July 18, 1863 – The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first African American regiment, led an unsuccessful assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina.
July 18, 1914 – The U.S. Army Signal Corps established its Aviation Section, which would later evolve into the United States Air Force.
July 18, 1925 – Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” was published in the United States.
July 18, 1932 – The U.S. Senate approved a bill establishing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) providing emergency financial assistance during the Great Depression.
July 18, 1936 – The first Oscar Mayer Wienermobile rolled off the assembly line in Chicago, Illinois.
July 18, 1955 – Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California.
July 18, 1969 – U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, resulting in the death of his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
July 18, 1994 – Crayola introduced its “Magic Scent” crayons featuring scented crayons marketed for children’s use in the United States.
July 18, 2001 – NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first NASCAR Winston Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.