This Day in History: March 18

1892 Lord Stanley of Preston pledges to donate a challenge cup for the best ice hockey team in Canada

Today, the Stanley Cup is the world's most prestigious ice hockey trophy.

1900 Japan uses its influence over Korea to deny Russia's efforts to obtain a naval station at Korean Port of Masampo, the lead up to the Russo-Japanese war

This event was a significant factor leading up to the Russo-Japanese War, as it increased tensions between Japan and Russia over their respective interests in East Asia.

1922 British magistrates in India sentence Mahatma Gandhi to 6 years imprisonment for disobedience

Gandhi was a leader in the Indian independence movement and his arrest sparked protests and demonstrations throughout India and the world.

1940 Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler meet at Brenner Pass where the Italian dictator agrees he will, in due course, join Germany's impending war effort in the west

This meeting between the two fascist leaders solidified their alliance and set the stage for Italy's involvement in World War II.

1962 The Évian Accords are signed, ending the Algerian War

After eight years of fighting, the agreement granted Algeria independence from France, but not without significant political and social consequences for both nations.

1965 Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space

This historic spacewalk marked a major achievement in human space exploration and paved the way for future space missions and extravehicular activities.

1971 A 100 feet (30 meter) high wave destroys a Peruvian mining camp and kills hundreds of people

The devastating tsunami was caused by a massive rock avalanche and remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in Peruvian history.

1989 East Germany holds its first and only free parliamentary elections

This historic event marked a turning point in the peaceful revolution that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the eventual reunification of Germany.

1314 Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake by King Philip IV of France

The execution of Molay marked the end of the Knights Templar, a powerful and influential order of medieval knights that had been accused of heresy and corruption by the French monarchy.

1325 According to legend, Tenochtitlan is founded on this date on an island in what was then Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico

Tenochtitlan would eventually become the capital of the Aztec Empire and one of the largest cities in the world before it was conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century.