October 18
October 18 is the 292nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 74 days remain until the year's end. It falls in autumn (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Libra.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On October 18 the Sun's declination is approximately -11.0°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a October 18.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Alaska Day (Alaska, United States)
- Christian feast day: Asclepiades of Antioch
- Christian feast day: Isaac Jogues
- Christian feast day: Luke the Evangelist
- Christian feast day: Peter of Alcantara, can also be celebrated on October 19.
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2019 — NASA Astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch take part in the first all-female spacewalk when they venture out of the International Space Station to replace a power controller. ↗(7 years ago)more
The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
2019 — Riots in Chile's capital Santiago escalate into open battles, with attacks reported at nearly all of the city's 164 Metro stations. President Sebastián Piñera later announces a 15-day state of emergency in the capital. ↗(7 years ago)more
A series of massive demonstrations and severe riots, known in Chile as the Social Outburst, originated in Santiago and took place in all regions of Chile, with greater effect in the regional capitals. The protests mainly occurred between October 2019 and March 2020, in response to a rise in the Santiago Metro's subway fare, a probity crisis, cost of livin...
- 2007 — Karachi bombing: A suicide attack on a motorcade carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto kills 139 and wounds 450 more. Bhutto herself is uninjured. ↗(19 years ago)
more
A bombing attack on a motorcade carrying former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto occurred on 18 October 2007 in Karachi, Pakistan. The bombing occurred two months before she was assassinated.
2003 — Bolivian gas conflict: Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada is forced to resign and leave Bolivia. ↗(23 years ago)more
The Bolivian Gas War or Bolivian gas conflict was a social confrontation in Bolivia reaching its peak in 2003, centering on the exploitation of the country's vast natural gas reserves. The expression can be extended to refer to the general conflict in Bolivia over the exploitation of gas resources, thus including the 2005 protests and the election of Evo ...
1992 — Merpati Nustantara Airlines Flight 5601 crashes into Mount Papandayan near the town of Garut in West Java, Indonesia, killing 31. ↗(34 years ago)more
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 5601 (MNA5601/MZ5601) was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Semarang to Bandung, Indonesia. On 18 October 1992, the two-year-old CASA/IPTN CN-235-10 was on approach to Bandung when it crashed into Mount Puntang, near Mount Papandayan, West Java, Indonesia at 1:30 pm in bad weather.
1991 — The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopts a declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. ↗(35 years ago)more
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental landlocked country at the boundary of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Turkey, via the exclave of Nakhchivan, and Armenia to ...
1989 — The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-34 to deploy the Jupiter-bound Galileo space probe. ↗(37 years ago)more
Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985.
1979 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) begins allowing people to have home satellite earth stations without a federal government license. ↗(47 years ago)more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, Wi-Fi, satellite, and cable across the United States.
1978 — Based on the world's first children's art museum, the Henrik Igityan National Centre for Aesthetics opened in Yerevan. ↗(48 years ago)more
Henrik Igityan National Centre for Aesthetics (NCA) is a gallery and museum in Yerevan, Armenia. It was based on, and as of 2024 includes, the Children's Art Museum, which was founded in 1970 by Henrik Igityan and Zhanna Aghamiryan.
- 1977 — German Autumn: A set of events revolving around the kidnapping of Hanns Martin Schleyer and the hijacking of a Lufthansa flight by the Red Army Faction (RAF) comes to an end when Schleyer is murdered and various RAF members allegedly commit suicide. ↗(49 years ago)
more
The German Autumn refers to the period and political atmosphere in the Federal Republic of Germany during September and October 1977. This period was marked by a series of attacks by the Red Army Faction (RAF), a far-left militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the West German government.
1967 — The Soviet probe Venera 4 reaches Venus and becomes the first spacecraft to measure the atmosphere of another planet. ↗(59 years ago)more
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It was the world's third-most populous country, largest by area, and bordered twelve countries.
1963 — Félicette, a black and white female Parisian stray cat, becomes the first cat launched into space. ↗(63 years ago)more
Félicette was a Parisian cat that became the first feline launched into space on 18 October 1963 as part of the French space program. She was one of 14 female cats trained for spaceflight. The cats had electrodes implanted into their skulls to monitor their neurological activity throughout the flight.
Notable births
2000 — Sophie Thatcher, American actress ↗(26 years ago)more
Sophie Bathsheba Thatcher is an American actress and musician. After beginning as a child actress in stage plays and minor television roles, she made her feature film debut in Prospect (2018), and later had her breakthrough in the series Yellowjackets (2021–present).
1998 — Janalynn Castelino, Italian-Indian singer-songwriter ↗(28 years ago)more
Janalynn Castelino is an Italian-Indian pop singer-songwriter and doctor. She made her international crossover debut in 2024, with the Spanish-language single "Drama". Her music has been described as pop with R&B elements. Castelino has recorded in many languages including English, Latin, Italian, Spanish and Hindi.
1996 — Terance Mann, American basketball player ↗(30 years ago)more
Terance Stanley Mann is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. Mann was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2019 NBA draft with the 48th overall pick.
1994 — Enhō Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler ↗(32 years ago)more
Enhō Yūya is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ishikawa Prefecture. He made his debut in March 2017 and was a member of Miyagino stable, under the guidance of former yokozuna Hakuhō, until his transfer to Isegahama stable in March 2024. His highest rank has been maegashira 4.
1994 — Pascal Wehrlein, German-Mauritian race car driver ↗(32 years ago)more
Pascal Konrad Wehrlein is a German and Mauritian racing driver, who competes in Formula E for Porsche. In formula racing, Wehrlein competed under the German flag in Formula One from 2016 to 2017, and won the 2023–24 Formula E World Championship with Porsche.
1993 — Ivan Cavaleiro, Portuguese footballer ↗(33 years ago)more
Ivan Ricardo Neves Abreu Cavaleiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Swiss Super League club Zürich. Mainly a winger, he can also play as a forward.
Notable deaths
2025 — Sam Rivers, American bassist (born 1977) ↗(1 years ago)more
Samuel Robert Rivers was an American musician. He was the bassist, backing vocalist and was one of the founding members of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit.
2025 — Yang Chen-Ning, Chinese theoretical physicist (born 1922) ↗(1 years ago)more
Yang Chen-Ning also known as C.N. Yang and Franklin Yang, was a Chinese-American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to statistical mechanics, integrable systems, gauge theory, particle physics and condensed matter physics.
2025 — Lia Smith, American diver and transgender rights advocate. ↗(1 years ago)more
Lia Purcell Smith was an American student at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, who died by suicide on October 18, 2025, at the age of 21. She was reported missing by her father on October 19, 2025, and her body was found by the Vermont State Police near Middlebury College's organic farm in Cornwall, Vermont, on October 24, 2025.
2024 — Yehuda Bauer, Israeli historian of the Holocaust (born 1926) ↗(2 years ago)more
Yehuda Bauer was a Czech-born Israeli historian and scholar of the Holocaust. He was a professor of Holocaust studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
2024 — Ginés González García, Argentine politician and physician (born 1945) ↗(2 years ago)more
Ginés González García was an Argentine politician and physician who served twice as the country's Minister of Health under the successive presidencies of Eduardo Duhalde and Néstor Kirchner, from 2002 to 2007, and under President Alberto Fernández, from 2019 to 2021.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (292) | 2^2 × 73 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (74) | 2 × 37 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 18102026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -11.04° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 63 days |