October 18th


1009: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah... the Jews know that somehow they'll be blamed.


1210: Pope Innocent III excommunicates German leader Otto IV... mostly because he was angrey about his Roman numeral being bigger than his.


1867: United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million... a good deal since David Letterman has made at least that much making fun of Sarah Palin.