July 18 History, Fun Facts, and Trivia
July 18 Observances
July 18 is Nelson Mandela International Day,
National Caviar Day, National Sour Candy Day,
Insurance Nerd Day, Perfect Family Day,
and World Listening Day. Nelson Mandela International Day
was established by the United Nations in 2009 to honor Mandela’s birthday
and encourage 67 minutes of community service, representing the 67 years
he devoted to public service. Insurance Nerd Day was declared in 2016 by
Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company, which is either a bold marketing
move or a cry for help, depending on your perspective.
What Happened on July 18?
July 18 is the day papal infallibility became official doctrine, the day
Intel was founded, the day Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge and left the scene,
the day Nadia Comaneci scored a perfect 10 that the scoreboard could not
display, the day Detroit filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S.
history, and the birthday of Nelson Mandela, John Glenn, and Hunter S.
Thompson. It is also, in J.D. Salinger’s fictional universe, the day Holden
Caulfield’s younger brother Allie died of leukemia in 1946. July 18 carries
weight in both history and literature.
If you were born on July 18, you were likely conceived the week of
October 25 of the prior year.
July 18 History Highlights
1870 — The First Vatican Council decreed
the dogma of papal infallibility, formally establishing that when
the Pope speaks ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals, his
pronouncements are free from error. The doctrine had been debated for
centuries. It has been formally invoked only twice since 1870: by Pius IX
in 1854 (retroactively, as the Council predated the formal doctrine) and
by Pius XII in 1950. Critics within the Church argued the timing was poor,
given that the Vatican was simultaneously losing its temporal political
power in Italy. The Council was interrupted and never formally closed
when Italian forces occupied Rome two months later.
1925 — Adolf Hitler published the
first volume of
Mein Kampf (My Struggle),
written while he was imprisoned following the failed Beer Hall Putsch
of 1923. The book outlined his ideology of racial hierarchy, antisemitism,
and German nationalism with minimal ambiguity. It was widely available and
widely read in Germany throughout the 1930s. Many foreign observers and
German politicians dismissed it as extremist rhetoric that would never be
implemented. They were wrong. The book sold over 12 million copies in
Germany before 1945 and remains banned or restricted in several countries.
1946 — In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye,
this is the fictional date on which Allie Caulfield, Holden’s
younger brother, died of leukemia at age 11. Holden’s grief over Allie’s
death is the emotional engine of the entire novel. Salinger based elements
of Allie on his own wartime experiences of loss. The mitt with the poems
written in green ink is one of American literature’s more quietly devastating
details.
1968 — Intel was founded in Mountain
View, California, by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, two engineers who had
left Fairchild Semiconductor. Moore had articulated what became known as
Moore’s Law in 1965, observing that the number of transistors on a chip
doubled approximately every two years. Intel’s processors went on to power
the personal computer revolution and remain central to modern computing.
The company’s first product was a memory chip. Their most famous product
is the microprocessor, which they introduced in 1971.
1969 — Senator Ted Kennedy of
Massachusetts drove a car off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island,
near Martha’s Vineyard, after leaving a party. His passenger,
Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-year-old campaign worker, was
trapped in the submerged vehicle and died. Kennedy swam free, returned
to his hotel, and did not report the accident to authorities for
approximately 10 hours. He later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene
of an accident and received a suspended sentence. The incident effectively
ended his presidential ambitions. Kopechne’s family has said they never
received an adequate explanation. Kennedy represented Massachusetts in
the Senate until his death in 2009.
1976 — Nadia Comaneci of Romania
became the first gymnast in Olympic history to score a perfect 10,
performing on the uneven bars at the Montreal Games. The moment produced
one of the most famous visual ironies in sports history: the scoreboard
had not been programmed to display a score of 10.0 because a perfect
score was considered impossible, so it displayed
1.00 instead. The crowd was confused until the
announcer clarified. Comaneci went on to score six more perfect 10s
at the same Games. She was 14 years old.
1992 — A photograph of Les Horribles
Cernettes, a parody pop group of CERN employees, was taken
by physicist Silvano de Gennaro. It was later posted to a CERN website
by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, becoming
the first photograph published on
the World Wide Web. The band’s name translates roughly as
“The Horrible CERN Girls.” They played at CERN events for years.
History remembered them for one photograph.
2013 — The city of Detroit, Michigan
filed for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy with approximately $18-20 billion
in debt, the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The filing
reflected decades of population loss, industrial decline, pension
obligations, and infrastructure decay. Detroit’s population had fallen
from 1.8 million in 1950 to under 700,000 by 2013. The city emerged
from bankruptcy in December 2014 and has since seen significant
downtown reinvestment, though neighborhood recovery has been uneven.
