January 18
1733
The first polar bear was exhibited in America, in Boston.
1778
Captain James Cook became the first European to visit the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
1782
Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire.
1788
The First Fleet, carrying convicts and sheep, arrived in Australia’s Botany Bay.
1912
The ill-fated Scott expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover Amundsen had been there first.
1943
The Nazi siege of Leningrad was broken.
1993
All 50 states joined in the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Birthdays
Daniel Webster
1782–1852, American Statesman.
Montesquieu
jurist and political philosopher (1689)
Peter Roget
lexicographer (1779)
Joseph Glidden
inventor (1813)
A.A. Milne
author (1882)
Oliver Hardy
actor (1892)
Cary Grant
actor (1904)
Danny Kaye
actor, singer, comedian (1913)
Kevin Costner
actor, filmmaker (1955)
Elke Clijsters
tennis player (1985)