Today In History: October 18 | How dictator planned to flee in personal escape tunnel
The 200 metres long underground passage designed in the Cold War to survive a nuclear attack led from Honecker's headquarters to the River Spree. From there, the plan was for he and his cronies to be taken to the Baltic coast from where they would sail to a new life.
But the fall of his communist regime came so swiftly he never had chance to use the bolthole.
Following his toppling, Honecker was put on trial for treason and corruption, but the charges were dropped on grounds of his ill health.
On October 18, 1867, the purchase of Alaska by the United States from Russia was signed.
In what became known as the Alaska Purchase, the American government paid US$7.2 million - or $150 million in today's money - for the vast territory.
It worked out a bargain for the US, with the cost equating to about two cents for a hectare of land.
The hit TV comedy Roseanne, starring Roseanne Barr, John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf premiered in the US on October 18, 1988.
The show about the struggles of an American working class family ran for 10 seasons until 1997.
American R&B singer Al Green's girlfriend, Mary Woodson, died by suicide at his Memphis home on October 18, 1974, after assaulting him with a pot of boiling grits.
The attack left the talented musician with severe burns and mental trauma.
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