What happened on May 18? There are more than 288 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About May 18
May 18 is the 139th day of the year 2024. There are 227 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 20th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Charleston, Tennessee 37310 sunrise will occur at 06:30 AM and sunset will occur at 08:40 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Taurus. The modern birthstone for this month is Emerald while the mystical birthstone is Sapphire.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 256 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For May 18
- 332Constantine the Great announced free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
- 1152Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine.
- 1268The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch.
- 1302Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia.
- 1498Vasco da Gama reaches the port of Calicut, India.
- 1593Playwright Thomas Kyd’s accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
- 1631In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
- 1652Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal.
- 1756The Seven Years’ War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.
- 1763Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec.
- 1783First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John), New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States.
- 1803Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
- 1804Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
- 1811Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by Jose Artigas.
- 1812John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
- 1843The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.
- 1848Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
- 1860Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.
- 1863American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins.
- 1896Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
- 1896The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the “separate but equal” doctrine is constitutional.
- 1900The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
- 1910The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley.
- 1917World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
- 1926Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a Venice, California beach.
- 1927After being founded for 20 years, the Government of the Republic of China approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China.
- 1927The Bath School Disaster: forty-five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
- 1933New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
- 1944Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
- 1944World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino – Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
- 1948The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
- 1953Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
- 1955Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.
- 1956First ascent of Lhotse 8,516 meters, by a Swiss team.
- 1958An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).
- 1959Launch of the National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire in Conakry, Guinea.
- 1965Israeli spy Eli Cohen was hanged in Damascus, Syria.
- 1969Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
- 1974Completion of the Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built at the time. It collapsed on August 8, 1991.
- 1974Nuclear test: under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
- 19801980 eruption of Mount St. Helens: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
- 1980Gwangju Massacre: students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
- 1983In Ireland, the government launches a crackdown, with the leading Dublin pirate Radio Nova being put off the air.
- 1990In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
- 1991Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognized by the international community.
- 1993EU - riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police opened fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injured 11 demonstrators. In total 113 bullets are fired.
- 1995Shawn Nelson, 35, goes on a tank rampage in San Diego.
- 2005A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons: Nix and Hydra.
- 2006The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
- 2009Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
Who Were Born On May 18?
- 1048Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, poet and philosopher (d. 1131)
- 1186Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (d. 1218)
- 1474Isabella d'Este, Marquise of Mantua (d. 1539)
- 1610Stefano della Bella, Italian printmaker (d. 1664)
- 1616Johann Jakob Froberger, German composer (d. 1667)
- 1662George Smalridge, English bishop of Bristol (d. 1719)
- 1692Joseph Butler, English bishop and philosopher (d. 1752)
- 1711Ruđer Josip Bošković, Croatian atomic theorist (d. 1787)
- 1777John George Children, British chemist, mineralogist and zoologist (d. 1852)
- 1778Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (d. 1854)
- 1785John Wilson, Scottish writer (d. 1854)
- 1797King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (d. 1854)
- 1822Mathew Brady, American photographer (d. 1896)
- 1850Oliver Heaviside, English physicist (d. 1925)
- 1851James Budd, Governor of California (d. 1908)
- 1852Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (d. 1934)
- 1854Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and music teacher (d. 1924)
- 1862Josephus Daniels, American publisher and United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1948)
- 1868Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1872Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, British mathematician, writer and philosopher, Nobel laureate (d. 1970)
- 1873Lucy Beaumont, English actress (d. 1937)
- 1876Hermann Müller, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1931)
- 1882Babe Adams, American baseball player (d. 1968)
- 1883Eurico Gaspar Dutra, President of Brazil (d. 1974)
- 1883Walter Gropius, German architect (d. 1969)
- 1887Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1946)
- 1889Thomas Midgley, Jr., American chemist and inventor (d. 1944)
- 1891Rudolf Carnap, German philosopher (d. 1970)
- 1892Ezio Pinza, Italian-born bass (d. 1957)
- 1895Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino, Nicaraguan revolutionary (d. 1934)
- 1897Frank Capra, American film producer, director, and writer (d. 1991)
- 1901Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1978)
- 1902Meredith Willson, American composer (d. 1984)
- 1904Jacob K. Javits, American politician (d. 1986)
- 1905Hedley Verity, English cricketer (d. 1943)
- 1907Carl Mydans, American photographer (d. 2004)
- 1907Lincoln Stedman, American actor d. 1948
- 1909Fred Perry, British former tennis player (d. 1995)
- 1911Big Joe Turner, American blues singer (d. 1985)
- 1912Perry Como, American singer (d. 2001)
- 1912Richard Brooks, American film director, writer and producer (d. 1992)
- 1912Walter Sisulu, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 2003)
- 1913Charles Trenet, French singer and songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1913Jane Birdwood, Canadian-born British far right activist (d. 2000)
- 1913Mary Howard de Liagre, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1913Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician (d. 1996)
- 1914Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer (d. 1982)
- 1914Robert J. Wilke, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1918Massimo Girotti, Italian actor (d. 2003)
- 1919Dame Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (d. 1991)
- 1920Lucia Mannucci, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra)
- 1920Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła) (d. 2005)
- 1922Bill Macy, American actor
- 1922Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-born body psychotherapist (d. 2005)
- 1922Kai Winding, Danish-born jazz trombonist and composer (d. 1983)
- 1923Hugh Shearer, Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
- 1923Jean-Louis Roux, French Canadian actor and artistic director
- 1924Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster
- 1924Priscilla Pointer, American actress
- 1926Dirch Passer, Danish actor (d. 1980)
- 1928Pernell Roberts, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1929Jack Sanford, American baseball player (d. 2000)
- 1930Warren Rudman, American politician
- 1931Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1931Robert Morse, American actor
- 1933Bernadette Chirac, French politician
- 1933Don Whillans, English mountaineer (d. 1985)
- 1934Dwayne Hickman, American actor and television executive
- 1936Ante Peterlić, Croatian film theorist (d. 2007.)
