On October 18, 1988, “Roseanne,“ a television sitcom about a blue-collar American family starring the comedian Roseanne Barr, premieres on ABC.

In a short-lived victory for the Nicaraguan policy of the Reagan administration, the President signs into law an act of Congress approving $100 million of military and “humanitarian” aid for the Contras.

On October 18, 1977, in the sixth game of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson hits three home runs in a row off of three consecutive pitches from three different pitchers.

The Clean Water Act becomes law on October 18, 1972.

On October 18, 1933, the American philosopher-inventor R.

Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, dies in West Orange, New Jersey, at the age of 84.

At dawn on October 18, 1916, Private Harry Farr of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) is executed for cowardice after he refused to go forward into the front-line trenches on the Western Front during World War I.

Only one year after Spain granted Puerto Rico self-rule, American troops raise the U.