óæå ïðîøëî 18 October

1867 : United States took possession of Alaska


On October 18, 1867, the United States took formal possession of Alaska, purchased from Russia for $7.2 million. In an era of reconstruction after the civil war, this purchase was very unpopular and caused a lot of trouble to President Andrew Johnson : most people thought it was a barren land without any interest. Nevertheless, the opinion changed in 1896 when gold was discovered. Alaska became the 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959 and today it provides 25% of oil and 50% of seafood of the country.

1985 : Super Mario Bros. released


On October 18, 1985, Super Mario Bros. to be played on the newest game console from Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment System, was released. It remained the best selling video game for 20 years.

1998 : Pipeline explosion in Nigeria


On October 18, 1998, a pipeline exploded in the town of Jesse in Nigeria. Oil is one of the main wealth of the country but only the government and multinational corporations can benefit. This is why the population is used to steal oil directly on the pipeline. The explosion of unknown origin which occurred on October 18, 1998, killed 700 people. The pipeline burnt a week and a team from Texas was called to extinguish the fire.

2007 : Attack against Benazir Bhutto in Karachi


On October 18, 2007, two explosions occurred in front of the vehicle of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who had just returned from exile after 18 years abroad, while she was greeting the crowd gathered around her. 139 people, mostly members of the Pakistan Peoples Party, were killed and over 450 others injured. Benazir Bhutto accused high-ranking military and government officials of President Musharraf of being behind the attack. She was assassinated two months later.

Öèòàòà äíÿ : 18 October

Jean Claude Van Damme
I am fascinated by air. If you took away the air of the sky, all the birds would fall to the ground... And the planes too... At the same time, the air you can't touch it... it exists and it is not... It feeds the hungry man without hunger... It's magic... The air, its beautiful, at the same time you can not see it, it's soft and you can not touch it... it's like my brain...

Äíè ðîæäåíèÿ : 18 October

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French writer (1741)
Mongkut, King of Siam (1804)
Henri Bergson, French philosopher (1859)
Miriam Hopkins, American actress (1902)
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivory coast politician, 1st President of Côte d'Ivoire (1905)
Pierre Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada (1919)
Melina Mercouri, Greek actress (1920)
Chuck Berry, American musician (1926)
Klaus Kinski, German actor (1926)
George C. Scott, American actor (1927)
Violeta Chamorro, Nicaraguan politician (1929)
Peter Boyle, American actor (1935)
Jacques Higelin, French singer (1940)
Om Puri, Indian actor (1950)
Chuck Lorre, American producer (Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men...) (1952)
Isabelle Autissier, French navigator (1956)
Martina Navratilova, American tennis player (1956)
Catherine Ringer, French singer (1957)
Jean-Claude Van Damme, Belgian actor (1960)
Robbie Savage, Welsh footballer (1974)
Zac Efron, American actor (1987)

Ils nous ont quitté un 18 October

Henry Temple, Lord Palmerston, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1865)
Charles Gounod, French composer (1893)
Thomas Edison, American inventor (1931)
Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman (1966)
Pierre Mendès France, French politician (1982)
Julie London, American singer and actress (2000)
Dee Dee Warwick, American singer (2008)
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