March 18th
1584
Russian czar Ivan IV, or Ivan “The Terrible,” died at age 53.
1766
After months of American protests, Britain repealed the Stamp Act.
1881
Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth opened in Madison Square Gardens.
1909
Einar Dessau of Denmark used a shortwave transmitter to converse with a government radio post about six miles away in what's believed to have been the first broadcast by a "ham" operator.
1925
The most violent single tornado in U.S. history, the “Tri-State Tornado,” hit Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois, killing 689 people and injuring 13,000 others.
1931
Schick Inc. marketed the first electric razor.
1961
The Poppin' Fresh Pillsbury Dough Boy was introduced.
1967
The oil tanker Torrey Canyon was wrecked off the Cornish coast of England, spilling 919,000 barrels of oil into the sea.
1990
The biggest art theft in U.S. history occurs at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The works, including pieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt, were never recovered.
2004
A small asteroid made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded, only about 26,500 miles away.
2005
After a long legal battle, Terry Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. She died 13 days later.
2008
Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") died in London at age 54.
Birthdays
83 Peter Graves Actor ("Mission: Impossible")
66 Kevin Dobson Actor ("Knots Landing")
59 Brad Dourif Actor ("Deadwood")
58 Ben Cohen Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream
47 Thomas Ian Griffith Actor
47 Mike Rowe Television personality ("Dirty Jobs")
46 Vanessa L. Williams Singer, actress
43 Jerry Cantrell Rock musician (Alice in Chains)
39 Queen Latifah Singer and actress
37 Dane Cook Actor, comedian
30 Adam Levine Rock singer (Maroon Five)
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MaytagMan Cigar Asylum Inmate
68 John C. Calhoun 3/18/1782 - 3/31/1850 7th Vice President of the United States (1825-1832)
71 Grover Cleveland 3/18/1837 - 6/24/1908 22nd and 24th president of the United States
55 Rudolf Diesel 3/18/1858 - 9/29/1913 German thermal engineer; invented the internal-combustion engine