October 18
1469
Ferdinand II of Aragón married Isabella of Castile, uniting Spain and making it a dominant world power.
1685
Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes.
1767
The boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, the Mason-Dixon line, was agreed upon.
1867
The United States took possession of Alaska from Russia.
1912
The first Balkan War broke out.
1931
Inventor Thomas Alva Edison died in West Orange, N.J., at age 84.
1968
The U.S. Olympic Committee suspended two black athletes for giving a “black power” salute during a victory ceremony at the Mexico City games.
2011
Gilad Shalit, a 25-year-old Israeli soldier, is released after being held for more than five years by Hamas. He is exchanged for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Shalit had been held in Gaza since Palestinian militants kidnapped him in 2006.
Birthdays
Chuck Berry
1926—, American rock music guitarist, singer, and songwriter
Edward Winslow
founders of Plymouth Colony (1595)
Canaletto
Venetian painter (1697)
King Mongkut
royalty (1804)
Lotte Lenya
singer and actress (1898)
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
former Prime Minister (1919)
George C. Scott
actor (1927)
Lee Harvey Oswald
presumed assassin (1939)
Ntozake Shange
writer (1948)
Martina Navratilova
tennis player (1956)
Jean-Claude Van Damme
actor (1960)
Wynton Marsalis
trumpeter, bandleader, and composer (1961)
Zac Efron
actor (1987)