TODAY IN HISTORY - AUGUST 18TH

1774 – Meriwether Lewis, American soldier, explorer, and politician, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (d. 1809) is born.

1834 – Marshall Field, American businessman, founded Marshall Field's (d. 1906) is born.

1868 – French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.

1903 – German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.

1919 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company (b. 1841) dies.

1920 – Shelley Winters, American actress (d. 2006) is born.

1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.

1933 – Roman Polanski, French-Polish director, producer, screenwriter, and actor is born.

1934 – Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and soldier (d. 1972) is born.

1936 – Robert Redford, American actor, director, and producer is born.

1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States with Ontario, Canada over the Saint Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1940 – Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (b. 1875) dies.

1952 – Patrick Swayze, American actor and dancer (d. 2009) is born.

1958 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.

1963 – American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

1976 – In the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, the Axe murder incident results in the death of two US soldiers.

1977 – Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No. 83 of 1967 in King William's Town, South Africa. He later dies from injuries sustained during this arrest bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.

1983 – Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over US$1 billion in damage (1983 dollars).