On This Day (October 18)

[MSFixR]

• 1009 – The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, was destroyed by Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
• 1016 – Danish forces led by Canute the Great decisively defeated Edmund Ironside in the Battle of Ashingdon, gaining control over most of the Kingdom of England.
• 1767 - Mason-Dixon line, survey separating Maryland from Pennsylvania is completed.
• 1851 – Moby-D!ck, a novel by Herman Melville, was first published as The Whale.
• 1867 - United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.
• 1893 - Charles Gounod, French composer died (b. 1818)
• 1922 – The British Broadcasting Company was founded by a consortium to establish a network of radio transmitters to provide a national broadcasting service in the United Kingdom.
• 1929 - Women are considered "Persons" under law in Canada.
• 1931 - Thomas Edison, American inventor died (b. 1847)
• 1954 – The first commercial transistor radio, the Regency TR-1 by Texas Instruments, was introduced in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.