This Day in History – August 18, 2011

1587 Virginia Dare, granddaughter of governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, becomes the first English child born in the Americas. 1590 John White, the governor of the Colony of Roanoke, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted. 1686 Cassini reports seeing a satellite orbiting Venus 1783 A huge fireball meteor is seen across the United Kingdom as it passes over the east coast. 1817 Gloucester, Mass, newspapers tells of wild sea serpent seen offshore 1834 Mt Vesuvius erupts 1835 Last Pottawatomie Indians leave Chicago 1838 1st US marine expedition 1868 French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers helium. 1877 Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos. 1903 German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright Brothers. 1914 Pres Wilson issues Proclamation of Neutrality 1920 The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women’s suffrage. 1938 The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York State, United States with Ontario, Canada over the St. Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1958 Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States. 1960 1st photograph bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1961 Construction on Berlin Wall completed 1963 American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi. 1965 Hank Aaron loses a HR, because he hit it out of the batter’s box 1972 Police fine Paul & Linda McCartney $800 in Sweden cannabis possession 1973 Hank Aaron’s record 1,378 extra base hit surpasses Stan Musial record 1976 USSR’s Luna 24 soft-lands on Moon 1983 Samantha Druce, age 12y 119d is youngest woman to swim English Channel 1983 Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over USD $1 billion in damage (1983 dollars). 1984 Triangle Oil Corp, above-ground storage tank at Jacksonville Fla, spills 2.5 m gallons of oil burned after lightning sparked a fire 1988 Largest house (130 rooms) on Long Island sold for $22 million 1988 Republican Convention in New Orleans select Bush-Quayle ticket 2000 A Federal jury finds the US EPA guilty of discrimination against Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, later inspiring passage of the No FEAR Act. 2005 Dennis Rader is sentenced to 175 years in prison for the BTK serial killings.]]]]> ]]>