This Day In History, June 18th.
Five Historical Events That Happened on June 18th.
618 - Li Yuan became Emperor Gaozu of Tang, starting the Tang dynasty in China.
1815 - The Battle of Waterloo, in which Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by the Duke of Wellington, took place in Belgium.
1873 - Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in the U.S. presidential election of 1872.
1928 - Aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, as a passenger in a flight from Newfoundland to Wales.
1983 - Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, as a crew member on the Space Shuttle Challenger.
618 - Li Yuan became Emperor Gaozu of Tang, starting the Tang dynasty in China.
Li Yuan was a Sui dynasty general and politician who formed the Tang dynasty after deposing the Sui emperor in 618. From 618 to 626, he ruled as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, and his reign is regarded as a period of immense stability and prosperity in China. The Tang dynasty is often recognized as a golden period in Chinese history, notable for its cultural achievements, economic progress, and cosmopolitanism.
1815 - The Battle of Waterloo, in which Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by the Duke of Wellington, took place in Belgium.
On June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo took place near the town of Waterloo in present-day Belgium. It was a pivotal fight in the Napoleonic Wars, in which the armies of the French Empire, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, were destroyed by an allied army led by the Duke of Wellington, comprised of British, Dutch, and German troops. The fight signaled the end of Napoleon's reign and the start of a period of calm in Europe. The fight is regarded as one of the most important events in European history, and it has inspired several books, films, and other works of art.
1873 - Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in the U.S. presidential election of 1872.
Susan B. Anthony was an American women's rights activist who was instrumental in the American women's suffrage campaign. She was detained in 1872 for voting in the United States presidential election, which was prohibited for women at the time. She was subsequently found guilty and fined $100 for her crimes, but she refused to pay. Anthony's lawsuit brought women's suffrage to national notice and helped galvanize support for the cause. Women did not get the right to vote in the United States until the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920, some years after Anthony's death.
1928 - Aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, as a passenger in a flight from Newfoundland to Wales.
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a pilot, rather than a passenger. She became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on June 17-18, 1928, as part of a three-person crew in a Fokker F.VIIb/3m monoplane dubbed the "Friendship" from Trepassey, Newfoundland, Canada to Burry Port, Wales. Her accomplishment earned her an instant stardom and inspired a new generation of female pilots. Before missing while attempting to fly around the world in 1937, Earhart achieved several additional aviation records.
1983 - Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, as a crew member on the Space Shuttle Challenger.
Sally Ride was an American astronaut and physicist who became the first American woman to fly to space on June 18, 1983. She was a member of the Space Shuttle Challenger's STS-7 mission, which launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Ride worked as a mission specialist throughout the voyage, controlling the shuttle's robotic arm and executing different experiments. Her accomplishment inspired other women to seek professions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and she remained an advocate for STEM education throughout her life.