Saturday 18th of August 0440

44th Pope Sixtus III dies of unknown causes at the age of 50 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Wednesday 18th of August 1227

1st Khagan of the Mongol Empire Genghis Khan dies of injuries suffered when falling off his horse at the age of 65 in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

The exact cause of Khan's death remains a mystery and is variously attributed to being killed in action against the Western Xia, illness, falling from his horse or wounds sustained in hunting or battle.

Tuesday 18th of August 1276

186th Pope Adrianus V dies of natural causes at the age of 66 in Viterbo, Lazio, Italy.

Tuesday 18th of August 1503

214th Pope Alexander VI dies of fever at the age of 72 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

According to historian Raphael Volterrano "It was a revolting scene to look at that deformed, blackened corpse, prodigiously swelled, and exhaling an infectious smell; his lips and nose were covered with brown drivel, his mouth was opened very widely, and his tongue, inflated by poison,... therefore no fanatic or devotee dared to kiss his feet or hands, as custom would have required."

Tuesday 18th of August 1559

223rd Pope Paulus IV dies of ill health at the age of 83 in Vatican City, Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Friday 18th of August 1634

Priest and philanderer Urbain Grandier aka The Devil of Loudun is executed by burning at the stake at the age of 44 in Loudun, Poitou-Charentes, France.

Grandier supposedly bewitched an entire Ursuline nun convent into debauchery.

Sunday 18th of August 1850

Writer and playwright Honoré de Balzac known for La Comédie Humaine dies of peritonitis and gangrene at the age of 51 in 18 Rue Fortunée, Paris, VIIIe, Île-de-France, France.

de Balzac's face was swollen up and had turned black.

Sunday 18th of August 1867

Geographer, artillery officer, cartographer, archaeologist and explorer of South America Percy Percival Harrison Fawcett is born in Torquay, Devon, United Kingdom.

Monday 18th of August 1919

26-year-old Serial killer Friedrich Schumann aka Der Massenmörder vom Falkenhager See shoots 52-year-old forester Wilhelm Nielbock in Hohenhorster Weg, Berlin, Falkensee, Berlin, Germany.

Earlier that day Schumann had already shot an unidentified man on his bicycle on Spandauer Chaussee. Before succombing, Nielbock also fired a hailshot at Schumann. When Schumann went to see a doctor two days later, he was arrested.

Friday 18th of August 1922

Film director Alain Robbe-Grillet is born in Brest, Bretagne, France.

Friday 18th of August 1933

Film director Roman Polanski is born as Rajmund Roman Thierry Polański in Paris, Île-de-France, France.

Saturday 18th of August 1934

Attorney and writer Vincent T. Bugliosi known for prosecuting Charles Manson is born in Hibbing, Minnesota, United States.

Tuesday 18th of August 1936

Actor and film director Robert Charles Redford aka The Godfather of Indie Film is born in Santa Monica, California, United States.

Monday 18th of August 1947

147 die in storage depot explosion in Base de Defensas Submarinas, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain.

Some 1.737 sea mines, torpedoes and depth charges containing 200 tonnes of TNT and amatol, exploded for unknown reasons.

Monday 18th of August 1958

The novel 'Lolita' by 59-year-old Writer Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov aka Vladimir Sirin known for Lolita is first published in America by G.P. Putnam's Sons in New York City, New York, United States.

Lolita sold 100.000 copies in the first three weeks of publication.

Thursday 18th of August 1960

Pop group The Beatles play their first concert in Indra Club, Grosse Freiheit 64, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

The tired and hungry band played to just a handful of spectators, mainly prostitutes and their clients. They also had to turn down their amplifiers following a complaint from the woman who lived above the venue. Nervous of the unfamiliar surroundings The Beatles played the entire four and a half hour opening show, huddled together and standing stock still.

Monday 18th of August 1969

64-year-old Murderess Winnie Ruth Judd aka The Trunk Murderess is arrested in San Francisco after a six-year period of escape in Arizona State Hospital, 2500 E. Van Buren, Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

Judd became a live-in maid for a wealthy family living in a mansion overlooking the bay using the name Marian Lane.

Thursday 18th of August 1977

19-year-old Marie Alice Hovarter and 19-year-old Juanita Joanne Johnson are killed when a car plows into a group of several hundred 42-year-old Singer and actor Elvis Aaron Presley aka The King of Rock and Roll fans that were holding a vigil outside the gates of Graceland in Graceland, 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Whitehaven, Tennessee, United States.

Sunday 18th of August 1985

Over 300 die in ferry capsizing in Songhua River, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.

The passengers had all rushed to one side to watch a fistfight onboard.

Friday 18th of August 1989

Murderer Herbert Lee Richardson is executed by Old Sparky at the age of 43 in Holman Correctional Facility, Ross Road, Atmore, Alabama, United States.

Wednesday 18th of August 1999

Murderer Joe Mario Trevino is executed by lethal injection at the age of 37 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Monday 18th of August 2003

44-year-old Performance artist Danny Devos aka DDV plays at the Leo Art Project in Ruangrupa, Jalan Tebet Barat Dalam 1/26, Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Monday 18th of August 2003

A devoted fan with a dubious t-shirt at Ruangrupa in Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Thursday 18th of August 2005

60-year-old Serial killer Dennis Lynn Rader aka The BTK Killer is sentenced to 10 consecutive life sentences with a minimum of 175 years in Wichita, Kansas, United States.

Friday 18th of August 2006

Our cat Harry helping out with archiving Club Moral documents in Oudstrijdersstraat 35, Antwerpen, Borgerhout, Antwerpen, Belgium.