On This Day for July 18 - Publication of Mein Kampf, Nelson Mandela is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. July 18 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Nelson Mandela READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1925 Publication of Mein Kampf READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2013: Detroit submitted a claim for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, the largest such filing for a U.S. city ever; the city officially emerged from bankruptcy the following year. 1976: For her performance in the uneven parallel bars at the Olympic Games in Montreal, Nadia Comăneci of Romania became the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. [ Sort fact from fiction in our gymnastics quiz.] 1944: Allied forces captured the French town of Saint-Lô, a vital communications centre, during World War II. [Sort fact from fiction in our World War II quiz.] 1927: American baseball player Ty Cobb collected his 4,000th career hit. [ See where Ty Cobb ranks on our list of the 10 greatest baseball players of all time.] 1921: John Glenn—the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962—was born. [ Take our quiz of famous astronauts and cosmonauts.] 1918: French General Ferdinand Foch launched a counterstrike that forced the Germans into a hasty retreat during the Second Battle of the Marne, the last large German offensive of World War I. [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about World War I.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1918 Nelson Mandela president of South Africa 1967 Vin Diesel American actor and producer 1950 Richard Branson British entrepreneur 1975 M.I.A. British-born Sri Lankan rapper 1937 Hunter S. Thompson American journalist 1927 Kurt Masur German conductor SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help