FRIIDAY, APRIIL 18, 2008

Today is Friday, April 18, the 109th day of 2008. There are 257 days left in the year.

1834 _ Charles Darwin sails to Rio Santa Cruz up Patagonia

1853 _ First train in Asia (Bombay to Tanna, 36 km)

1906 _ San Francisco earthquake and fire kills nearly 4,000 and destroys 75 percent of the city

1909 _ Joan of Arc declared a saint

1924 _ First crossword puzzle book published (Simon & Schuster)

1927 _ Chiang Kai-shek forms anti-government in China

1934 _ First ``Washateria" (laundromat) opens (Fort Worth, Texas)

1978 _ Senate votes to turn Panama Canal over to Panama on Dec 31, 1999

1980 _ Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) declares independence from U.K.

1994 _ Former President Richard Nixon suffers a stroke and dies four days later