Today in HistoryToday is Wednesday, July 18, the 199th day of 2007. There are 166 days left in the year.

ON THIS DATE

In A.D. 64, the Great Fire of Rome began.

In 1925, ultra right-wing German dissident Adolf Hitler published the first volume of his personal manifesto, Mein Kampf.

In 1932, the United States and Canada signed a treaty to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began with a revolt at Melilla in what was then Spanish Morocco.

In 1972, Egypt demanded that the Soviet Union remove its 20,000 advisers from the country, accusing it of failing to supply arms it had promised.

In 1998, South African President Nelson Mandela celebrated his 80th birthday by marrying Graca Machel, widow of Mozambican president Samora Machel.

Thought for Today

"Much misconstruction and bitterness are spared to him who thinks naturally upon what he owes to others, rather than on what he ought to expect from them." — Elizabeth de Meulan Guizot, French author (1773-1827).