colombian politician (b. 1943)
1990 - B. F. Skinner, American psychological theorist (b. 1904)
1992 - John Sturges, American director (b. 1910)
1994 - Richard Laurence Millington Synge, British chemist (b. 1914)
From 2001
2003 - Tony Jackson, British musician (b. 1938)
2004 - Hiram Fong, United States Senator for Hawaii (b. 1906)
2005 - Gao Xiumin, Chinese actress (b. 1959)
2009 - Kim Dae Jung, President of South Korea (b. 1925)
2010 - Hal Connolly, American hammer thrower (b. 1931)
2010 - Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma, Spanish aristocrat (b. 1930)
2012 - Jesse Robredo, Filipino politician (b. 1958)
2012 - Scott McKenzie, American singer (b. 1939)
2013 - Rolv Wesenlund, Norwegian actor (b. 1936)
2013 - Dezso Gyarmati, Hungarian polo player (b. 1927)
2014 - Jim Jeffords, United States Senator for Vermont (b. 1934)
2014 - Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer (b. 1918)
2014 - Levente Lengyel, Hungarian chess player (b. 1933)
2014 - Gordon Faber, American politician (b. 1931)
2014 - Hashim Khan, Pakistani squash player (b. 1914)
2015 - Suvra Mukherjee, Indian philosopher and dancer, First Lady of India (b. 1940)
2015 - Khaled Asaad, Syrian scholar (b. 1932)
2015 - Louis Stokes, American politician (b. 1925)
2015 - William Jay Smith, American poet (b. 1918)
2017 - Pertti Alaja, Finnish footballer (b. 1952)
2017 - Alfonso Azpiri, Spanish comic artist (b. 1947)
2017 - Dave Creighton, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1930)
2017 - Bruce Forsyth, English entertainer and television presenter (b. 1928)
2017 - Venero Mangano, American mobster (b. 1921)
2017 - Duncan Russell, English football manager (b. 1958)
2017 - Don Shepherd, Welsh cricketer (b. 1927)
2017 - Sonny Burgess, American rockabilly singer (b. 1929)
2017 - Vicente Iturat, Spanish racing cyclist (b. 1928)
2018 - Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1938)
2018 - Jack Costanzo, American percussionist and actor (b. 1919)
2018 - Ronnie Moore, Australian-born New Zealand speedway rider (b. 1933)
2018 - Peter Tapsell, British politician (b. 1930)
2018 - Henk Wesseling, Dutch historian (b. 1937)
2019 - Kathleen Blanco, American politician, Governor of Louisiana (b. 1942)
2019 - Karel Kuklik, Czech photographer (b. 1937)
2019 - Encarna Paso, Spanish actress (b. 1931)
2019 - Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (b. 1924)
Observances
National Science Day (Thailand)
Days of the year