Today in History, July 18: Spanish Civil War begins

 

July 18 is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 166 days remaining until the end of the year.

 

Events:

• 645 – Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.
• 1290 – King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
• 1391 – Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia.
• 1555 – The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
• 1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
• 1942 – The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.
• 1944 – World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.
• 1966 – Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
• 1969 – U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal basin at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger, campaign specialist Mary Jo Kopechne.
• 1976 – Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
• 1982 – Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos ("peasants" or "country people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
• 1984 – McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
• 1992 – A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web.
• 1994 – Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.
• 1995 – On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee.
• 1996 – Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army's base, killing over 1200 soldiers.
• 2012 – At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.
• 2013 – The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Famous Births:

• 1909 – Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
• 1913 – Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
• 1918 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
• 1921 – John Glenn, American colonel, astronaut, and politician (d. 2016)
• 1929 – Dick Button, American figure skater and actor
• 1937 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
• 1940 – James Brolin, American actor
• 1940 – Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
• 1947 – Steve Forbes, American publisher and politician
• 1948 – Carlos Colón Sr., Puerto Rican-American wrestler and promoter
• 1950 – Richard Branson, English businessman, founded Virgin Group
• 1954 – Ricky Skaggs, American singer-songwriter, mandolin player and producer
• 1955 – Terry Chambers, English drummer
• 1957 – Nick Faldo, English golfer and sportscaster
• 1961 – Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
• 1963 – Mike Greenwell, American baseball player and race car driver
• 1964 – Wendy Williams, American talk show host
• 1965 – Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian soprano
• 1966 – Dan O'Brien, American decathlete and coach
• 1967 – Vin Diesel, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – The Great Sasuke, Japanese wrestler and politician
• 1971 – Penny Hardaway, American basketball player and coach
• 1975 – Torii Hunter, American baseball player
• 1975 – M.I.A., English rapper and producer
• 1979 – Deion Branch, American football player
• 1979 – Joey Mercury, American wrestler and producer
• 1980 – Kristen Bell, American actress
• 1981 – Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
• 1986 – Natalia Mikhailova, Russian ice dancer
• 1989 – Yohan Mollo, French footballer
• 1993 – Michael Lichaa, Australian rugby league player

Famous Deaths:

• 1608 – Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1546)
• 1792 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American admiral and diplomat (b. 1747)
• 1890 – Lydia Becker, English journalist, author, and activist, co-founded the Women's Suffrage Journal (b. 1827)
• 1899 – Horatio Alger, American novelist and journalist (b. 1832)
• 1952 – Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect and historian (b. 1862)
• 1954 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (b. 1895)
• 1966 – Bobby Fuller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
• 2005 – William Westmoreland, American general (b. 1914)
• 2014 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
• 2015 – Alex Rocco, American actor (b. 1936)

Holidays & Observances:

• Christian feast day:
  • Arnulf of Metz
  • Camillus de Lellis (optional memorial, United States only)
  • Frederick of Utrecht
  • Marina of Aguas Santas
  • Symphorosa
  • Teneu
  • Elizabeth Ferard (Church of England)
  • Bartolomé de las Casas (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • July 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Uruguay)
• Nelson Mandela International Day