January 18, 1778 - The Hawaiian Islands are sighted for the first time by a European. Captain James Cook keeps a record of his ship sailing past Oahu.

January 18, 1803 - Congress is requested to fund the exploration of the west by Lewis and Clark. President Thomas Jefferson makes the request.

January 18, 1911 - The feasibility of aircraft carriers is proven by Lieutenant Eugene Ely as he is able to land his biplane on a platform mounted on the deck of a ship in San Francisco Harbor.

January 18, 1915 - As their role in the armed forces begins to change, the U.S. Revenue Marine Corps renames itself the U.S. Coast Guard.

 

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January 18, 1919 - The Paris Peace Conference results in the passage of the Covenant of the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles. Woodrow Wilson was the representative from the United States.

January 18, 1943 - In a move to halt the demands of bakeries for metal, a ban is placed on the sale of presliced bread.

January 18, 1971 - Senator George S. McGovern of South Dakota begins his campaign for presidency of the United States.

January 18, 1978 - The cause of Legionnaire's Disease is discovered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to be stagnant water.

"This, then, is the state of the union:  free and restless, growing and full of hope.  So it was in the beginning.  So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith." - Lyndon B. Johnson