Famous Events For May 18 – Today In History

May 18: Today in History – Historical Events

Early Centuries – May 18 Historic Events – Before the 1700s

1. 18th May 1096: Jews of Worms were massacred by crusaders.
2. 18th May 1268: In the Battle of Antioch Mamluk Sultan Baibars took control of the principality of the crusader state Antioch.
3. 18th May 1291: The last Christian stronghold of Acre was taken by Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil and his forces.
4. 18th May 1593: English playwright, poet, and translator Christopher Marlow was arrested based on the hearsay accusation by dramatic and playwright Thomas Kyd.
5. 18th May 1596: William Barents leaves Amsterdam to travel to Novaya Zemlya.

6. 18th May 1604: The 19-year Anglo-Spanish War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of London by England and Spain.
7. 18th May 1619: Hugo de Grotius, a Dutch scholar and author of “Father of International Law” and author of the first treatise on the law of the sea, was today sentenced to life in prison.
8. 18th May 1631: Puritans were granted voting rights by the English colony of Massachusetts. John Winthrop was elected the first mayor of Massachusetts.
9. 18th May 1642: The French colonists in Canada today founded the Canadian city of Montreal.
10. 18th May 1643: Widow of Louis XIII, Queen Ann, today granted became the regent of the Paris parliament with sole and absolute powers granted, overriding the will of the late King.
11. 18th May 1652: A law banning slavery in the colonies was passed in Rhode Island today. It seemed unlikely to be enforced.

18th Century – What Happened on May 18 – The 1700s

12. 18th May 1703: Cologne was occupied by Dutch and English troops.
13. 18th May 1765: Fire ravaged Montreal in Quebec district in Canada. A large part of Montreal was destroyed in the fire.

14. 18th May 1783: After leaving the United States, the first United Empire Loyalists reached Parrtown, New Brunswick, Canada.
15. 18th May 1792: Poland was today invaded by the Russian troops.
16. 18th May 1794: France and Austria engage in the second battle of Bouvines.

19th Century – May 18 This Day That Year – The 1800s

17. 18th May 1803: After General Napoleon continued to interfere in Italy and Switzerland, Great Britain declared war on France.
18. 18th May 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte was today proclaimed emperor of France by the French Senate.
19. 18th May 1828: The conflict between Uruguay and Brazil ended with the Battle of Las Piedras.
20. 18th May 1830: Inventor of lawn mower, Edwin Beard Budding, today signed an agreement for the manufacture of his invention.
21. 18th May 1843: This day marks the formation of the United Free Church of Scotland.
22. 18th May 1848: The first German National Assembly opened in Frankfurt Germany today.

23. 18th May 1851: The linking of the telephone connection between Amsterdam and Nieuwediep was done today.
24. 18th May 1852: Massachusetts brought a ruling that all school-age children must attend school.
25. 18th May 1860: Abraham Lincoln was nominated for President by the Republican Convention at Chicago and Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine as vice president.
26. 18th May 1866: The DePutte-led government in France resigns.
27. 18th May 1869: Robert Tanner Freeman became the first African American to graduate from the Harvard Dental School.
28. 18th May 1869: Ezo Republic today surrendered to Japan.
29. 18th May 1896: In the case of “Plessy V Ferguson” Legitimacy was today accorded to racial separation by the US Supreme Court.
30. 18th May 1896: During the festivities on the occasion of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicolas II, mass panic on the Khodynka Field resulted in the death of 1,389 people.
31. 18th May 1897: This day marks the founding of Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan by Chemical Industrialist Herbart Henry Dow.

32. 18th May 1897: Irish author Bram Stoker’s work “Dracula” was published in London by Archibald Constable and Company.
33. 18th May 1897: The Irish Music Festival was first held in Dublin.
34. 18th May 1899: 26 nations met for the first Hague Peace Conference today and celebrated the day as the World Goodwill Day.

20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 18th – The 1900s

35. 18th May 1904: Ion H. Perdicaris an American citizen was today in Morocco by a brigand Raizuli.
36. 18th May 1911: The term of the Mexican President Jose Porfirio Diaz came to an end today.
37. 18th May 1912: Two Dutch movie companies were established by Maurits Binger.
38. 18th May 1916: In London today a British Royal Inquiry was set up to inquire into the Easter Rising in Dublin.

39. 18th May 1916: A German aircraft was shot down by pilot Kiffin Rockwell of the US.
40. 18th May 1917: The Selective Service Act, authorizing the federal government to raise a national army for America’s entry into World War I was passed today by the US Congress.
41. 18th May 1917: Under John J Pershing’s command, the first units of the American Expeditionary Force were ordered to France.
42. 18th May 1918: There was an explosion of TNT in a chemical factory in Oakdale, Pennsylvania. About 200 people were killed in the explosion.
43. 18th May 1922: A 48-hour work week was agreed upon by the Dutch 2nd chamber. It was 45 hours earlier.
44. 18th May 1921: Ellis Island was quarantined following a case of Typhus including some 1700 immigrants who are likely to have come in contact. The Island is fumigated and cleaned up.
45. 18th May 1924: In the Paris Olympics American Rugby team scored a 17-3 victory over France. Rugby was dismissed from the Olympics after a riot was created by the rival fans by the upset American victory.

