18 July History
- 1789 - Robespierre, a deputy from Arras, France, decides to back the French Revolution.
- 1812 - Great Britain signs the Treaty of Orebro, making peace with Russia and Sweden.
- 1830 - Uruguay adopts a liberal constitution.
- 1861 - Union and Confederate troops skirmish at Blackburn's Ford, Virginia, in a prelude to the Battle of Bull Run.
- 1877 - Inventor Thomas Edison records the human voice for the first time.
- 1872 - The Ballot Act is passed in Great Britain, providing for secret election ballots.
- 1935 - Ethiopian King Haile Selassie urges his countrymen to fight to the last man against the invading Italian army.
- 1936 - General Francisco Franco of Spain revolts against the Republican government, starting the Spanish Civil War.
- 1942 - The German Me-262, the first jet-propelled aircraft to fly in combat, makes its first flight.
- 1971 - New Zealand and Austrailia announce they will pull their troops out of Vietnam.
- 1994 - In Buenos Aires, a massive car bomb kills 96 people.
18 July Birthdays
- 1811 - William Makepeace Thackeray, English novelist and satirist.
- 1887 - Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician and Nazi collaborator during World War II.
- 1902 - Jessamyn West, American author (The Friendly Persuasion).
- 1906 - Clifford Odets, playwright (Waiting for Lefty).
- 1913 - "Red" Skelton, American comedian and actor.
- 1918 - Nelson Mandela, civil rights activist, first black president of South Africa.
- 1921 - John Glenn, Jr., American pilot, astronaut and politician.
- 1929 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American blues singer.
- 1933 - Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet.
- 1939 - Hunter S. Thompson, journalist.