By Day: Historical Events on June 18th

Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is formally canonized as a saint by Pope Alexander III.

Five monks in Canterbury, England, observe an unusual phenomenon on the moon; a meteor event,now known as the "Canterbury Tales"

The Battle of Bunker Hill takes place near Boston, Mass, in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War.

The War of 1812 begins. President James Madison signed into law a resolution passed by Congress declaring war with Great Britain. The War of 1812 ended December 24, 1814 when the two nations met in Belgium and signed the Treaty of Ghent. ending the war and restoring the previously recognized boundaries between the United States and British territory in North America. The Senate unanimously ratified the Treaty of Ghent on February 16, 1815. More

Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, ending the Napoleonic Wars. More

British European Airways Flight 548 passenger flight from London Heathrow to Brussels crashes near Staines, England, shortly after take-off killing all 118 people on board. As of 2024, it remains the deadliest air accident (as opposed to terrorist incidents) in the United Kingdom. The aircraft suffered a deep stall in the third minute of its flight and crashed to the ground, narrowly missing a busy main road. More

Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT-II nuclear treaty. The US Senate chose not to ratify the treaty in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which took place later that year. The Supreme Soviet did not ratify it either. More