Hello all, this will be a very short post. I am recovering physically, mentally, and emotionally from a youth summer camp trip and need a break! My wife and I thought it would be fitting for me to do a post to honor my son’s first birthday. I have a book about the bad days in history that my fantastic mother-in-law got me and I wanted to see what else happened on the day of Bennett’s birth. So here we go!
Upon further research, July 18th was a loaded day in history. For famous birthdays, Nelson Mandela, John Glenn, Vin Diesel, and Richard Branson happen to share the day they were born. Mandela is famous for being an outspoken critic of Apartheid in South Africa rising to the role of President. John Glenn was an American astronaut from Ohio. Vin Diesel is currently an actor who is famous for his role as Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. Richard Branson is a successful businessman.
For events, Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf which established his belief system for his political career in Germany in 1925. Continuing World War Two, the Spanish Civil War started in 1936 after revolts of Nationalists who were dissatisfied with the Republican government of Spain. This event ended with Francisco Franco leading Spain as dictator until the 1970s. On July 18th, 1943, General George S. Patton gained ground on Palermo in Italy. There was an attempt on Hitler’s life that failed. Going back in time, In 1918, Ferdinand Foch began a counteroffensive against the Germans last stand at the Second Battle of Marne during World War One.
For politics and geography, the Geneva Convention created the 17th parallel that would divide the country of Vietnam between North and South Vietnam in 1954. It would be this way until North Vietnam took over South Vietnam in 1975. In 1613, Michael Romanov was crowned the Tsar of Russia effectively establishing the Romanov Dynasty until 1917 after Nicholas II and his family were shot during the Russian Civil War. In 1974, Richard Nixon would be requested by the Supreme Court to provide the Watergate transcripts.
In regards to sports, Ty Cobb the notorious baseball player gained his 4,000th hit in 1927. In 1923, Walter Johnson gained a record as a pitcher for striking out 3,000 players. His record would stop at 3,508 strikeouts until 1983. Lastly, in 1968, the Special Olympics would hold its first games.
I originally was going to end this post talking about famous deaths on this date but the information was unreliable. Two people who died close to this date were Amy Winehouse and Ulysses S. Grant who both died on July 23rd. Jane Austen, my wife’s favorite author published Pride and Prejudice on January 28th (my wife’s birthday) and passed away on my son’s birthday, July 18th.
I hope you enjoy this random post. Tell me what you will be doing or did on July 18th or if you know of anything random that happened on that day!
Gentlemansaurus Rex's History Blog 