July 18
64 - A great fire began that ultimately destroyed most of Rome. The emperor Nero blamed it on Christians and began the first Roman persecution of them.
1536 - Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope to be void in England.
1872 - Britain enacted voting by secret ballot.
1918 - Nelson Mandela, a leading anti-apartheid figure and South Africa's first black president, was born.
1925 - The first volume of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" was published.
1936 - The Spanish Civil War began as Gen. Francisco Franco led an uprising of army troops based in North Africa.
1947 - President Harry Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act.
1969 - A car driven by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's Vineyard. His passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
1989 - Actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, was shot to death at her Los Angeles home by an obsessed fan. (The killing prompted California in 1990 to pass the nation's first anti-stalking law.)
1998 - A 23-foot tsunami along the coast of Papua New Guinea killed nearly 3,000 people.
2005 - An unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Alabama to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse.
2011 - Gen. David Petraeus handed over command of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan to Gen. John Allen.
Birthdays
30 - Chance Crawford (actor)
35 - Kristen Bell (actress)
38 - Kelly Reilly (actress)
39 - Elsa Pataky (model)
40 - MIA (rapper)
40 - Torii Hunter (baseball player)
44 - Penny Hardaway (basketball player)
48 - Vin Diesel (actor)
50 - Jim Bob Duggar (reality TV star)
51 - Wendy Williams (TV host)
61 - Ricky Skaggs (country singer)
65 - Richard Branson (entrepreneur)
75 - James Brolin (actor)
94 - John Glenn (astronaut)
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Today in Sports History - July 18
1927 - Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb recorded his 4,000th hit.
1970 - Willie Mays became the 10th player in major league history with 3,000 hits.
1976 - 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci earned the first perfect score, a 10, at the Olympic Games in Montreal and went on to score six more 10's and win three gold medals.
1996 - Shaquille O'Neal signed an unprecedented seven-year, $120 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
1999 - David Cone of the New York Yankees pitched the 14th perfect game in modern major league history against the Montreal Expos.
2004 - Todd Hamilton defeated Ernie Els in a four hole playoff to win the British Open.
2005 - Wide receiver Tim Brown announced his retirement from football.
2010 - Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open.
2013 - The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved a name changing application that will allow the Charlotte Bobcats to revert back to the Charlotte Hornets for the start of the 2014-15 season.
2014 - The Houston Astros failed to sign the first pick in this year's MLB Draft, San Diego high school left-hander Brady Aiken before the deadline. The Astros will receive the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft due to them not signing him.
64 - A great fire began that ultimately destroyed most of Rome. The emperor Nero blamed it on Christians and began the first Roman persecution of them.
1536 - Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope to be void in England.
1872 - Britain enacted voting by secret ballot.
1918 - Nelson Mandela, a leading anti-apartheid figure and South Africa's first black president, was born.
1925 - The first volume of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" was published.
1936 - The Spanish Civil War began as Gen. Francisco Franco led an uprising of army troops based in North Africa.
1947 - President Harry Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act.
1969 - A car driven by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's Vineyard. His passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
1989 - Actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, was shot to death at her Los Angeles home by an obsessed fan. (The killing prompted California in 1990 to pass the nation's first anti-stalking law.)
1998 - A 23-foot tsunami along the coast of Papua New Guinea killed nearly 3,000 people.
2005 - An unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Alabama to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse.
2011 - Gen. David Petraeus handed over command of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan to Gen. John Allen.
Birthdays
30 - Chance Crawford (actor)
35 - Kristen Bell (actress)
38 - Kelly Reilly (actress)
39 - Elsa Pataky (model)
40 - MIA (rapper)
40 - Torii Hunter (baseball player)
44 - Penny Hardaway (basketball player)
48 - Vin Diesel (actor)
50 - Jim Bob Duggar (reality TV star)
51 - Wendy Williams (TV host)
61 - Ricky Skaggs (country singer)
65 - Richard Branson (entrepreneur)
75 - James Brolin (actor)
94 - John Glenn (astronaut)
===================================
Today in Sports History - July 18
1927 - Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb recorded his 4,000th hit.
1970 - Willie Mays became the 10th player in major league history with 3,000 hits.
1976 - 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci earned the first perfect score, a 10, at the Olympic Games in Montreal and went on to score six more 10's and win three gold medals.
1996 - Shaquille O'Neal signed an unprecedented seven-year, $120 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
1999 - David Cone of the New York Yankees pitched the 14th perfect game in modern major league history against the Montreal Expos.
2004 - Todd Hamilton defeated Ernie Els in a four hole playoff to win the British Open.
2005 - Wide receiver Tim Brown announced his retirement from football.
2010 - Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open.
2013 - The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved a name changing application that will allow the Charlotte Bobcats to revert back to the Charlotte Hornets for the start of the 2014-15 season.
2014 - The Houston Astros failed to sign the first pick in this year's MLB Draft, San Diego high school left-hander Brady Aiken before the deadline. The Astros will receive the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft due to them not signing him.
