August 18: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Thailand swore in Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the nation’s youngest prime minister.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, became Thailand's second female prime minister. She is the niece of Yingluck Shinawatra, the Southeast Asian nation's first female PM.

A funeral was held in Iceland for the loss of the Okjökull glacier.

In 1890 the glacier spread across 6.2 square miles, but by 2012 it was just 0.27 square miles. Many plaques were placed at the site warning the world about the effects of climate change.

The world’s oldest cheese dating back 3,200 years, was discovered in an Ancient Egyptian tomb near Cairo.

The USS Indianapolis warship, which sank during World War II, was discovered in the Pacific Ocean 3.4 miles below the surface.

A mega blackout happened on Java and Bali islands in Indonesia, affecting around 100 million people.

North Carolina, US, was hit by hurricane Bob.

The hurricane saw devastating winds of up to 115 miles per hour. In addition, the storm caused a staggering $1.5 billion in damages, making it one of the costliest disasters in this area.

James Meredith became the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

Adi Dassler founded Adidas with a vision to improve athletic performance.

President Woodrow Wilson issued a Proclamation of Neutrality.

The proclamation declared neutrality in World War I, aiming not to get the United States involved in the war.

French astronomer Pierre Janssen first recorded evidence of helium, a then-unknown element.

The United States Exploring Expedition set sail.

Charles Wilkes led the expedition team intending to cross the Pacific Ocean to reach Antarctica.

Major Gordon Laing became the first non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu.

There were sightings of a giant sea serpent in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

There had been a rumor of a giant sea serpent terrorizing the ocean, and Captain Rich was called to catch it. On this day, Rich had his first sighting of the "beast." After many failed attempts, he finally killed it on September 6. The beast turned out to be an Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. Many were surprised, and it turned out that the wake caused by its fast swimming had been mistaken for looking like a serpent.

A great ball of fire was witnessed over the east coast of Great Britain.

At the time, meteors were primarily misunderstood, with many seeing them as ill omens. Later analysis of the recorded observations indicates that it entered Earth's atmosphere over the North Sea and crossed Scotland and England before finally breaking up over Northern Italy or Southwest France.