46. 18th May 1926: Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared from the beach of Venice. She surfaced a month later in California and claimed that she was kidnapped.
47. 18th May 1927: The Ritz Hotel opened today in Boston.
48. 18th May 1927: In Hollywood, Impresario Sid Grauman opened his Chinese theatre today.
49. 18th May 1927: A local farmer Andrew Kehoe planted explosives in a schoolhouse in Bath Massachusetts and later blew it up by setting off a dynamite-laden automobile. The explosion killed 38 children and six adults including Kehoe, who is believed to have killed his wife earlier.
50. 18th May 1929: Dreaded gangster Al Capone, who was for his domination of Chicago beer runners and who is believed to be behind the St Valentine’s Day Massacre pleaded guilty to a minor charge and was imprisoned.
51. 18th May 1930: President Hoover who was under pressure from temperance groups, recommended strengthening of enforcement.
52. 18th May 1931: Attempting to be the first to cross the Pacific Ocean Japanese pilot Seiji Yoshihara crashed into the Pacific. A passing ship picked him up seven hours later.
53. 18th May 1933: This day marks the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
54. 18th May 1934: The “Lindberg Act”, calling for the death penalty for interstate kidnapping was today approved by the United States Congress.

55. 18th May 1940: Brussels was today conquered by the German troops.
56. 18th May 1940: In World War II, Germany in its quest for control of Europe, captured Antwerp and continued its push to Paris adopting a multipronged attack.
57. 18th May 1942: Night baseball games ended in New York for the duration of the War.
58. 18th May 1944: In Italy, the allied captured Monte Casino which is Europe’s oldest Monastic house.
59. 18th May 1948: Saudi Arabia today joined the invasion of Israel.
60. 18th May 1949: The incorporation of the Antiquarian Book Sellers Association of America happened today.
61. 18th May 1950: Twelve nations, Belgium, Canada, France, Britain, Denmark, Island, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, and the United States, today agreed to form a permanent organization, NATO for the defense of America and Europe.
62. 18th May 1951: The headquarters of the United Nations was shifted to New York today.

63. 18th May 1953: Jacqueline Cochran flew the F-86 Sabrejet over California at speeds averaging 652.33 miles per hour. She became the first female pilot to fly at supersonic speed.
64. 18th May 1954: The European Convention on Human Rights takes effect today.
65. 18th May 1955: Lake Maloya New Mexico received 28.7 cms rainfall which is a state record.
66. 18th May 1955: The E55 fair in Amsterdam was today opened by Queen Julian
67. 18th May 1956: The Rembrandt fair in Amsterdam was today opened by Queen Julian.
68. 18th May 1964: Deprivation of citizenship to naturalized citizens if they return to their home country for more than 3 years was today ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
69. 18th May 1969: Apollo 10 was launched today towards the lunar orbit.
70. 18th May 1971: The constitution of Bulgaria takes effect today.
71. 18th May 1973: Communist party leader of Russia, Brezhnev visited West Germany today.
72. 18th May 1974: India today exploded an atomic bomb. It became the sixth nation to do so.
73. 18th May 1974: Nigeria today announced that there will be a 55% government participation in all oil concessions.
74. 18th May 1977: Several nations including the US and the USSR signed the Environmental Modification Convention which prohibits weather warfare from having widespread lasting or severe effects.

75. 18th May 1977: Menachem Begin became the Prime Minister of Israel.
76. 18th May 1978: Abortion was legalized in Italy today.
77. 18th May 1980: The first Intercontinental rocket was launched by the People’s Republic of China.
78. 18th May 1980: In Peru, Fernando Belaunde Terry was elected as the country’s President.
79. 18th May 1980: Mount St Helens erupts in Washington State. Sixty people were killed.
80. 18th May 1982: Rev Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unified Church was today convicted for tax evasion.
81. 18th May 1983: The Senate today revised the immigration laws giving legal status to millions of illegal aliens under an amnesty program.
82. 18th May 1986: Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia were occupied by the South African army.
83. 18th May 1986: In a 25-yard swimming pool David Gooch completed swimming 55,682 miles.
84. 18th May 1990: A monetary union treaty was signed by East and West Germany.
85. 18th May 1990: At the JFK airport in New York, Judy Carne was today arrested on an 11-year-old drug warrant.
86. 18th May 1991: France today performed a nuclear test at Murorua atoll.
87. 18th May 1991: Two cosmonauts were launched by the USSR to the MIR space station.
88. 18th May 1992: It was ruled by the US Supreme Court today that states could not force criminal defendants who are mentally unstable to take anti-psychotic drugs.
89. 18th May 1993: Danish people today voted in favor of ratification of the Maastricht treaty.
90. 18th May 1993: Mafia boss Benedetto “Nitto” Santapaola was today arrested by the Italian police.
91. 18th May 1994: Israel today withdrew from the Gaza Strip.
92. 18th May 1997: Tiger Woods today won the Byron Nelson Golf Classic.
93. 18th May 1997: LPGA golfer Christa Johnson today won the 43rd LPGA golf championship.
94. 18th May 1998: Twenty states and the United States Justice Department today filed an antitrust Microsoft.

21st Century – May 18 This Day In History – The 2000s

95. 18th May 2001: Eight foreign companies were selected by Saudi Arabia to take part in its gas initiative. Three core venture gas projects are anticipated to have a worth of $25 billion.
96. 18th May 2006: After the Loktantra Andholan in Nepal, the government passed a landmark bill limiting the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
97. 18th May 2009: The Sri Lankan government defeated the LTTE ending six years of fighting between them
98. 18th May 2010: After the co-owner of Red and Black Cafe in Portland, Oregon claimed that the presence of a uniformed police officer James Crooker made him feel uncomfortable, Crooker was asked to leave the Red and Black Cafe.
99. 18th May 2014: Swiss voters today rejected a $25 per hour minimum wage.
100. 18th May 2014: Golfer Tiger Woods loses his number one rank to Adam Scott.

See Also:

Sun Signs Everything Under The Sun!