Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August 18
This is a list of selected August 18 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article, featured list or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
August 18: Long Tan Day in Australia
- 1572 – French Wars of Religion: Marguerite de Valois (pictured) was married to Huguenot King Henry of Navarre, in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants and Catholics.
- 1590 – John White, the governor of the Colony of Roanoke, returned from a supply trip to England and found his settlement deserted.
- 1868 – Astronomer Pierre Janssen discovered helium while analyzing the chromosphere of the sun during a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India.
- 1966 – Vietnam War: A company of the Royal Australian Regiment fought a much larger North Vietnamese unit at the Battle of Long Tan, defeating them the next day.
- 1989 – Leading Colombian presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán was assassinated during a public demonstration in the town of Soacha, Cundinamarca.