Once Upon A Time – June 18 – 1812 – War Of 1812 Begins As US Declares War Against Britain

618 Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty’s rule over China

1812 War of 1812 begins as US declares war against Britain

1815 Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon and France defeated by British forces under Wellington and Prussian troops under Blucher

1928 American aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, landing at Burry Port, Wales

1940 Winston Churchill’s “this was their finest hour” speech urging perseverance during Battle of Britain delivered to British House of Commons

HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY

TODAY IN FILM & TV

1969 “The Wild Bunch”, directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine, is released

TODAY IN MUSIC

1991 “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” single released by Bryan Adams (Billboard Song of the Year, 1991)

TODAY IN SPORT

1995 All Black Jonah Lomu scores the try of the Rugby World Cup, running over Mike Catt in New Zealand’s 45-29 defeat of England

MORE FACTS

1583 Richard Martin of London takes out first life insurance policy, on William Gibbons; premium was £383

1959 Governor of Louisiana Earl K. Long is committed to a state mental hospital; he responds by having the hospital’s director fired and replaced with a crony who proceeds to proclaim him perfectly sane

FAMOUS WEDDINGS

1839 Dutch prince Willem Alexander (later William III) weds cousin Princess Sophia

1858 Norwegian modernist playwright “The Doll’s House” Henrik Ibsen (30) marries Suzannah Thoresen (21) in Oslo

1953 Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. (24) marries fellow activist and singer Coretta Scott (26)