June 18

Thursday 18, 1959:

1959 Governor of Louisiana Earl K. Long is committed to a state mental hospital; he responds by having the hospital's director fired and replaced with a crony who proceeds to proclaim him perfectly sane.

Friday 18, 1954:

Pierre Mendès-France becomes Prime Minister of France

Wednesday 18, 1873:

Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election

Friday 18, 1858:

Charles Darwin receives from Alfred Russel Wallace a paper that included nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin's own. This prompts Darwin to publish his theory.

Thursday 18, 1429:

The French, under the leadership of Joan of Arc, crush the English under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. It came to be recognized as the war's turning point.