Memorable Birthdays for January 18
James Chesnut Jr (1815-1885) - Brigadier General for the Confederate Army.
Thomas A. Watson (1854-1934) - Alexander Graham Bell's assistant who helped with the invention of the telephone.
Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931) - Cardiologist who performed the first open heart surgery.
Oliver Hardy (1892-1957) - Comedian and half of the duo Laurel and Hardy.
C. M. Eddy Jr. (1896-1967) - Author best known for his horror, mystery and supernatural short stories.
Anthony Galla-Rini (1904-2006) - Accordion player credited with popularizing the use of accordions in contemporary music.
Nicholas Oresko (1917-2013) - Army Sergeant and WWII Medal of Honor recipient.
Esther Coopersmith (1930-2024) - UNESCO goodwill ambassador.
Ray Dolby (1933-2013) - Founder of Dolby Laboratories.
R. Stevie Moore (1952-Still Living) - Considered the musical godfather of home recording.
Kevin Costner (1955-Still Living) - Multi-award winning actor with credits in The Untouchables (1987), Open Range (2003), Black or White (2014), and recently Yellowstone.
Jeffrey N Williams (1958-Still Living) - Army officer and NASA astronaut.
Virgil Hill (1964-Still Living) - Boxer for North Dakota.
Amy Barger (1971-Still Living) - Astronomer who discovered dusty galaxies, quasars and supermassive black holes.
Burnie Burns (1973-Still Living) - Co-founder of Rooster Teeth Productions, a sub company of Warner Brothers.
Joel Stallworth (1983-Still Living) - Gold medal winning sprinter.
Benji Schwimmer (1984-Still Living) - Contemporary dancer and choreographer.
Memorable Events for January 18
1644 - Pilgrims report a UFO sighting.
1733 - The first polar bear exhibit is open to the public in MA.
1778 - Captain James Cook stumbles over the Hawaiian Islands and what he referred to as the Sandwich Islands.
1862 - The first piece of Arizona is formed as Confederate Territory.
1896 - The first demonstration of an X-ray machine is held in NY City.
1903 - The first transatlantic radio transmission in the U.S. is sent by a transmitter in MA.
1916 - A meteorite hits a house in Stone County, MO.
1943 - The U.S. Bans pre-sliced bread to reduce the need for metal parts as part of the war effort.
1962 - The U.S. begins spraying foliage in Vietnam to reveal Viet Cong.
1964 - Plans for World Trade Center announced in NY City.
1993 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in the U.S.