November 18 in History

• 1477

  November 18, 1477: “Dictes and Sayenges of the Phylosophers”, the first dated book to be printed in England, is published on this day by William Caxton.

• 1626

  November 18, 1626:

  The Roman Catholic Church consecrates the Saint Peter’s Basilica cathedral.

• 1903

  November 18, 1903:

  Panama’s Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla and John Hay, the US Secretary of State, start negotiating the terms of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty (which would allocate some strip of land for the Panama Canal construction).

• 1905

  November 18, 1905:

  Denmark’s Prince Charles is made the King of Norway under the crown name Haakon VII.

• 1928

  November 18, 1928:

  The Mickey Mouse debut sound cartoon, “Steamboat Willie” is released by Walt Disney.

• 1959

  November 18, 1959:

  The biblical drama film, “Ben Hur” is released.

• 1966

  November 18, 1966:

  Baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers retires at just 30 years old due to chronic arthritis in his arm.

• 1978

  November 18, 1978:

  The Jonestown mass murder (also called massacre/murder-suicide), which resulted in the death of over 900 members of the Peoples Temple, is orchestrated by cult leader Jim Jones.

• 1996

  November 18, 1996:

  Famed wildlife protector Tony Silva shocks the world when he is found guilty and sentenced to 82 months in prison for illegally smuggling exotic parrots.

• 2011

  November 18, 2011:

  English-Irish boy band, One Direction release their debut album, “Up All Night”.

• 2015

  November 18, 2015:

  Jonah Lomu, a New Zealand rugby player, succumbs to death by heart attack following a protracted battle with kidney disease.