Calendar of Literary Facts

June 18...

1812: The U.S. declares war on Great Britain in the name of “Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights,” commencing the War of 1812

1815: Allied troops under the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher defeat Napoleon’s French forces at the Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon is exiled to the isle of St. Helena

1835: William Cobbett dies

1871: Leonid (Nikolaevich) Andreyev is born

1932: Geoffrey Hill is born

1937: Gail Godwin is born

1982: John Cheever dies