On This Day

18th April

1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica was laid.

1909 – Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome.

1783 – Fighting ceased in the American Revolution, eight years since it began.

1924 – Simon & Schuster published the first crossword puzzle book.

1945 – Over 1,000 allied bombers attacked the small island of Heligoland, Germany.

1955 - Albert Einstein died.

1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) came into being. Canaan Banana was the country's first President.

1983 – A suicide bomber destroyed the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people.

1996 – At least 106 civilians were killed when the Israel Defense Forces shelled the UN compound at Quana, Lebanon, where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.

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