# On this day: August 18

August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years), with 135 days left until the end of the year.

## August 18 in one line

Headline entries for August 18, from Wikipedia: in 1877, American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Phobos, the larger of Mars's two moons, six days after discovering Deimos, the smaller one; born 1933: Roman Polanski, French-Polish director, producer, screenwriter, and actor; died 2018: Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1938). In 2026 it is a Tuesday, in 2027 a Wednesday.

## Events on August 18

- 684 Second Fitna: Umayyad partisans defeated the supporters of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr near Damascus, cementing Umayyad control of Syria. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marj_Rahit_(684))
- 1487 Reconquista: After a four-month siege, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain conquered the city of Málaga from the Emirate of Granada. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_M%C3%A1laga_(1487))
- 1572 The Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre marries the Catholic Margaret of Valois, ostensibly to reconcile the feuding Protestants and Catholics of France. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Valois)
- 1590 John White, governor of the Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in North America (located in present-day North Carolina), returned after a three-year absence to find it deserted. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony)
- 1612 The trials of the Pendle and Samlesbury witches, among the most famous of England's witch trials, began at the assizes in Lancaster. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendle_witches)
- 1634 Father Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbain_Grandier)
- 1783 A meteor procession blazed across the night sky over Great Britain. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1783_Great_Meteor)
- 1823 At least 9,000 enslaved people rebelled in the British colony in Demerara-Essequibo (in present-day Guyana), demanding emancipation. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demerara_rebellion_of_1823)
- 1864 American Civil War: At the Battle of Globe Tavern, Union forces attempted to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersburg. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Globe_Tavern)
- 1868 French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium)
- 1870 Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte is fought. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gravelotte)
- 1877 American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Phobos, the larger of Mars's two moons, six days after discovering Deimos, the smaller one. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobos_(moon))
- 1891 A hurricane struck the Caribbean island of Martinique, killing about 700 people, injuring at least 1,000 others, and causing severe damage. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1891_Martinique_hurricane)
- 1919 Russian Civil War: British motor torpedo boats raided the Bolshevik Baltic Fleet's home base of Kronstadt, sinking a depot ship and damaging a battleship. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Kronstadt)
- 1920 The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage in the country. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution)
- 1937 A lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, consuming 1,700 acres (7 km2) of old-growth forest and killing 15 firefighters. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_Fire_of_1937)
- 1940 Second World War: During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe made an all-out effort to destroy RAF Fighter Command, with both sides combined losing more aircraft on this day than at any other point during the campaign. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hardest_Day)
- 1945 World War II: Amid a Soviet invasion of Japanese-held Sakhalin, Japanese police massacred 18 Koreans in Kamishisuka. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakhalin_Koreans)
- 1948 Australia won the fifth Test of the 1948 Ashes series, becoming the first Test cricket team to go undefeated in England, earning them the nickname "The Invincibles". [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Test%2C_1948_Ashes_series)
- 1958 Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov)
- 1964 East German Communist Party member Hildegard Trabant was killed while attempting to cross the Berlin Wall. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_Trabant)
- 1966 Vietnam War: Members of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment were surrounded by a much larger Viet Cong unit at the Battle of Long Tan, but held them off for several hours until reinforcements arrived. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Battalion%2C_Royal_Australian_Regiment)
- 1976 The Soviet Union's robotic probe Luna 24 successfully lands on the Moon. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_24)
- 1983 Hurricane Alicia made landfall near Galveston, Texas, causing $3 billion in damage and 21 fatalities. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Alicia)
- 2008 Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf resigned under pressure from a movement to impeach him. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effort_to_impeach_Pervez_Musharraf)
- 2017 Two people were fatally stabbed and eight others wounded by a rejected asylum seeker in an Islamist terrorist attack in Turku, Finland. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Turku_attack)

