Discover what happened on June 18 in history, featuring major milestones in aviation, civil rights, music, space exploration, military history, and memorable moments connected to Michigan history.
What Happened on June 18 in History?
Important events on this day include Sally Ride becoming the first American woman in space, Columbia Records unveiling the long-playing vinyl record, Winston Churchill delivering his famous “Finest Hour” speech, and President Donald Trump announcing the creation of the United States Space Force.
JUNE 18 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1621 – The first duel in America took place in the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts.
1778 – Britain evacuated Philadelphia, PA during the U.S. Revolutionary War.
1812 – The War of 1812 began as the U.S. declared war against Great Britain. The conflict began over trade restrictions.
1855 – The Steamship Illinois became the first ship to pass through the Sault Ste. Marie Locks.
1863 – J.J. Richardson received a patent for the ratchet wrench.
1873 – Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote for a U.S. President.
1898 – Atlantic City, NJ, opened its Steel Pier.
1923 – Checker Taxi, of Kalamazoo, MI, put their first taxi on the streets. The last Checker cab was made July 12, 1982.
1925 – The first degree in landscape architecture was granted by Harvard University.
1927 – Charles Lindbergh became the first living American to be honored on a postage stamp, which went on sale for 10 cents. The stamp was of Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis”.
1928 – Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly (but not solo) across the Atlantic Ocean as she completed a flight from Newfoundland to Wales. She was a passenger. Wilmer Stultz was the pilot and Lou Gordon was the mechanic.
1936 – The first bicycle traffic court was established in Racine, WI.
1940 – The “Finest Hour” speech was delivered by Winston Churchill.
1948 – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights.
1948 – Columbia Records publicly unveiled its new long-playing phonograph record, the 33 1/3 rpm, in New York City.
1953 – Seventeen major league baseball records were tied or broken in a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.
1956 – The comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis announced they had broken up.
1959 – The first telecast received from England was broadcast in the U.S. over NBC-TV.
1961 – “Gunsmoke” was broadcast for the last time on CBS radio.
1967 – Grand Valley State Colleges, in Allendale, MI, held their first graduation.
1975 – Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox hit three home runs, a triple and a single in a game against the Detroit Tigers.
1979 – In Vienna, President Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) 2.
1982 – The Senate approved the renewal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act for an additional twenty-five years.
1983 – Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger.
1993 – The movie “Last Action Hero”, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, premiered in theaters.
1996 – Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, was indicted on 10 criminal counts.
1996 – In San Jose, California, Richard Allen Davis was convicted for the 1993 kidnap-murder of 12 year old Polly Klaas.
1998 – The Walt Disney Co. purchased a 43% stake in the Web search engine company Infoseek Corp.
1998 – Nine commemorative U.S. postage stamps were re-issued. The stamps were considered to be classically beautiful examples of stamp engraving.
1998 – “The Boston Globe” asked Patricia Smith to resign after she admitted to inventing people and quotes in four of her recent columns.
1999 – Walt Disney’s film “Tarzan” opened in theaters.
2004 – The movie “DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story”, starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller, premiered in theaters.
2009 – NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS probes to the Moon. It was the first American lunar mission since Lunar Prospector in 1998.
2010 – The movie “Toy Story 3” was released in theaters.
2018 – Donald Trump announced he would set up a sixth branch of the military: Space Force.
2023 – Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, imploded in the North Atlantic Ocean while attempting to view the wreck of the Titanic, killing all five people on board including the co-founder and CEO of the company, Stockton Rush.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JUNE 18:
Dudley R. Herschbach – 94 years old (1932) – Chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Del Harris – 89 years old (1937) – Basketball player and coach
Jay Rockefeller – 89 years old (1937) – Lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of West Virginia
Brooks Firestone – 87 years old (1939) – Businessman and politician
Bruce DuMont – 82 years old (1944) – Broadcaster and political analyst
Sandy Posey – 82 years old (1944) – Pop/country singer
Ivonne Coll – 79 years old (1947) – Puerto Rican-American model and actress, Miss Puerto Rico 1967
Sherry Turkle – 78 years old (1948) – Academic, psychologist, and sociologist
Chris Van Allsburg – 77 years old (1949) – Author and illustrator
Mike Johanns – 76 years old (1950) – Lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of Agriculture
Miriam Flynn – 75 years old (1951) – Actress and comedian
Carol Kane – 74 years old (1952) – Actress
Brian Benben – 70 years old (1956) – Actor and producer
Richard Powers – 69 years old (1957) – Novelist
Joe Ansolabehere – 67 years old (1959) – Animation screenwriter and producer
Barbara Broccoli – 66 years old (1960) – Director and producer
Oz Fox – 65 years old (1961) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Angela Johnson – 65 years old (1961) – Novelist and poet
Lisa Randall – 64 years old (1962) – Physicist and academic
Dizzy Reed – 63 years old (1963) – Keyboard player and songwriter
Bruce Smith – 63 years old (1963) – Football player
Clifton Campbell – 59 years old (1967) – Sprinter
Greg Yaitanes – 56 years old (1970) – Director and producer
Kerry Butler – 55 years old (1971) – Actress and singer
Nathan Morris – 55 years old (1971) – Soul singer
Stephen Thomas Erlewine – 53 years old (1973) – Author and music critic
Ray LaMontagne – 53 years old (1973) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Blake Shelton – 50 years old (1976) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Tara Platt – 48 years old (1978) – Actress, producer, and screenwriter
Antonio Gates – 46 years old (1980) – Football player
Scooter Braun – 45 years old (1981) – Music executive
Clint Newton – 45 years old (1981) – American-Australian rugby league player
Chris Coghlan – 41 years old (1985) – Baseball player
Alex Hirsch – 41 years old (1985) – Animator and television producer
Josh Dun – 38 years old (1988) – Musician
Chris Harris Jr. – 37 years old (1989) – Football player
Derek Stepan – 36 years old (1990) – Ice hockey player
Christian Taylor – 36 years old (1990) – Triple jumper
Trippie Redd – 27 years old (1999) – Rapper
Evan Mobley – 25 years old (2001) – Basketball player
Kane Parsons – 21 years old (2005) – YouTuber and composer
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JUNE 18:
No events found for this date.
For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
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