This day in History: January 18

1733

The first polar bear was exhibited in America, in Boston.
1778

Captain James Cook became the first European to visit the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
1782

Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire.
1788

The First Fleet, carrying convicts and sheep, arrived in Australia's Botany Bay.
1912

The ill-fated Scott expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover Amundsen had been there first.
1943

The Nazi siege of Leningrad was broken.
1993

All 50 states joined in the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

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This Day in History