## Born on August 18

- 1750 Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (died 1825) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Salieri)
- 1792 John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1878) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Russell%2C_1st_Earl_Russell)
- 1830 Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria from 1848-1916 (died 1916) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Joseph_I)
- 1870 Lavr Kornilov, Russian general and explorer (died 1918) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavr_Kornilov)
- 1920 Shelley Winters, American actress (died 2006) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelley_Winters)
- 1922 Alain Robbe-Grillet, French director, screenwriter, and novelist (died 2008) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Robbe-Grillet)
- 1927 Rosalynn Carter, 41st First Lady of the United States (died 2023) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalynn_Carter)
- 1932 Luc Montagnier, French virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2022) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Montagnier)
- 1933 Roman Polanski, French-Polish director, producer, screenwriter, and actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski)
- 1933 Just Fontaine, Moroccan-French footballer and manager (died 2023) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Fontaine)
- 1936 Robert Redford, American actor, director, and producer (died 2025) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Redford)
- 1943 Gianni Rivera, Italian footballer and politician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianni_Rivera)
- 1952 Patrick Swayze, American actor and dancer (died 2009) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Swayze)
- 1957 Carole Bouquet, French actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_Bouquet)
- 1962 Felipe Calderón, Mexican lawyer and politician, 56th President of Mexico [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felipe_Calder%C3%B3n)
- 1969 Edward Norton, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Norton)
- 1969 Christian Slater, American actor and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Slater)
- 1971 Richard David James, English musician and record producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphex_Twin)
- 1980 Esteban Cambiasso, Argentinian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esteban_Cambiasso)
- 1983 Mika, Lebanese-born English recording artist and singer-songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mika_(singer))
- 1985 Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rican footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Ruiz)
- 1997 Renato Sanches, Portuguese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renato_Sanches)

## Died on August 18

- 440 Pope Sixtus III [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sixtus_III)
- 1276 Pope Adrian V (born 1220) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Adrian_V)
- 1503 Pope Alexander VI (born 1431) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_VI)
- 1559 Pope Paul IV (born 1476) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_IV)
- 1563 Étienne de La Boétie, French judge and philosopher (born 1530) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_de_La_Bo%C3%A9tie)
- 1648 Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire (born 1615) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_of_the_Ottoman_Empire)
- 1765 Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1708) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
- 1850 Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (born 1799) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac)
- 1944 Ernst Thälmann, German soldier and politician (born 1886) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Th%C3%A4lmann)
- 1945 Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (born 1897) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subhas_Chandra_Bose)
- 1990 B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and philosopher, invented the Skinner box (born 1904) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner)
- 2009 Kim Dae-jung, South Korean lieutenant and politician, 15th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dae-jung)
- 2018 Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1938) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Annan)
- 2024 Alain Delon, French-Swiss actor (born 1935) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Delon)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Agapitus of Palestrina [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agapitus_of_Palestrina)
- Christian feast day: Alberto Hurtado [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Hurtado)
- Christian feast day: Daig of Inniskeen [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daig)
- Christian feast day: Evan (or Inan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Inan)
- Christian feast day: Fiacre [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Fiacre)
- Christian feast day: Florus and Laurus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florus_and_Laurus)
- Christian feast day: Helena of Constantinople (Roman Catholic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena%2C_mother_of_Constantine_I)
- Christian feast day: August 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_18_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Arbor Day (Pakistan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Day)
- Armed Forces Day (North Macedonia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_Day)
- Birthday of Virginia Dare (Roanoke Island) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Dare)
- Constitution Day (Indonesia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Indonesia)
- Long Tan Day, also called Vietnam Veterans' Day (Australia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Tan)
- National Science Day (Thailand) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Thailand)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “August 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_18) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/August 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/August_18) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“August 18”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_18) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_18?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for August 18 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## August 18 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Tuesday | 2026-W34 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2027 | Wednesday | 2027-W33 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Friday | 2028-W33 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2029 | Saturday | 2029-W33 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Sunday | 2030-W33 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on August 18

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on August 18 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← August 17](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/august-17/) · [August 19 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/august-19/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/august-18/