Billboard Number One on July 18
- 1960: “I’m Sorry” — Brenda Lee (No. 1:
July 18 through August 7, 1960). Three weeks at the top. Lee was 15
years old when she recorded it. Her label initially resisted releasing
it, believing a teenager could not convincingly sing an adult heartbreak
ballad. Radio DJs who received advance copies disagreed loudly enough
that the label relented. Lee stood 4 feet 9 inches tall and was billed
early in her career as “Little Miss Dynamite,” which suited both her
stature and her voice. - 1964: “Rag Doll” — The Four Seasons
(No. 1: July 18-31, 1964). Two weeks at the top. Written by Bob Crewe
and Bob Gaudio after Gaudio noticed a girl shining shoes outside a
recording studio, a detail that became the song’s core image. The Four
Seasons story was later told in the Broadway musical and film
Jersey Boys (2014).
Born on July 18
- Margaret “Molly” Brown (1867-1932) — American
philanthropist, activist, and survivor of the sinking of the
RMS Titanic in 1912. Brown reportedly helped row
Lifeboat 6 and urged the crew to return for survivors in the water.
Her outspoken personality led to her nickname “The Unsinkable Molly
Brown,” though she was not widely called that until after her death.
She was a tireless advocate for labor rights, women’s suffrage, and
literacy. A Broadway musical and film (1964) told her story. She never
cared much for the nickname. - Machine Gun Kelly (1895-1954) — American gangster
born George Kelly Barnes. His nickname “Machine Gun Kelly” was given
to him by his wife, Kathryn, who also gave him his first machine gun
and coached him to practice shooting walnuts off fence posts to build
his reputation. He was convicted of kidnapping oil tycoon Charles Urschel
in 1933 and spent the rest of his life in federal prison, including
Alcatraz. He died in prison of a heart attack. Despite the fearsome
reputation his wife constructed, FBI agents who arrested him reported
he surrendered without resistance, saying “Don’t shoot, G-Men.” - Red Skelton (1913-1997) — American comedian, actor,
and artist whose radio and television career spanned four decades.
The Red Skelton Show ran on radio and television from 1941
to 1971. His characters including Freddie the Freeloader and Clem
Kadiddlehopper were beloved by multiple generations. He was also a
prolific painter of clowns, which either explains everything about
him or nothing. He once said his purpose was to make people smile.
He generally succeeded. - Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) — South African
anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner, and statesman who became
the first democratically elected President of South Africa in 1994
after spending 27 years in prison, 18 of them on
Robben Island. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1993 alongside F.W. de Klerk. His transition from prisoner to
president without pursuing retribution against his former oppressors
is one of the most remarkable acts of political restraint in modern
history. He died on December 5, 2013, at age 95. World flags flew
at half-staff in 91 countries. - John Glenn (1921-2016) — American astronaut,
Marine Corps aviator, and U.S. Senator who on February 20, 1962,
became the first American to orbit the Earth aboard Friendship 7.
He orbited three times in approximately five hours. In 1998, at age
77, he flew again on Space Shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest
person to fly in space. He served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio from
1974 to 1999. He died on December 8, 2016, at age 95. He was the
last surviving member of the Mercury Seven astronauts. - Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (1929-2000) — American
singer and entertainer whose 1956 recording of “I Put a Spell on You”
became one of the most influential performances in rock and roll history.
He pioneered theatrical shock rock, emerging from a coffin on stage
and carrying a skull named Henry on a stick. He claimed to have fathered
between 57 and 75 children with various women across the country.
A documentary team later confirmed at least 33. He was, by all accounts,
a singular individual. - Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) — American journalist
and author who founded Gonzo journalism, a style in which the reporter
becomes an active participant in the story rather than an outside
observer. His books Hell’s Angels (1967) and
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971) are considered
landmarks of American literary journalism. He covered politics for
Rolling Stone throughout the 1970s with a ferocity that
influenced generations of writers. He died by suicide in February 2005
at his home in Woody Creek, Colorado. His ashes were fired from a cannon
mounted atop a 153-foot tower at his memorial service, per his explicit
instructions. The cannon was funded by Johnny Depp. - Martha Reeves (1941) — American singer and lead
vocalist of Martha and the Vandellas, one of Motown’s most successful
acts. “Dancing in the Street” (1964), “Heat Wave” (1963), and
“Nowhere to Run” (1965) are among her recordings. She later served
on the Detroit City Council from 2005 to 2009, which is a career
arc not many Motown legends have matched. - Joe Torre (1940) — American baseball player and
manager who won four World Series championships as manager of the
New York Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000). As a player he was a
nine-time All-Star. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
in 2014. He has served as MLB’s Chief Baseball Officer since 2011
and has been an advocate for domestic violence awareness since his
playing days. - Vin Diesel (1967) — American actor born Mark
Sinclair, best known for the Fast and Furious franchise,
which has grossed over $7 billion worldwide. Less widely known:
he is a devoted Dungeons and Dragons player who has spoken in
interviews about playing the game throughout his adult life. He
played a half-witch, half-elf character named Melkor for years.
