On This Day October 18th

 OTD

October 18th is the 291st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 74 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation.

1540 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto's forces destroy the fortified town of Mabila in present-day Alabama, killing Tuskaloosa.

1648 – Boston shoemakers form the first American labor organization.

1851 – Herman Melville's Moby-Dick was first published as The Whale by Richard Bentley of London.

1867 – United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. She is celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.

1922 – A consortium founded the British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters to provide a national broadcasting service.

1954 – Texas Instruments announces the Regency TR-1, the first mass-produced transistor radio.

1979 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began allowing people to have home satellite earth stations without a federal government license.

 

Birthdays

1595 – Edward Winslow, American Pilgrim leader (d. 1655)

1616 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist (d. 1654)

1836 – Frederick August Otto Schwarz, an American businessman, founded FAO Schwarz (d. 1911)

1906 – James Brooks, American painter and educator (d. 1992)

1923 – Jessie Mae Hemphill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)

1928 – Keith Jackson, American sportscaster and actor (d. 2018)

1946 – Howard Shore, Canadian composer, conductor, and producer

1956 – Martina Navratilova, Czech-American tennis player and coach

1989 – Riisa Naka, Japanese model and actress

 

Holiday Spotlight

FLORA DUFFY DAY

Flora Duffy Day is celebrated annually on October 18 in Bermuda. This public holiday is celebrated across the country in honor of the Bermudian triathlete Dame Flora Duffy D.B.E. Duffy is an exceptional athlete who won Bermuda’s first gold medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020. Bermuda also became the smallest country in the world to win a gold medal at the Olympics, thanks to Duffy’s success.

 

Duffy’s gold at the Tokyo Olympics was not her first time competing. An accomplished athlete, Duffy has competed in the International Triathlon Union (I.T.U.) World Triathlon Series and the I.T.U. Cross Triathlon. She has also competed multiple times in the X-Terra World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. The 2020 Olympics was not even her first Olympics. Duffy competed as a triathlete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. She then participated in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where she won her gold medal as a triathlete.

 

In all her Olympic Games, Duffy represented Bermuda. Duffy was already a favorite to grab a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She speaks about realizing that the award was more significant than her, as she knew the hopes of Bermuda were resting on her. Duffy was under incredible pressure in the five years leading up to the 2020 Olympics. At the Olympic triathlon, Duffy competed against 56 other women and won with a time of one hour, 55 minutes, and 36 seconds. Her time was more than a minute ahead of medalists Georgia Taylor Brown of Great Britain and Katie Zaferes from the U.S.A.

 

 

Others Include

Alaska Day - October 18, 2023

Global Dignity Day

Hagfish Day

Hard Boiled Guy/Girl Day

International Necktie Day

International Print Day

Love Your Body Day

Meatloaf Appreciation Day

Medical Assistants Recognition Day

National No Beard Day

Newspaper Comic Strip Appreciation Day

Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce

Thank Your Cleaner Day - October 18, 2023

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