On this day in history

October 18

25 births · 17 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

106

Polish–Soviet War

106 years ago

Born this day

1859

Henri Bergson

Died aged 81

Photo (modified): Henri Manuel · Public domain

Oldest record

896th

Zhu Xi

birth anniversary

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Famous births25

1130 · 896 yrs

Zhu Xi

Zhu Xi (Chinese: 朱熹;; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese philosopher, historian, politician, poet, and calligrapher of the Southern Song dynasty.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScholarshipDied aged 69

View profile Photo (modified): 向史公哲曰 · CC BY-SA 4.0

1405 · 621 yrs

Pius II

Pope Pius II (Latin: Pius PP. II, Italian: Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (Latin: Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 58

View profile Photo (modified): Fabrizio Garrisi · Public domain

1663 · 363 yrs

Eugene of Savoy

Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished feldmarschall in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 72

View profile Photo (modified): Godfrey Kneller · Public domain

1741 · 285 yrs

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos (French:; 18 October 1741 – 5 September 1803) was a French novelist, official, Freemason and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) (1782).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 61

View profile Photo (modified): Attributed to Alexander Kucharsky / Formerly attributed to Maurice Quentin de La Tour · Public domain

1804 · 222 yrs

Mongkut

Mongkut (18 October 1804 – 1 October 1868), posthumously honoured as King Mongkut the Great was the king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 63

View profile Photo (modified): John Thomson · CC0

1831 · 195 yrs

Frederick III, German Emperor

Frederick III (Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days from 9 March 1888 until his death in June that year, during the Year of the Three Emperors.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 56

View profile Photo (modified): Reichard & Lindener · Public domain

1859 · 167 yrs

Henri Bergson

Henri-Louis Bergson (French:; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the Second World War, but also after 1966 when Gilles Deleuze published Le…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 81

View profile Photo (modified): Henri Manuel · Public domain

1919 · 107 yrs

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, jurist, academic, author, and journalist who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. He served as the leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1980.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 107

View profile Photo (modified): United Press International · Public domain

1920 · 106 yrs

Melina Mercouri

Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (Greek: Μαρία Αμαλία "Μελίνα" Μερκούρη, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a prominent political family for multiple generations.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 106

View profile Photo (modified): Björn Roos · CC BY-SA 3.0

1925 · 101 yrs

Ramiz Alia

Ramiz Alia (18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He was also the country's head of state from 1982 to 1992.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 101

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1926 · 100 yrs

Klaus Kinski

Klaus Kinski (German:; born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and his notoriously eccentric and volatile personality off-screen, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a career that spanned 40 years, from 1948 to 1988.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 100

View profile Photo (modified): Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0

1926 · 100 yrs

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the pioneers of rock and roll.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 100

View profile Photo (modified): Pablo Vaz · CC BY 3.0

Showing 12 of 25

Famous deaths17

1417 · 609 yrs

Gregory XII

Pope Gregory XII (Latin: Gregorius XII; Italian: Gregorio XII; c. 1327 – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario, or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 82

View profile Photo (modified): Justus van Gent / Pedro Berruguete · Public domain

1503 · 523 yrs

Pius III

Pope Pius III (Italian: Pio III, Latin: Pius Tertius; 9 May 1439 – 18 October 1503), born Francesco Todeschini, then Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 22 September 1503 to his death.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 64

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1541 · 485 yrs

Margaret Tudor

Margaret Tudor (29 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 as the wife of James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to extend her regency.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 51

View profile Photo (modified): Daniël Mijtens · Public domain

1865 · 161 yrs

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to his death in 1865.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 80

View profile Photo (modified): Herbert Watkins · Public domain

1871 · 155 yrs

Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage (26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 79

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1889 · 137 yrs

Antonio Meucci

Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci ( may-OO-chee, Italian:; 13 April 1808 – 18 October 1889) was an Italian inventor and an associate of Giuseppe Garibaldi, a major political figure in the history of Italy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TechnologyDied aged 81

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1893 · 133 yrs

Charles Gounod

Charles-François Gounod (UK: GOO-noh, US: goo-NOH; French:; 17 June 1818 – 18 October 1893) was a French composer, conductor, and organist of the Romantic era. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been Faust (1859); his Roméo et Juliette (1867) also remains in the international repertoire.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 75

View profile Photo (modified): Nadar / Adam Cuerden · Public domain

1911 · 115 yrs

Alfred Binet

Alfred Binet (French:; 8 July 1857 – 18 October 1911), born Alfredo Binetti, was a French psychologist who together with Théodore Simon invented the first practical intelligence test, the Binet–Simon Intelligence Test.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TechnologyDied aged 54

View profile Photo (modified): Unidentified photographer · Public domain

1918 · 108 yrs

Egon Schiele

Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (German:; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portraits.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtWould be 136

View profile Photo (modified): unattributed · Public domain

1931 · 95 yrs

Thomas Edison

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman known for his work on the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, electric power distribution and early motion pictures.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TechnologyDied aged 84

View profile Photo (modified): Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke · Public domain

1955 · 71 yrs

José Ortega y Gasset

José Ortega y Gasset ( or-TAY-gə; Spanish:; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyWould be 143

View profile Photo (modified): SAS Scandinavian Airlines · Public domain

1973 · 53 yrs

Leo Strauss

Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher and historian of philosophy whose work greatly influenced twentieth-century political theory in the United States and the study of classical political thought.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 127

View profile Photo (modified): Monozigote · CC BY-SA 4.0

Showing 12 of 17

Events5

1685 · 341 yrs

Edict of Fontainebleau

The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685), also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, was an edict issued by King Louis XIV of France, repealing the rights and freedoms afforded to the Huguenots and all non-catholic religions.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

1748 · 278 yrs

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, sometimes called the Treaty of Aachen, ended the War of the Austrian Succession, following a congress assembled on 24 April 1748 at the Free Imperial City of Aachen. The two main antagonists in the war, Britain and France, opened peace talks in the Dutch city of Breda in 1746.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1797 · 229 yrs

Treaty of Campo Formio

The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1860 · 166 yrs

Convention of Peking

The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct unequal treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1920 · 106 yrs

Polish–Soviet War

The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

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