October 18 Through History

Explanation: Félicette became the first and only cat to complete a suborbital flight on October 18, 1963. Unlike the Soviet dog Laika (1957), Félicette survived her journey and was recovered safe and sound after landing. A statue in her honor was unveiled at the École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace in 2019.

Explanation: The Edict of Nantes, signed in 1598 by Henry IV, granted Protestants (Huguenots) freedom of worship and certain civil guarantees. Its revocation by Louis XIV in 1685 caused the exile of several hundred thousand French Protestants to the Netherlands, Prussia, or England, triggering a major economic and intellectual drain on France.

Explanation: Moby Dick was first published in the UK under the title The Whale on October 18, 1851, before appearing in the United States on November 14 of the same year under the definitive title Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. The novel was a commercial failure at the time of Melville's death in 1891, before being rediscovered and recognized as a masterpiece of American literature in the XXth century.

Explanation: Russia sold Alaska to the United States for 7.2 million dollars, roughly 2 cents an acre. The purchase, negotiated by Secretary of State William Seward, was initially mocked as "Seward's Folly". The discovery of gold in 1896 and the vast oil reserves found in the XXth century have since more than justified the investment.

Explanation: Venera 4 was the first spacecraft to directly measure the atmosphere of another planet, Venus. The data collected revealed that the Venusian atmosphere is composed of 90-95% carbon dioxide, with atmospheric pressure far higher than scientists had predicted, which destroyed the capsule before it reached the surface.

Explanation: Henri Bergson received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, a rare honor for a philosopher. He is best known for his theories on lived time (duration), the élan vital, and consciousness. His landmark work, Creative Evolution (1907), deeply influenced 20th-century philosophy and literature, notably Marcel Proust, who was his cousin by marriage.

Explanation: Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979, then from 1980 to 1984. Father of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he is notably known for having repatriated the Canadian Constitution in 1982 and for enshrining the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in it. His charismatic personality sparked a true "Trudeaumania" when he came to power.

Explanation: The Battle of Leipzig (16-19 October 1813) is nicknamed the "Battle of the Nations" because it pitted Napoleon against a coalition of Austrians, Prussians, Russians and Swedes. With more than 500,000 soldiers engaged, it was the largest battle of the Napoleonic era. The French defeat forced Napoleon to fall back to the Rhine and hastened his first abdication in April 1814.

Explanation: The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), which had pitted Maria Theresa's Austria against Frederick II's Prussia, with other European powers involved. This treaty was widely seen as a temporary fix, as it did not resolve the fundamental tensions between Prussia and Austria, which led to the Seven Years' War as early as 1756.

Explanation: Jean-Claude Van Damme practiced karate and kickboxing at a high level before breaking into cinema. He arrived in Hollywood in the 1980s without speaking English, sometimes sleeping in his car. His big breakthrough was the film Bloodsport (1988), inspired by the life of Frank Dux. His splits, a signature of his films, became a cultural reference parodied many times.