Daily Almanac: October 18, 2023

Sunrise/Sunset:

RISE: 7:59 a.m.
SET: 7:05 p.m.

High/Low Temperatures:

HIGH: 70 °F
LOW: 42 °F

Today is…:

• Global Dignity Day
• Love Your Body Day
• National Chocolate Cupcake Day

What Happened On This Day:

• 1967 First Space Probe to Enter the Atmosphere of Another Planet. The Soviet Probe Venera 4 entered Venus’ atmosphere and sent back information to Earth for about 90 minutes before it lost contact. When Venera 7 landed on Venus a few years later, it became the first probe to land on another planet.
• 1867 Alaska Becomes a Part of the United States. US had purchased the large and sparsely populated territory of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. The purchase was not seen as a positive acquirement by many American citizens who believed that adding Alaska to the US’s territory was a waste of taxpayers’ money. Many called the act, Seward’s folly after Secretary of State William H. Seward, who was responsible for making the purchase. Alaska was admitted to the Union as a state in 1959. October 18 is annually celebrated as Alaska Day in Alaska.
• 1851 Moby Dick is Published for the First Time. The epic written by American novelist, Herman Melville, is about a sailor’s obsession with tracking down and killing an elusive whale that took his leg in a previous encounter. The book was published as The Whale in London for the first time and then a month later as Moby Dick in the United States. It is thought to be one of the best works of fiction written in modern times.

Births On This Day:

• 1987 Zac Efron

American actor, singer
• 1960 Jean-Claude Van Damme

Belgian martial artist, actor, director

Deaths On This Day:

• 1973 Leo Strauss

German/American philosopher

• 1541 Margaret Tudor

English wife of James IV of Scotland