October 18

Events

1009: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is completely destroyed by the "mad" Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, founder of the Druze sect (1021), who hacked out the Church's foundations down to the bedrock.
1912: Greek forces land in Thasos, Imvros and Agios Efstratios.
1944: The Greek Government in exile, under Georgios Papandreou, arrives in Piraeus.
1979: The Greek government announces measures to save the Parthenon and other antiquites from pollution.
1979: Odysseus Elytis wins the Nobel prize for literature.
1981: Andreas Papandreou is elected PM of Greece as PASOK triumph in the general elections, winning 48.06% of the vote.
1998: Vasilis Papageorgopoulos is elected mayor of Thessaloniki