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April 18: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – April 18 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 18th April 1521: Martin Luther confronted the emperor Charles V in the Diet of Wors and refused to retract his views which led to his excommunication.
2. 18th April 1676: Indians attacked Sudbury in Massachusetts.
18th Century – What Happened on April 18 – The 1700s
3. 18th April 1775: Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott, the American revolutionaries rode through the towns of Massachusetts giving the warning that the Regulars were coming out. The phrase “The British are coming” was later attributed to Revere even though it is unlikely that he used that phrase.
4. 18th April 1791: Louis XVI and his family were prevented from leaving Paris by National Guardsmen.
19th Century – April 18 This Day That Year – The 1800s
5. 18th April 1818: At the Battle of Suwann in Florida, a regiment of Indians and blacks were defeated, ending the first Seminole War.
6. 18th April 1834: William Lamb became the Prime Minister of England.
7. 18th April 1838: The Wilkes expedition to the South Pole set sail today.
8. 18th April 1846: R.E. House patented the telegraph ticker.
9. 18th April 1847: In the Mexican-American War, the U.S. troops defeated almost 17,000 Mexican soldiers commanded by Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo.
10. 18th April 1861: Colonel Robert E. Lee today turned down an offer to command the Union armies during the U.S. Civil War.
11. 18th April 1877: Charles Cross wrote a paper describing the process of recording and reproducing sound. He was considered the inventor of the phonograph. Thomas Edison gets the credit in the US.
12. 18th April 1895: An act that established free public baths was passed in New York State today.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day April 18th – The 1900s
13. 18th April 1906: An earthquake struck San Francisco, CA. Although the death toll originally indicated was 700, later information indicates a toll that is 3 to 4 times higher than the original estimate.
14. 18th April 1910: Walter R. Brookins was the first to fly an airplane in the night.
15. 18th April 1916: US Secretary of State today warned Germany that the USA may break diplomatic relations unless torpedo attacks on unarmed ships by Germany are stopped.
16. 18th April 1921: Junior Achievement incorporated in Colorado Spring.
17. 18th April 1923: Poland today annexed Central Lithuania.
18. 18th April 1924: The first “Crossword Puzzle Book” was published by Simon and Schuster Inc.
19. 18th April 1925: World’s Fair opens in Chicago.
20. 18th April 1926: Rhein Stadium opens in Dusseldorf Germany.
21. 18th April 1927: Military and political leader of China Chiang Kai-shek forms anti-government in China.
22. 18th April 1929: The Palace for People’s Industry in Amsterdam was devastated by fire.
23. 18th April 1930: Armed pro-independence revolutionaries led by Surya Sen, popularly known as Masterda, raid the armory of police and auxiliary forces in Chittagong in the Bengal Province of India.
24. 18th April 1934: Hitler today named Joachim von Ribbentrop, ambassador for disarmament.
25. 18th April 1934: The first Laundromat was opened today in ‘Fort Worth Texas.
26. 18th April 1936: Pan-Am Clipper begins regular passenger flights from San Francisco to Honolulu.
27. 18th April 1937: Leon Trotsky gave a call to overthrow Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
28. 18th April 1938: Superman debuted today, appearing in the first issue of Action Comics.
29. 18th April 1938: Headless Mad Butcher victim found in Cleveland.
30. 18th April 1939: Franz von Papen became the German ambassador in Turkey today
31. 18th April 1939: Hubert Pierlot today formed a government in Belgium.
32. 18th April 1942: James H Doolittle and his squadron raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities from the USS Hornet.
33. 18th April 1942: “Stars & Strips” paper for US armed forces starts today.
34. 18th April 1942: The Vichy government surrendered to Adolf Hitler and invited Pierre Laval to form a new government in France.
35. 18th April 1943: American P-38 fighters shot down a Japanese bomber in which Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was traveling.
36. 18th April 1945: Diplomatic relations were established between Bolivia and the Soviet Union.
37. 18th April 1945: War correspondent, 44 years old, Ernie Pyle of America was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa.
38. 18th April 1946: The League of Nations was dissolved today.
39. 18th April 1946: “Call Me Mister” opens at the National Theater in New York City for 734 performances.
40. 18th April 1946: General Tito’s Yugoslavia government was today recognized by the United States.
41. 18th April 1948: The International Court of Justice opens at Hague in the Netherlands today.
42. 18th April 1949: The Republic of Ireland was established on this day.
43. 18th April 1950: Sam Jethroe is the first black to play for the Boston Braves.
44. 18th April 1950: This day marks the completion of the first transatlantic jet passenger trip.
45. 18th April 1950: Polish Catholic Church and government sign accord over relations.
46. 18th April 1951: France, West Germany, and Benelux formed the European Steel & Coal Community.
47. 18th April 1951: Dutch Antilles government of Da Cosa Gomez forms today.
48. 18th April 1954: Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser today seized power in Egypt.
49. 18th April 1955: The 1st Bandoeng Conference-Afro-Asian conference opens today.
