October 18

Happy Birthday RIP George Campbell Scott(1927–1999) Peter Boyle Jr(1935–2006) ; Charles "Chuck" Berry–89 Dawn Wells–77 Michael Ditka(Dyczko)–76 Pamela Dawber–64 Robert "Bob" Weinstein–61 Martina Navratilova–59 Erin Moran–55 Jean-Claude Van Damme(Varenberg)–55 Zachary Efron–28 ; 1867 – United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day ; 1898 – United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain