What Happened on August 18

National Affairs

1920 — Suffrage Amendment Ratified; 26 Million Women to Vote

Tennessee's approval gives the Nineteenth Amendment its 36th state — the franchise is secured for the coming presidential election

The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is ratified this day, and with it the suffrage of 26,000,000 American women is assured in time for the presidential election in November. Tennessee's approval, delivered in the House of Representatives this afternoon, supplied the requisite 36th state ratification, and the long struggle for woman's enfranchisement is at an end.

The amendment declares that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Its text, first introduced in Congress in 1878, waited forty-one years for passage, finally carrying the House on May 21, 1919, and the Senate thereafter.

President Wilson, who announced his support in 1918 under pressure from the National Woman's Party and the National American Woman Suffrage Association, telegraphed his congratulations to the Tennessee legislature. The campaign has been a bitter one in this State, with anti-suffrage forces rallying to the last.

In Washington, the National Woman's Party, whose members picketed the White House through 1917 and saw more than 200 of their number, the Silent Sentinels, arrested and imprisoned, hailed the victory.

• The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, after achieving the requisite 36 state ratifications.
• The amendment enfranchised 26 million American women in time for the 1920 U.S. presidential election.
• The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878, but did not pass the House until May 21, 1919.
• President Woodrow Wilson announced his support of the suffrage amendment in 1918 after pressure from the National Woman's Party and NAWSA.
• Over 200 NWP supporters, the Silent Sentinels, were arrested in 1917 while picketing the White House.

Astronomical Notes

1868 — A New Element in the Sun

M. Janssen's eclipse observation reveals a yellow line never seen in the laboratory, leading to the naming of helium.

The science of astronomy, which in this century has already overturned the old cosmogony, has now added a new element to the catalogue of nature. During the total eclipse of the sun on the eighteenth of August, M. Pierre Janssen, the eminent French astronomer, observed in the spectrum of the solar prominences a bright yellow line which has never been produced in any terrestrial laboratory. He has concluded that it belongs to an element unknown upon the earth, to which the name helium has been given, from the Greek helios, the sun.

The observation was made at Guntoor, in India, where M. Janssen had established his instruments for the express purpose of catching the few minutes of totality. The line in question, situated in the yellow part of the spectrum, lies very close to the well-known D lines of sodium, but is distinct from them. It is not to be found in the spectra of any of the seventy elements hitherto recognized, and its presence in the solar atmosphere argues a substance of great tenuity and high temperature.

• French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.

Climate Desk

2019 — Iceland Holds Funeral for Okjökull, First Glacier Lost

One hundred mourners gather on the bare rock where the ice once lay — a plaque warns that this is but the first of many

One hundred activists, officials, and citizens gathered today on the barren slope where Okjökull glacier once lay, to hold a funeral. The glacier, which at its height covered six square miles, or 15.5 square kilometers, of western Iceland, has completely melted, and the country has declared it dead.

A bronze plaque, mounted on the bare rock, bears a letter to the future: "Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it."

The ceremony, which drew scientists, schoolchildren, and the prime minister, was part mourning, part warning. A priest led a service, and the crowd, many in black, stood in silence over the spot where the ice cap had stood for centuries.

Okjökull, often called just "Ok" by Icelanders, was declared dead in 2014, when it was no longer thick enough to move under its own weight. But its final disappearance, confirmed this summer, makes it the first of the country's more than 400 glaciers to be lost to climate change.

The organizers placed the plaque not to celebrate a death, but to remind the world that the ice is going, and that the time to act is short. As one participant put it, "This is not a happy day.

• One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after having once covered six square miles (15.5 km2).

Civil Rights

1963 — Meredith Graduates From Ole Miss

First Negro to receive a degree from the university — he studied political science and plans to enter law

OXFORD, Miss., Aug. 18 — James Meredith, the 30-year-old Negro who integrated the University of Mississippi two years ago under the protection of federal marshals, received his bachelor's degree today. He is the first of his race to graduate from the university.

Meredith, a native of Kosciusko, Miss., and a former Air Force sergeant, completed his studies in political science. He walked across the stage in the university's coliseum to receive his diploma, while a mixed audience of students and visitors watched. There were no incidents.

The graduation caps a struggle that began in 1961, when Meredith applied for admission and was rejected. A federal court ordered the university to admit him, and on September 30, 1962, he arrived on campus under the escort of federal marshals. Riots broke out that night, leaving two dead and many injured.

