On This Day for October 18 - Alaska Purchase approved, Pierre Elliott Trudeau is featured, and more ~ Historian Fact

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October 18

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Pierre Elliott Trudeau

FEATURED EVENT

1867

Alaska Purchase approved

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MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2007: After eight years of self-imposed exile, Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan, and hours later she was nearly killed when her motorcade was bombed in Karāchi; she was assassinated in December.

1988: The American sitcom Roseanne, starring Roseanne Barr, premiered on ABC and became hugely popular, noted for deriving humour from the everyday struggles of middle-class families and for tackling controversial issues. [See if Roseanne made our list of 10 of the best American sitcoms.]

1961: The acclaimed musical film West Side Story, an adaptation of a Broadway play, was released in American theatres; it won 10 Academy Awards, including that for best picture. [ Sort fact from fiction in our film quiz.]

1956: Tennis player Martina Navratilova—who dominated the sport in the late 20th century, winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles—was born in Prague. [How much do you know about tennis?]

1939: Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, was born in New Orleans. [Read about nine infamous assassins and the world leaders they dispatched.]

1931: American gangster Al Capone was convicted of federal income-tax evasion and was subsequently sentenced to 11 years in prison. [Take our quiz about mobster nicknames .]

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