This day in history. Read about what happened today. A short and interesting account of historical events and facts about this day as well as any other day of the year. Find historical birthdays, deaths, tragedies, war events, disasters and sports events.

This year in history
In the year 1818

	January 1st	Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein was first published.
	May 5th	German political philosopher, Karl Marx, was born in Trier, Germany. The merger of Marxist thought with Leninism had formed the official state ideology of the Soviet Union.
	December 3rd	Illinois became the 21st U.S. state.
	December 24th	The 'Silent Night' Christmas carol was composed by Austrian, Franz Xaver Gruber.

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