Today, September 18, 2023

324…. Constantine the Great defeats Licinius in the battle of Chrysoupolis.

1739…. The Treaty of Belgrade is signed, by which Belgrade is ceded to the Ottoman Empire.

1793…. The American president, George Washington, lays the cornerstone of the Capitol, where Congress is housed.

1810…. Chile declares its independence from Spain. September 18th is celebrated in Chile as Independence Day.

1812…. Great fire in Moscow burns 90% of houses and 1,000 churches.

1834…. Athens is named the capital of the Greek state, by decree of the viceroyalty.

1851….. The first page of the “New York Times” newspaper is published.

1936….Compulsory Law 117 is issued to combat communism. The Metaxas dictatorship abolishes political parties.

1943…. World War II: Mussolini asks Italians to turn their guns on the Allies.

…. On the same day, in Kefalonia, 9,600 Italians are massacred by the Nazis (only 40 manage to escape).

The massacre of the Italians of the 33rd Infantry Division “Aqui” in Kefalonia, was one of the biggest crimes of the Nazis during the Second World War. The mass execution took place in September 1943, after the Italian armistice with the Allies.

….. On the same day in Poland, approximately 260,000 Jews find death at the hands of the Nazis in the Sobidor concentration camp.

1961… George Papandreou resigns from the leadership of the Democratic Center.

1963… In Jakarta, Indonesia, 10,000 people burn the British embassy, ​​protesting the creation of Malaysia.

1964…. The King of the Greeks, Constantine, marries the Princess of Denmark, Anna Maria. These are the only royal weddings held in Athens.

1981…. The death penalty is abolished in France.

1990… The International Olympic Committee assigns Atlanta, USA, the holding of the 1996 Olympic Games, extinguishing the dream of the Greeks who were waiting for their ascension from our country.

1997…. In a referendum in Wales, residents with a majority of 50.3% to 49.7% decide to form their own Parliament.

1999…. The new Archbishop of America, Dimitrios, is enthroned.

– On this day in 1819 the French physicist Jean-Bernard Leon Foucault was born, in 1905 the Swedish actress Greta Garbo, artistic pseudonym of Greta Gustavsson, and in 1954 the composer Michael Terzis.

– On the same day in 1970, the American rocker, Jimi Hendrix, and in 1994, the painter, Alexis Akrithakis, died.