THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2007

Today is Thursday, October 18, the 291st day of 2007. There are 74 days left in the year.

707 _ John VII ends his reign as Catholic pope

1685 _ Louis XIV revokes Edict of Nantes, outlaws Protestantism

1867 _ The U.S. takes formal possession of Alaska from Russia ($7.2 million)

1898 _ American flag raised in Puerto Rico

1908 _ Belgium annexes Congo Free State

1912 _ Beginning of the first Balkan War

1922 _ British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) established

1944 _ Soviet troops invade Czechoslovakia during WWII

1967 _ Walt Disney's ``Jungle Book" is released

1969 _ Soyuz 8 returns to Earth

1988 _ Israel's supreme court upholds ban on Kahane's Kach Party as racist

1989 _ The 62nd U.S. manned space mission STS 34 (Atlantis 5) launches into orbit