May 18th Major News Events

18 May, 1940 World War II

1940 : Germany continues in it's quest for control of Europe and has captured Antwerp and continuing it's push to Paris with a multi pronged attack, the allies are fighting hard to keep control of Flanders, but Germany has superiority in the air and flame throwing tanks. In the USA President Roosevelt is asking industrialists to increase production of aircraft to help the allies.

1950 England NATO

1950 : 12 nations agree to the creation of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation / NATO a permanent organisation for the defense of the United States and Europe. The 12 nations included in the beginning are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States.

18 May, 1964 MODS and Rockers Whitsun Weekend Fights

1964 : Large numbers of Mods and Rockers involved in violent clashes at a number of seaside resorts on the south coast of England are given prison sentences following the Whitsun weekend when hundreds were arrested in Brighton, Margate, Bournemouth and Clacton following running battles between police and up to 1,000 Mods and Rockers. The Mods and Rockers also had mass fights between the two gangs on the local beaches and promenades. Mods wore designer suits and Parka jackets and rode Vespa or Lambretta scooters bedecked with mirrors with favorite bands including The Who. Rockers wore leathers and rode motorbikes with no crash helmets with favorite music including Elvis Presley.

1969 U.S.A. Apollo 10

1969 : Apollo 10 takes off for the dry run for Apollo 11's mission to land a man on the moon later in the year.

1973 U.S.A. General John Mitchell

1973 : Former Attorney General John Mitchell has vowed he will not become the fall guy for the Watergate Scandal and predicted President Nixon would ether resign or be impeached due to the Watergate affair.

1974 India Becomes Nuclear Power

1974 : India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon making India the world's sixth nuclear power joining the existing the 5 existing Nuclear Powers of United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, China, and France. The Nuclear Bomb was a fission bomb similar in explosive power to the U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

1989 China Protesters Demand More Democratic Political System

1989 : One million protesters take to the streets marching through the streets of Beijing calling for a more democratic political system. Just a few weeks later in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government put an end to protests by the use of force and crushed the protests.

1991 Great Britain Helen Sharman

1991 : Britain's first astronaut, 27-year-old Helen Sharman aboard the Soviet Soyuz TM-12 space capsule becomes the first Britain in Space.

1998 U.S.A. Microsoft Anti-Trust Case

1998 : The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and twenty U.S. states file a case that alleged that Microsoft Corp. abused it's monopoly power in its handling of operating system sales and web browser sales. The case revolved around Microsoft should be allowed to bundle its flagship Internet Explorer (IE) web browser software with its Microsoft Windows operating system.

2006 Italian Prime Minister Speaks on Iraq War

2006 : The newly elected Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, denounced the war in Iraq and stated his intentions to pull Italian troops out of Iraq.

2007 Netherlands Gorilla Loose in Zoo

2007 : A four hundred pound gorilla named Bokito escaped from its holding area at the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands. The eleven-year-old gorilla climbed out of its enclosure and injured several people before zookeepers were able evacuate the zoo and sedate him with a dart.

2009 Lithuania Elects First Female President

2009 : Dalia Grybauskaite was elected Lithuania's president with sixty-eight percent of the vote, becoming the first female president in that country. She was the European Union budget commissioner, and was viewed as an fair and level-headed leader by many voters who looked for a leader to face and combat a declining economy and domestic tensions.

2011 United States Man Eats 25,00th Big Mac

2011 : Don Gorske of the state of Wisconsin, ate his record-breaking 25,000th Bic Mac. The retired prison guard had been keeping track of his consumption of the McDonald's burger for thirty-nine years and keeps close track of his overall consumption. Despite doctors not recommending this diet, Gorske maintained a healthy weight and low cholesterol.

2012 Maryland Recognizes Same-Sex Divorce

2012 : The highest court in the US state of Maryland has ruled that same-sex divorce is legal in the state even though same-sex marriage is not yet legal. Gay marriage was made legal in the state in March but would not come into effect until January of the next year.

2013 French President Signs Gay Marriage Bill

2013 : Francois Hollande, France's president, signed the bill making same-sex marriage legal in the country into law. France became the ninth European country to legalize gay marriage, and the fourteenth in the world to do so. The first same-sex marriages were set to take place ten days after the signing of the bill.