50. 18th April 1956: Prince Rainier of Monaco married actress Grace Kelly. The religious ceremonies are to take place on 19th April.
51. 18th April 1956: Egypt and Israel agree to a cease-fire.
52. 18th April 1958: A federal court of the United States today ruled that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.
53. 18th April 1958: Padang in Middle-Sumatra Indonesia was re-conquered by government troops.
54. 18th April 1960: The Mutual Broadcasting system was today sold to the 3 M Company of Minnesota for $1.25 million.
55. 18th April 1961: CONCP was founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule.
56. 18th April 1963: Dr. James Campbell today performed the first human nerve transplant.
57. 18th April 1964: Artisans strike in Belgium ended today.
58. 18th April 1966: Basketball player Bill Russell became the first black coach in the history of the NBA (Boston Celtics).
59. 18th April 1968: The Dutch Department of Amnesty International was formed today.
60. 18th April 1968: London Bridge was today sold to a US oil company, to be erected in Arizona.
61. 18th April 1968: 178,000 employees of US Bell Telephone System go on strike.
62. 18th April 1968: San Francisco’s Old Hall of Justice was demolished today.
63. 18th April 1968: The first ABA basketball championship began today.
64. 18th April 1968: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
65. 18th April 1969: The Greek Aid Fund was established by Melina Mercouri.
66. 18th April 1971: Sunil Gavaskar of India, after scoring 124 runs in the first innings went on to score 220 runs in the second innings.
67. 18th April 1973: The US Government today ended the Mandatory Oil Import Program established by President Eisenhower in 1959.
68. 18th April 1974: Italia attorney general Mario Sossi was today kidnapped by Red Brigade.
69. 18th April 1977: Alex Haley was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his work “Roots”.
70. 18th April 1977: Michale Cristofer was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “Shadow Box”
71. 18th April 1978: The transfer of Panama Canal to Panama on 31st December 1999, was approved by the U.S. Senate today.
72. 18th April 1979: South Lebanon was declared independent by Major Haddad today.
73. 18th April 1980: Rhodesia became an independent nation of Zimbabwe.
74. 18th April 1982: The British North America Act was today replaced by the Canada Constitution Act.
75. 18th April 1982: Salisbury the Capital city of Zimbabwe was today renamed as Harare.
76. 18th April 1983: Alice Walker was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “The Color Purple”.
77. 18th April 1983: A suicide car bomber blew up the U.S. Embassy in Beirut killing 63 people which included 17 Americans.
78. 18th April 1984: Space Shuttle Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Centre via Kelly Air Force Base.
79. 18th April 1984: Mike MacCarthy and Amanda Tucker made a skydive from the Eiffel Tower making a safe landing.
80. 18th April 1985: The charges of fixed games, drug abuse, and payments to players prompted Tulane University to abolish its 72-year-old basketball program.
81. 18th April 1985: Ted Turner today filed for a hostile takeover of CBS.
82. 18th April 1986: Robert M Gates today became deputy director of the CIA.
83. 18th April 1986: Titan rocket explodes seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB.
84. 18th April 1987: An unconscious skydiver was rescued by another skydiver in mid-air.
85. 18th April 1989: Thousands of Chinese students tried to storm the Communist Party headquarters in Beijing, demanding democracy.
86. 18th April 1990: The Supreme Court today ruled that states could make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one’s home.
87. 18th April 1990: Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF.
88. 18th April 1990: Bankruptcy court forces Frank Lorenzo to give up Eastern Airlines.
89. 18th April 1996: In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians were killed when the Israel Defense Forces accidentally shelled the UN compound at Quana.
21st Century – April 18 This Day In History – The 2000s
90. 18th April 2000: The Nasdaq recorded the biggest one-day point gain in its history today.
91. 18th April 2002: Actor Robert Blake and his bodyguard were arrested today in connection with the shooting to the death of Blake’s wife about a year back.
92. 18th April 2002: The city legislature of Berlin today decided to make Marlene Dietrich, who had gone to the United States in 1930 and had refused to return to Germany when Hitler came to power, an honorary citizen.
93. 18th April 2002: Four people were killed and 133 were injured when the Amtrack Auto Train derailed in a remote area north of Florida.
94. 18th April 2007: The Supreme Court of the United States today upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 judgment.
95. 18th April 2011: In the 115th Boston Marathon, Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai was the first man to complete in 2:03: 02, a course record, and Kenyan woman Kilel was the first to complete in 2: 22: 36.
96. 18th April 2012: After cultural institution budget cuts, the Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples begins burning artworks.
97. 18th April 2013: Two earthlike planets are discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62.
98. 18th April 2013: In a bombing of a café in Bagdad Iraq, 27 people were killed and another 65 injured.
99. 18th April 2014: An avalanche on the Mt. Everest today killed 12 Nepalese climbers.
100. 18th April 2017: Prime Minister Teresa May of England announced that she will seek a “snap” election.
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