This Day In History : July 18

1968 United States

Intel founded

Intel Corporation was founded on July 18, 1968, by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, who were both former employees of Fairchild Semiconductor. The company was initially focused on the production of semiconductor memory chips but later expanded its product line to include microprocessors, which became its primary business.

Also on This Day in History July 18

Discover what happened on July 18 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, July 18
  • 1853 Hendrik Lorentz

    Dutch physicist who discovered and explained the Zeeman effect and derived the transformation equations used by Albert Einstein to describe space and time. Lorentz won the Nobel Prize in 1902

  • 1635 Robert Hooke

    English physicist and the first person to see micrographia by using a microscope

  • 1720 Gilbert White

    English clergyman and naturalist known as the “father of English natural history”

  • 1918 Nelson Mandela

    South African anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner (1962-90) and President of South Africa (1994-99)

  • 1921 John Glenn

    American astronaut who was the 1st American to orbit the earth and politician (Senator D-Ohio)

Deaths on This Day, July 18
  • 1890 Lydia Becker

    English journalist, author and activist who co-founded the Women's Suffrage Journal

  • 1892 Thomas Cook

    English travel agent who founded the Thomas Cook Group

  • 1931 Oskar Minkowski

    German physiologist and physician (pancreas and diabetes)

  • 1997 Eugene M. Shoemaker

    American planetary scientist and geologist (Shoemaker-Levy comet)

  • 1990 Karl Augustus Menninger

    American physician who co-founded the Menninger Foundation (1941)

1914

The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps which gives official status to aircraft in the U.S. Army

The U.S. Congress formed the Aviation Section of the U.S. Signal Corps on July 18, 1914. This legislation gave official status to aircraft in the U.S. Army and laid the groundwork for the development of military aviation in the United States.
2024

Great Fire of Rome begins under the Emperor Nero

The Great Fire of Rome began under the Emperor Nero on July 18, AD 64. This devastating fire lasted for six days and caused widespread destruction throughout the city of Rome. Despite rumors that Nero himself started the fire, most historians believe that the cause of the fire remains unknown.
1925

Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf

"Mein Kampf," which translates to "My Struggle" in English, is a book written by Adolf Hitler during his imprisonment following the failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. It was published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, respectively.
1947

Indian Independence Act

The Indian Independence Act, which was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, received Royal Assent on July 18, 1947. This act effectively partitioned British India into two separate independent dominions, India and Pakistan. It marked the culmination of India's struggle for independence from British rule and paved the way for the end of British colonialism in the Indian subcontinent.
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