Today is Thursday, August 18, the 230th day of 2011. There are 135 days left in the year.
1834 ― Mt. Vesuvius erupts
1894 ― Congress creates Bureau of Immigration
1914 ― President Wilson issues Proclamation of Neutrality
1958 ― ``Lolita,” by Vladimir Nabokov, published
1960 ― First photograph bounced off a satellite, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
1961 ― Construction on Berlin Wall completed
1962 ― Peter, Paul & Mary release their first hit ``If I Had a Hammer"
1973 ― Hank Aaron's record 1,378 extra base hit surpasses Stan Musial record
1987 ― Philip Rush of N.Z., set record for triple crossing English Channel. His time 28:21, 10 hours faster than the first man to do it
1988 ― Largest house (130 rooms) on Long Island sold for $22 million