He wrote the foreword to a D&D anniversary book. He contains multitudes. - Kristen Bell (1980) — American actress best known
as the voice of Anna in Disney’s Frozen franchise and as
Eleanor Shellstrop in The Good Place (2016-2020). She has
spoken openly about living with anxiety and depression and has been
an advocate for mental health awareness. She married actor Dax Shepard
in 2013 and they co-host the podcast Armchair Expert. - Priyanka Chopra (1982) — Indian actress, producer,
and former Miss World (2000) who built a major film career in Bollywood
before crossing over to American television with Quantico
(2015-2018) and international films. She married singer Nick Jonas
in 2018 in a multi-day ceremony combining Christian and Hindu traditions,
which was covered as extensively as a state visit. - M.I.A. (1975) — British rapper, singer, and
artist born Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, of Sri Lankan Tamil descent.
Her debut album Arular (2005) was named one of the best albums
of the decade by multiple publications. “Paper Planes” (2008) reached
No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. She performed at the Super Bowl XLVI
halftime show in 2012 while visibly pregnant. She has been consistently
controversial and consistently original.
Birthday Quotes from July 18 Birthdays
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin,
or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they
can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally
to the human heart than its opposite.”
“If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years on this planet, it’s
that the happiest and most fulfilled people I’ve known are those who devoted
themselves to something bigger and more profound than merely their own
self-interest.”
“I personally believe that each of us was put here for a purpose, to
build not to destroy. If I can make people smile, then I have served my
purpose for God.”
“Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It’s about
preparation, courage, understanding, and nurturing your people, and heart.
Winning is the result.”
“Believe it or not, there are interesting elements in everyone. So if
I can’t talk to everybody for at least 7 to 10 minutes, then I’m in the
wrong profession.”
“If you want to wear funky clothes, do it. I like to wear tie-dyed
shirts and colorful clothes. It makes me happy. Everyone needs to find
what makes them happy.”
Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts for July 18
- Netflix needs an incognito mode so that watching terrible films
does not result in being recommended more terrible films. This is
a legitimate product gap that has existed since 2007. - The head Keebler elf who does most of the talking is named
Ernie Keebler. The Hollow Tree factory was introduced
in 1969. Ernie has been the primary spokesperson for over 50 years.
He has never aged, which raises questions the commercials decline
to address. - The first film to receive the marketing label
“blockbuster” was Jaws (1975), directed
by Steven Spielberg. The term referred to its massive box office
draw. It invented the modern summer blockbuster release model and
changed how Hollywood scheduled films. Before Jaws, summer
was considered a weak season for film releases. - The word “hocus pocus” may derive from
hoc est corpus meum, the Latin phrase used in the Catholic
Mass during the consecration of the Eucharist. The theory holds that
Protestant critics mocked the transubstantiation ritual by corrupting
the phrase. This is a widely cited origin but not confirmed by
linguists, who classify it as a plausible theory rather than
established fact. - “Oh, if you’re a bird, be an early bird and catch the worm for
your breakfast plate. If you’re a bird, be an early bird. But if
you’re a worm, sleep late.” — Shel Silverstein. This is the complete
and correct version of the advice. The worm’s perspective is underrepresented
in motivational literature. - Myanmar has two capitals in practical terms: Yangon
(formerly Rangoon) remains the largest city and commercial center.
Naypyidaw became the official administrative capital
in 2006 when the military government moved government offices there
with very little public explanation. Naypyidaw was built from scratch
in the jungle and has famously wide empty highways, a large zoo, and
very few ordinary residents. - A group of oysters is called a bed. A group of
oysters in a restaurant is called an appetizer. The distinction matters
mostly to the oysters. - Nadia Comaneci scored a perfect 10 on July 18, 1976, and the
scoreboard displayed 1.00 because it had not been
programmed to show a score that high. The crowd was confused.
The announcer clarified. She then did it six more times at the
same Games. She was 14 years old and apparently unbothered by
the scoreboard’s limitations. - “Let’s be careful out there.” — Sergeant Phil Esterhaus,
Hill Street Blues (1981-1987). Said at the end of every
morning briefing in every episode until actor Michael Conrad
died in 1983. The line has since entered common American idiom. - A liger is a real animal, the offspring of a male lion and a
female tiger. It is the largest known cat, capable of reaching
900 pounds. It is not, to current scientific knowledge, bred for
its skills in magic. Napoleon Dynamite got one thing wrong. - Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes were fired from a cannon at his
memorial service in 2005, from a 153-foot tower shaped like his
Gonzo fist symbol, to the sound of “Mr. Tambourine Man” and
“Spirit in the Sky.” The cannon was funded by Johnny Depp.
It reportedly worked perfectly. Thompson had planned it that way. - Machine Gun Kelly’s fearsome reputation was largely constructed
by his wife Kathryn, who gave him the machine gun, arranged the
target practice, and spread the stories. When FBI agents arrested him,
he reportedly said “Don’t shoot, G-Men,” which is the origin of
that particular slang term for FBI agents. The Bureau has never
formally confirmed or denied this.