18th 

1898 ..... FRANCE ..... Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the FIRST official land speed record of 39.24 mph in a Jentaud electric car - La Jamais Contente

1922 ..... U.K ..... Helena Normanton became the FIRST woman barrister to appear as Counsel in an English Court when she received her first brief on this day, the night she was called to the bar

1952 ..... U.K ..... the Flower Pot Men were FIRST seen on BBC television 

1964 ..... U.K ..... the National Commercial Bank of Scotland was the FIRST UK bank, and the second in the world, to introduce a branch exclusively for ladies 

1971 ..... U.K ..... Stan Mellor became the FIRST National Hunt jockey to ride 1000 winners when Ouzo won at Nottingham 

1973 ..... SPACE ..... the Russians and Americans were in space together for the FIRST time although they did not meet 

1998 ….. U.S.A ..... for the FIRST time in 130 years, the House of Representatives in the USA debated impeachment of a president ..... and ….. U.K ..... the UK's FIRST website dedicated to finding missing children went live when www.missingkids.co.uk was launched jointly by the Metropolitan and Hertfordshire police