This Day in History on 18 November
The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam.
On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 18 November. The students can refer to them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.
Important Days
–
Important Events
1493: Christopher Columbus first saw the island of Puerto Rico.
1727: Maharaja Jai Singh-II of Amber laid the stone of Jaipur City. Vidyadhar Chakravarty of Bengal was the architect of the first planned city in India.
1809: French fleet defeated the British East India Company fleet in the Bay of Bengal.
1839: Nainital was discovered by P. Barron, an European sugar merchant and an enthusiastic hunter from Rosa, near Shahjahanpur. He had no sooner caught a glimpse of the lake in its sylvan setting than he realized its potential as a hill resort and went full steam a colonizing it. Moved by the beauty of the sparkling lake he wrote: “It is by far the best site I have witnessed in the course of a 1,500 miles trek in the Himalayas”.Nainital history figures in ancient India too. In the Manas Khand of the Skand Puranas, Nainital Lake is called Tri-Rishi-Sarovar, hinting at the story of three sages (or rishis), Atri, Pulastya and Pulaha, who, upon finding no water in Nainital, dug a large hole at the location of the present day lake (sarovar = lake) and filled it with water from the holy lake Manasarovar in Tibet. According to lore, a dip in Naini Lake, “the lesser Manasarovar,” earns merit equal to a dip in the great lake.It is also believed that The Naini Lake is one of the 64 Shakti Peeths, Sati’s eyes (or Nain) fell, came to be called Nain-tal or lake of the eye. The goddess Shakti is worshipped at the Naina Devi Temple on the north shore of the present day lake.
1905: Lord Curzon resigned and Lord Minto became the 17th Viceroy and Governor-General of India.
1918: Latvia declared independence from Russia.
1928: Walt Disney’s famous cartoon Mickey Mouse was born in the movie Steamboat Willie.
1937: Free primary school education is introduced.
1955: Construction of Bhakra-Nangal Dam began.
1963: The first push-button telephone service was launched.
1974: Tiger was adopted as India’s ‘National Animal’.
1978: 914 people, including 276 children, committed mass suicide in the city of Guyana, South America.
1992: Lalit Mohan Sharma became the 24th Chief Justice of India.
1993: A new constitution was approved by 21 political parties in South Africa.
Birth/Birth Anniversary
1898: Prabodh Chandra Bagchi, Indian historian.
1901: V. Shantaram also referred as Shantaram Bapu, having full name as Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, was a famous Indian filmmaker, film producer and actor, a true legend. He is most known for films such as Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Duniya Na Mane (1937), Pinjra (1972), and many more. He also founded then most sophisticated studios of the country “Rajkamal Kalamandir” in Mumbai.
1901: Prabodh Chandra Bagchi researcher of “Ancient History of India”, was born. He was one of the most notable Sino -Indologists of the 20th century. He was the third Upacharya (Vice-Chancellor) of Visva-Bharati University. He worked on Sanskrit Buddhist literature, on the ancient remains of Indian civilisation in Central Asia, on Buddhist literature in China, on the ancient Pali texts, on Avestan Gathas.
1906: Alec Issigonis, maker of the mini car.
1909: Johnny Mercer, co-founder of Capitol Records.
1910: Batukeshwar Dutt, Indian revolutionary.
1923: Alan Shepard Jr., an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman.
1931: Shrikant Verma, Indian-Hindi poet, journalist, and critic, Rajya Sabha member.
1937: Madhukar Gopal Pathak, noted author and film director, was born.
1945: Mahinda Rajapaksa, the 6th President of Sri Lanka and Chief of Army Staff.
1946: Kamal Nath, an Indian politician, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
1953: Alan Moore, an English writer known primarily for his work in comic books.
1954: Ranjan Gogoi, a nominated Indian Parliamentarian, and the 46th Chief Justice of India.
1979: Neeti Mohan, Indian playback singer
1984: Nayanthara, an Indian actress.
Death/ Death Anniversary
1772: Madhavrao Peshwa, the 4th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire died at the age of 28. Narayanrao succeeded him.
1830: Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Illuminati.
1886: Chester Arthur, 21st US President.
1936: V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1872)
1962: Niels Bohr, Danish physicist, He won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the atomic nucleus.
1969: Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., an American businessman, investor, and politician.
1967: Raghunath Chaudhary, famous natural poet of Assam, passed away.
1998: Tara Singh Hayer, Indian-Canadian journalist and publisher (b. 1936)
1999: Ram Singh Ratan Singh Pardeshi, an Indian freedom fighter.
2013: S. R. D. Vaidyanathan, Indian nadaswaram player and composer (b. 1929)
2014: C. Rudhraiya, Indian director and producer (b. 1947)