It happened today – this day in history – October 18

1009: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church’s foundations down to bedrock.

1685: Louis XIV revokes Edict of Nantes cancelling the rights of French Protestants.

1855: Premier of Franz Listz’s symphonic poem Prometheus.

1860: The Second Opium War finally ends at the Convention of Peking.

1865: Death of former prime minister Lord Palmserston.

1867: The US takes formal possession of Alaska, having paid Russia $7.2million.

1878: Thomas Edison makes electricity available for household use.

1904: Gustav Mahler’s 5th symphony premieres in Cologne.

1909: Comte de Lambert of France sets the airplane altitude record of 300m.

1910: E M Forster’s novel Howards End is published.

1912: The Treaty of Lausanne ends the Italo-Turkish War; Italy annexes Libya. On the same day the First Balkan War breaks out, with Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece opposed to Turkey.

1918: Czechoslovakia declares independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

1922: The BBC is founded.

1931: Al Capone is convicted of tax evasion. On the same day, inventor Thomas Edison dies aged 84,

1944: Soviet troops invade Czechoslovakia.

1952: The first issue of Mad Magazine is published.

1968: American long jumper Bob Beamon sets an incredible world record (8.90m, 29′ 2½”) in high altitude at the Olympics in Mexico.

1969: Rod Stewart joins The Faces.

1977: West German commandos liberate Boeing 737 with 86 hostages at Mogadishu.

1989: East German state/party leader Erich Honecker, resigns.

2000: Zach de la Rocha announces he has left Rage Against The Machine.

2007: Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan after eight years in exile.

2009: Jensen Button wins the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship.

BIRTHDAYS: Peter Boyle, actor, 84; Paul Chuckle (Elliott), comedian, 72; Pam Dawber, actress, 68; Timmy Mallett, TV presenter, 64; Martina Navratilova, tennis champion, 63; Thomas Hearns, former heavyweight boxing champion, 61; Jean-Claude Van Damme, actor, 59; Wynton Marsallis, jazz musician, 58; Rhod Gilbert, comedian, 51; Robbie Savage, former footballer/pundit, 45; Mike Tindall, former rugby player, 41; Lindsey Vonn, skier, 35; Zach Efron, actor, 32.