What Happened on January 18?

January 18 is Winnie the Pooh Day, honoring creator A.A. Milne's birthday. It's also the day Jefferson launched the Lewis and Clark expedition and Captain Cook first sighted Hawaii.

• 1778 — Captain Cook becomes the first European to sight Hawaii

  Sailing the HMS Resolution during his third Pacific voyage, James Cook's crew sighted Oahu at dawn and Kauai soon after — Europe's first known look at the Hawaiian Islands. Read the full story →

• 1803 — Jefferson's secret message launches the Lewis and Clark expedition

  President Thomas Jefferson asked Congress in a confidential message for $2,500 to send a small team across the continent — funding what became the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. Read the full story →

• 1871 — German princes proclaim Wilhelm I emperor at Versailles

  In the Hall of Mirrors of France's Palace of Versailles, German states united into an empire and crowned King Wilhelm I of Prussia as the first German Emperor. Read the full story →

• 1919 — Paris Peace Conference opens after World War I

  Delegates from victorious Allied nations convened in Paris to decide peace terms, eventually producing the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

A.A. Milne (1882–1956) · Cary Grant (1904–1986) · Danny Kaye (1911–1987) · Juliette Gordon Low (1860–1927)

Days & observances

National Winnie the Pooh Day · National Thesaurus Day · National Gourmet Coffee Day · National Peking Duck Day