TODAY in HISTORY
Today is Saturday, November 18, the 322nd day of 2017. There are 43 days left in the year. 1493 1494 1601 1730 1760 1809 1865 1905 1918 1929 1940 1944 1963 1988 1993 1993 2002 2003 2012 2013 Christopher Columbus first sights the island now known as Puerto Rico. French King Charles VIII occupies Florence, Italy. Tiryaki Hasan Pasha, an Ottoman provincial governor, routs the Habsburg forces commanded by Ferdinand the Archduke of Austria during the Siege of Nagykanizsa.
The future Frederick II ( known as Frederick the Great), King of Prussia, is granted a royal pardon and released from confinement. The rebuilt debtors’ prison, at the Castellania in Valletta, receives the first prisoners.
In a naval action during the Napoleonic Wars, French frigates defeat British East Indiamen in the Bay of Bengal.
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
New York Saturday Press. Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway.
Latvia declares its independence from Russia.
Grand Banks earthquake: Off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, a Richter magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake, centered on the Grand Banks, breaks 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and triggers a tsunami that destroys many south coast communities in the Burin Peninsula. World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini’s disastrous Italian invasion of Greece.
The Popular Socialist Youth is founded in Cuba.
The first push- button telephone goes into service.
War on Drugs: US President Ronald Reagan signs a bill into law allowing the death penalty for drug traffickers.
In the United States, the North American Free Trade Agreement ( Nafta) is approved by the House of Representatives. In South Africa, 21 political parties approve a new Constitution, expanding voting rights and ending white minority rule. Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.
In the United Kingdom, the Local Government Act 2003, repealing Section 28, becomes effective.
Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria becomes the 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Nasa launches the Maven probe to Mars.