Meredith has said he plans to attend law school, possibly at Columbia University.

• Civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

Books

1958 — Nabokov's 'Lolita' Published in U.S.

Controversial novel of obsession reaches American readers — author's reputation assured

Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel "Lolita" was published in the United States today by G.P. Putnam's Sons, ending a two-year search for an American publisher. The book, which tells of a middle-aged professor's obsession with a twelve-year-old girl, had already appeared in Paris, where it drew both praise and prosecution. Nabokov, a Russian-born author who teaches at Cornell University, has been hailed by some critics as a master stylist. The novel's frank treatment of its subject is expected to stir considerable debate among American readers.

• Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.

Letters

1492 — Spanish Grammar Presented to Queen Isabella

Nebrija's Gramática de la lengua castellana — a language fixed in rules

In the royal court at Salamanca, a learned grammarian presented to Queen Isabella the first grammar of the Spanish language, the Gramática de la lengua castellana. The work, composed by Antonio de Nebrija, sets forth the rules of Castilian speech in orderly fashion.

• The first grammar of the Spanish language (Gramática de la lengua castellana) is presented to Queen Isabella I.

The Americas Desk

1989 — Galán Slain in Colombia; Race Shaken

Leading presidential candidate assassinated at a rally near Bogotá

BOGOTÁ, Aug. 18 — The murder of Luis Carlos Galán, the leading presidential candidate, has thrown Colombia's election into turmoil. Galán was assassinated today near Bogotá while addressing a political rally. The gunmen fled in a waiting car, and police detained no suspects tonight.

• Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.

Machinery

1903 — German's Glider Flight Precedes Wrights

In July 18, 1903, Karl Jatho flew his self-made, motored gliding airplane in Hanover, four months before the Wright brothers.

In the summer of 1903, as the world awaited word from the Wright brothers of Kitty Hawk, a German engineer named Karl Jatho was already aloft. Jatho, of Hanover, flew his self-made, motored gliding airplane on July 18 of that year, four months before the Americans' celebrated flight.

• German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.

Foreign Intelligence

1826 — Major Laing Enters Timbuktu

British officer reaches the fabled city on August 18, 1826.

Major Gordon Laing, a British officer of the Royal African Corps, has become the first European to enter Timbuktu, the fabled city of the Sahara.

Having journeyed through the desert from Tripoli, he reached the city on August 18, 1826, after months of perilous travel.

• Major Gordon Laing becomes the first European to enter Timbuktu.

Pacific Desk

1945 — Sukarno Sworn In as First President of Free Indonesia

Nationalist Leader Takes Office — Independence Proclaimed Yesterday — New Republic Faces the Future

Sukarno, the veteran nationalist leader, has taken office as the first president of Indonesia, following the declaration of independence proclaimed Friday.

The new republic, born amid the chaos of the Pacific war's end, now looks to establish its authority across the vast archipelago.

Sukarno's assumption of the presidency marks the culmination of decades of struggle against Dutch colonial rule.

His government faces the immediate task of consolidating control and gaining international recognition.

The proclamation, read in Jakarta, declared the Indonesian people free from colonial bondage.

Sukarno, long the charismatic voice of independence, now carries the burden of leading a nascent nation.

• Sukarno takes office as the first president of Indonesia, following the country's declaration of independence the previous day.

Air War

1940 — Luftwaffe Launches All-Out Assault on RAF Fighter Command

Fiercest Air Battles of the Campaign — Both Sides Suffer Record Losses on Sunday

The Luftwaffe made an all-out effort on Saturday to destroy RAF Fighter Command, and in the fierce battles over southern England both sides combined lost more aircraft than on any other day during the Battle of Britain. German formations, heavily escorted by fighters, pressed deep into the defended area, seeking to overwhelm the RAF's defences. Fighter Command, formed in 1936, threw its squadrons into the fight, with 11 Group covering southeast England and London bearing the brunt of the attack.

• Both sides combined lost more aircraft on August 18, 1940, than on any other day during the Battle of Britain.
• The Luftwaffe aimed to destroy RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain in summer 1940.
• RAF Fighter Command was formed in 1936 and operated throughout the Second World War.
• Fighter Command controlled 11 Group covering southeast England and London, established in 1936.