Historical Events - November 18

1493 : Christopher Columbus first saw the island of Puerto Rico.

1809 : French fleet defeated the British East India Company fleet in the Bay of Bengal.

1905 : Lord Curzon resigned and Lord Minto became the 17th Viceroy and Governor-General of India.

1918 : Latvia declared independence from Russia.

1928 : Walt Disney’s famous cartoon Mickey Mouse was born in the movie Steamboat Willie.

1955 : Construction of Bhakra-Nangal Dam began.

1963 : The first push-button telephone service was launched.

1978 : 914 people, including 276 children, committed mass suicide in the city of Guyana, South America.

1992 : Lalit Mohan Sharma became the 24th Chief Justice of India.

1993 : A new constitution was approved by 21 political parties in South Africa.

 

Famous Birthdays   – November 18  

1898: Prabodh Chandra Bagchi, Indian historian.

1901: V. Shantaram, an Indian-Marathi filmmaker, film producer, and actor.

1906: Alec Issigonis, maker of the mini car.

1909: Johnny Mercer, co-founder of Capitol Records.

1910: Batukeshwar Dutt, Indian revolutionary.

1923: Alan Shepard Jr., an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman.

1931: Shrikant Verma, Indian-Hindi poet, journalist, and critic, Rajya Sabha member.

1945: Mahinda Rajapaksa, the 6th President of Sri Lanka and Chief of Army Staff.

1946: Kamal Nath, an Indian politician, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.

1953: Alan Moore, an English writer known primarily for his work in comic books.

1954: Ranjan Gogoi, a nominated Indian Parliamentarian, and the 46th Chief Justice of India.

1984: Nayanthara, an Indian actress.

 

Death Anniversaries   – November 18

1772: Madhavrao Peshwa, the 4th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire.

1830: Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Illuminati.

1886: Chester Arthur, 21st US President.

1936: V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Indian lawyer, and politician.

1962: Niels Bohr, Danish physicist, He won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the atomic nucleus.

1969: Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., an American businessman, investor, and politician.

1998: Tara Singh Hayer, an Indian-Canadian journalist, and publisher.

1999: Ram Singh Ratan Singh Pardeshi, an Indian freedom fighter.

2013: S. R. D. Vaidyanathan, an Indian musician.

2014: C. Rudharaya, an Indian director, and producer.