- 1937Brooks Robinson, American baseball player
- 1937Jacques Santer, Luxembourg statesman
- 1938Joan Blackman, American actress
- 1939Giovanni Falcone, Italian magistrate and Mafia victim (d. 1992)
- 1939Gordon O'Connor, Canadian politician
- 1941Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist and songwriter (Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs) (d. 2007)
- 1941Miriam Margolyes, British actress
- 1942Albert Hammond, British/Gibraltarian musician and composer
- 1942Nobby Stiles, English footballer
- 1943Jimmy Snuka, American professional wrestler
- 1944W. G. Sebald, German-born writer (d. 2001)
- 1946Andreas Katsulas, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1946Bruce Gilbert, English guitarist (Wire)
- 1946Frank Hsieh, Premier of Taiwan
- 1946Reggie Jackson, American baseball player
- 1947Gail Strickland, American actress
- 1947John Bruton, ninth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland
- 1948Tom Udall, American politician
- 1948Yi Munyol, South Korean writer
- 1949Bill Wallace, Canadian bassist (The Guess Who)
- 1949Rick Wakeman, English composer and musician (Yes)
- 1950Mark Mothersbaugh, American composer, musician, and singer (Devo)
- 1950Thomas Gottschalk, German television show host
- 1951Jim Sundberg, American baseball player
- 1952Diane Duane, American writer
- 1952George Strait, American country musician
- 1952Jeana Yeager, American aviator
- 1954Reinhold Heil, German composer
- 1954Wreckless Eric, New Wave singer/songwriter
- 1955Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
- 1955Lena T. Hansson, Swedish actor
- 1957Michael Cretu, Romanian-born German musician (Enigma)
- 1958Toyah Willcox, English actor and singer
- 1959Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1960Yannick Noah, French tennis player
- 1961Jim Bowden, American baseball executive
- 1962Mike Darnell, American television executive
- 1962Mike Whitmarsh, American volleyball player (d. 2009)
- 1962Nanne Grönvall, Swedish singer
- 1962Sandra, German singer
- 1963Marty McSorley, Canadian hockey player
- 1963Sam Vincent, American basketball player
- 1965Ingo Schwichtenberg, German drummer (Helloween) (d. 1995)
- 1966Michael Tait, American musician (dc Talk, Tait)
- 1967Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German Formula One racing driver
- 1967Nancy Juvonen, American film producer
- 1967Nina Björk, Swedish feminist and author
- 1967Rob Base, American rapper
- 1969Martika, Cuban-American singer
- 1970Billy Howerdel, American guitarist (A Perfect Circle)
- 1970Tim Horan, Australian rugby union player
- 1970Tina Fey, American writer/actress
- 1971Brad Friedel, American soccer player
- 1971Desiree Horton, American helicopter pilot/television reporter
- 1971Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese racing driver
- 1972Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973Brian Heffron, American professional wrestler (“The Blue Meanie”)
- 1973Donyell Marshall, American basketball player
- 1974Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player
- 1975Jack Johnson, American musician
- 1975John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
- 1976Marko Tomasović (composer), Croatian composer
- 1976Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1976Ron Mercer, American basketball player
- 1977Danny Mills, English footballer
- 1977Lee Hendrie, English footballer
- 1978Jessica Cutler, American author
- 1978Marcus Giles, American baseball player
- 1978Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
- 1979Anna Chatziathanassiou, Greek figure skater
- 1979David Nail, American country singer
- 1979Julián Speroni, Argentine footballer
- 1979Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
- 1979Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist
- 1979Milivoje Novakovič, Slovenian footballer
- 1980Aileen Campbell, Scottish politician
- 1980Ali Zafar, Pakistani singer and model
- 1980Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1980Felicia Pearson, Actress
- 1980Jeff Roehl, American football player
- 1980Matt Long, American actor
- 1980Reggie Evans, American basketball player
- 1981Mahamadou Diarra, Malian footballer
- 1982Jason Brown, English footballer
- 1983Gary O'Neil, English footballer
- 1983Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
- 1983Vince Young, American football player
- 1984Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player
- 1984Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist
- 1985Dalma Kovács, Romanian singer and actress
- 1985Francesca Battistelli, American singer
- 1986Ahmed Hamada, Egyptian racer
- 1986Ryan Lamb, English rugby union player
- 1987Luisana Lopilato, Argentine actress and model
- 1988Kōji Seto, Japanese actor and singer
- 1988Ryan Cooley, Canadian actor
- 1988Taeyang, South Korean singer (Big Bang)
- 1990Gayoon, South Korean singer (4minute)
- 1992Spencer Breslin, American actor
- 1993Jessica Watson, Solo sailor
Who Died On May 18?
