18 August in history.

1877

A moon for Mars. Asaph Hall found Phobos, the bigger of the two moons of Mars. He nearly gave up, but his wife Angeline urged him to keep looking.

Wikipedia: Phobos (moon)

Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

More from 18 August

1. 

   1492

   A grammar of Spanish

   Antonio de Nebrija presented the first grammar of the Spanish language, one of the first for any modern European language.

   Wikipedia: Antonio de Nebrija

   Photo: Reproducción del grabado de Brieva publicado por la Calcografía nacional . / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

2. 

   1783

   The Great Meteor

   A huge fireball flew across the night sky over Britain, painted and described by many who saw it.

   Wikipedia: 1783 Great Meteor

   Photo: Paul Sandby (1725-1809) / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

3. 

   1958

   Brojen Das swims the Channel

   Brojen Das became the first person from Asia to swim across the English Channel, finishing first in his race.

   Wikipedia: Brojen Das

   Photo: Unknown author / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

4. 

   1963

   James Meredith graduates

   James Meredith, the first Black student at the University of Mississippi, graduated after a long fight to attend.

   Wikipedia: James Meredith

   Photo: /\ \/\/ /\ from USA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Moments chosen for discovery, creativity and courage. Each one links to a source where you can read more; photos are credited to their owners.