1. On November 18, 1739, the British colony of Georgia was officially formed. Named after King George II, the colony was established as a buffer zone between South Carolina and Spanish Florida.

2. The Battle of Griswoldville, one of the bloodiest Civil War battles in Georgia, was fought on November 18, 1864. The battle, which resulted in over 900 casualties, was a Confederate attempt to disrupt Union supply lines.

3. On November 18, 1907, Georgia Tech played its first football game at Grant Field (now Bobby Dodd Stadium) in Atlanta. The team defeated Cumberland 22-0 in front of a crowd of 5,000 spectators.

4. In 1928, Georgia governor and future U.S. senator Richard B. Russell Jr. was born on November 18 in Winder, Georgia. Russell played a key role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was known for his support of military spending and anti-communist policies.

5. On November 18, 1956, Atlanta mayor William B. Hartsfield officially opened the world's busiest airport at the time, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The airport, now known for its iconic "ATL" code and as the world's busiest airport for passenger traffic, continues to be a major economic driver for the state of Georgia.