October 18 birthdays & history

Famous people born on October 18

• 1859Henri Bergson, French philosopher and theologian, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1926Chuck Berry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956Martina Navratilova, Czech-American tennis player and coach
• 1960Jean-Claude Van Damme, Belgian martial artist, actor, and producer, and screenwriter
• 1987Zac Efron, American actor and singer
• 1405Pope Pius II, Head of the Catholic Church from 1458 to 1464
• 1991Zohran Mamdani, American politician, mayor of New York City
• 1777Heinrich von Kleist, German author and poet
• 1945Huell Howser, American television host and actor
• 1984Freida Pinto, Indian actress and model

What happened on October 18

• 320Pappus of Alexandria, one of the last great Greek mathematicians of antiquity, observed an eclipse that allowed historians to calculate the approximate dates of his life.
• 1587Filipino sailors disembarked from the Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de Buena Esperanza in what is now Morro Bay, California, the first documented instance of Asians in the Americas.
• 1867United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.
• 1887Johannes Brahms conducted the premiere of his Double Concerto, composed for violinist Joseph Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann.
• 1898The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain.
• 1900Count Bernhard von Bülow becomes chancellor of Germany.
• 1906The Robert Burns Memorial Statue, the first public statue erected in New Brunswick, was dedicated in Fredericton.
• 1914The Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement is founded in Germany.
• 1922The British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) is founded by a consortium, to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters to provide a national broadcasting service.
• 1967The Soviet space probe Venera 4 became the first spacecraft to perform direct in situ analysis of the environment of another planet (Venus).
• 1968At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American athlete Bob Beamon achieved a distance of 8.90 m (29.2 ft) in the long jump event, setting a world record that stood for 23 years.
• 1993Nihilism, the first professional runway show from the British designer Alexander McQueen, was staged in London.

Also observed on October 18

• Alaska Day (Alaska, United States)
• Necktie Day (Croatia)
• Persons Day (Canada)