- 1401Władysław Opolczyk (lang-de Ladislaus von Oppel), count palatine of Hungary 1367-1372, governor of Halych-Volhynia 1372 – 1378, count palatine of Poland
- 1450Sejong the Great, king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea (b. 1397)
- 1550John, Cardinal of Lorraine, French churchman (b. 1498)
- 1551Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian Renaissance-Mannerist painter (d. 1486)
- 1584Ikeda Motosuke, Japanese samurai commander (b. 1559)
- 1675Jacques Marquette, French Jesuit missionary and explorer (b. 1637)
- 1675Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish Socinian theologist (b. 1623)
- 1692Elias Ashmole, English antiquarian (b. 1617)
- 1733Georg Böhm, German organist (b. 1761)
- 1780Charles Hardy, British governor of Newfoundland
- 1781Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian Indian revolutionary, a descendant of the last Inca ruler, Túpac Amaru (b. 1742)
- 1795Robert Rogers, hero of the French and Indian War.
- 1799Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (b. 1732)
- 1800Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (b. 1729)
- 1807John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters (b. 1721)
- 1808Elijah Craig, American minister and inventor
- 1829Maria Josepha of Saxony, queen consort of Spain (b. 1803)
- 1844Richard McCarty, American politician (b. 1780)
- 1889Isabella Glyn Dallas, Scottish Shakepearean actress (b. 1823)
- 1900Jean Gaspard Felix Ravaisson-Mollien, French philosopher (b. 1813)
- 1909George Meredith, English novelist and poet (b. 1828)
- 1909Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1860)
- 1910Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish novelist (b. 1841)
- 1910Pauline Viardot, French mezzo-soprano and composer (b. 1821)
- 1911Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (b. 1860)
- 1922Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1845)
- 1927Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer (b. 1872)
- 1941Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
- 1943Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (b. 1883)
- 1955Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (b. 1875)
- 1956Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
- 1958Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and essayist (b. 1881)
- 1963Ernie Davis, American football player (b. 1939)
- 1967Andy Clyde, American actor (b. 1892)
- 1971Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (b. 1908)
- 1973Jeannette Rankin, American politician and first U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1880)
- 1975Leroy Anderson, American composer (b. 1908)
- 1980Ian Curtis, English musician, singer and lyricist (Joy Division) (b. 1956)
- 1980Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: David A. Johnston, U.S. volcanologist (b. 1949)
- 1980Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: Harry Randall Truman (b. 1896)
- 1980Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption: Reid Blackburn, photojournalist for National Geographic (b. 1952)
- 1981Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1981William Saroyan, American author (b. 1908)
- 1988Daws Butler, American voice actor (b. 1916)
- 1989Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder; adopted daughter of Babe Ruth (b. 1921)
- 1990Jill Ireland, English actress (b. 1936)
- 1992Marshall Thompson, American actor (b. 1925)
- 1992Skip Stephenson, American TV personality (b. 1940)
- 1995Alexander Godunov, Russian ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
- 1995Brinsley Le Poer Trench, British ufologist (b. 1911)
- 1995Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (b. 1903)
- 1995Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b. 1933)
- 1997Bridgette Andersen, American actress (b. 1975)
- 1999Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer (b. 1954)
- 1999Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
- 2000Maulana Yousuf Ludhianvi, Indian Muslim scholar (b. 1932)
- 2000Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian musician and arranger (b. 1946)
- 2002Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (b. 1962)
- 2003Anna Santisteban, Puerto Rican beauty contest organizer (b. 1914)
- 2003Barb Tarbox, Canadian anti-smoking crusader (b. 1961)
- 2004Elvin Jones, American jazz drummer (b. 1927)
- 2004Serge Turgeon, Quebec actor and union leader (b. 1946)
- 2004Vladislav Terzyul, Ukrainian mountaineer (b. 1953)
- 2006Andrew Martinez, U.C. Berkeley’s “Naked Guy” and American nudism advocate(b. 1972)
- 2007Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist (b. 1932)
- 2007Yoyoy Villame, Philippine novelty singer and movie actor (b. 1932)
- 2008Joseph Pevney, American television director (b. 1911)
- 2009Roderick Anthony Burton II (a.k.a. Dolla), American Rapper (b. 1987)
- 2009Velupillai Prabhakaran, Leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Ceylon (b.1954)
- 2009Wayne Allwine, American voice actor (b.1947)
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