On this day: January 18

January 18: World Religion Day; the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States (2016)

Satellite view of the Hawaiian Islands

• 1778 – English explorer James Cook became the first known European to reach the Sandwich Islands, now known as the Hawaiian Islands (pictured).
• 1866 – Wesley College, the largest school in Australia by enrolment, was established in Melbourne.
• 1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opened in Versailles, France, to set the peace terms for the Central Powers.
• 1943 – World War II: As part of Operation Iskra, the Soviet Red Army broke the Siege of Leningrad, opening a narrow land corridor to the city.
• 1990 – In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry was arrested for possession of crack cocaine.

• More anniversaries:
  • January 17
  • January 18
  • January 19

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