April 18

2024 Calendar

April 18 is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 257 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

1506 – The cornerstone for the present Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome is laid.
1518 - Bona Sforza is crowned Queen of Poland.
1521 - The trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms.
1689 - Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.
1738 – Madrid's Royal Academy of History is founded.
1775 – American Revolution: Paul Revere's ride, to warn the countryside of troop movements.
1797 – France defeats Austria in the Battle of Neuwied.
1807 - A ferry capsizes in the port of Harwich, Essex, England, killing between 60 and 90 people.
1831 – The University of Alabama is founded.
1848 - An American victory at the Battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for the invasion of Mexico in the Mexican-American War.
1880 – A tornado in Marshfield, Missouri, kills 99 people.
1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
1888 - British passenger steamer State of Florida sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean after a collision with a sailing ship, killing 130 people.
1897 – The Greco-Turkish War is declared.

1901 – 2000

1902 – Quetzaltenango, Guatemala is destroyed by an earthquake.
1906 – 1906 San Francisco earthquake: San Francisco, California is largely destroyed by a major earthquake, and subsequent fires. Estimates suggest that 3,000 people have died, some of them after Mayor Eugene Schmitz orders a shoot-to-kill policy against looters. Operatic tenor Enrico Caruso, who was in the city at the time, fled, never to return.
1909 - Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.
1912 - Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic sinking to New York City.
1915 - French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
1923 – The Yankee Stadium opens in New York City.
1924 - Simon & Schuster publishes the first crossword puzzle book.
1930 - BBC Radio announces that there is no news for that day.
1941 - Vichy France announces its withdrawal from the League of Nations.
1942 – Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.
1945 – World War II: 1,000 bombers attack the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.
1946 – The International Court of Justice meets for the first time in The Hague.
1954 – Gamal Abdel Nasser takes power in Egypt.
1955 – World-famous physicist Albert Einstein dies aged 76.
1955 - Representatives of 29 nations meet in Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.
1958 - A US Federal Court rules that controversial poet Ezra Pound can be released from an insane asylum.
1974 - Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto opens Lahore's Dry Port.
1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe becomes independent from the UK, with Canaan Banana as its first President. Robert Mugabe becomes Prime Minister, assuming the presidency in 1987.
1981 – The longest-ever game of professional baseball begins in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1983 – The US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is hit by a suicide bomber, killing 63 people.
1988 - The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian forces in the Iran-Iraq War.
1992 – General Abdul Rashid Dostum revolts against President Mohammed Najibullah in Afghanistan.
1996 – At least 106 civilians in Lebanon are killed when Israeli Defense Forces shell a UN compound in Qana.
1996 - Islamic fundamentalists carry out a terror attack on a hotel in Cairo, killing 18 Greek tourists, who they mistook for Israelis.

From 2001

2002 – A light aircraft crashes into the Pirelli building in Milan.
2002 – Thor Heyerdahl, who became world-famous for his Kon-Tiki expedition, dies at the age of 87.
2004 – Spain's Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero orders the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq.
2005 - Start of the Conclave to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II; Joseph Alois Ratzinger is chosen the next day and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
2007 – 198 people are killed in a series of bombings across Baghdad.
2007 - UEFA Euro 2012 is announced as being hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine.
2008 - Cricket: The first season of the Indian Premier League begins.
2013 - A suicide bombing at a café in Baghdad kills 27 people and injures 63.
2014 - An avalanche on Mount Everest kills 12 people.
2015 - A terrorist attack in the city of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, kills at least 33 people.
2017 - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May calls for an early general election for June 8.
2018 - Saudi Arabia's cinemas open for the first time since 1983.
2018 - NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is launched.
2019 - Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee is shot and killed during rioting in the city of Londonderry.

Births

Up to 1900

359 - Gratian, Roman Emperor (d. 383)
1115 - Gertrud of Süpplingenburg, Saxon noblewoman (d. 1143)
1480 – Lucrezia Borgia, Florentine ruler (d. 1519)
1580 - Thomas Middleton, English dramatist (d. 1621)
1590 – Ahmed I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1617)
1605 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (d. 1674)
1647 - Elias Brenner, Finnish-Swedish artist (d. 1717)
1772 - David Ricardo, English political economist (d. 1823)
1782 - Georg August Goldfuss, German palaeontologist and zoologist (d. 1848)
1797 - Adolphe Thiers, 2nd President of France (d. 1877)
1813 - James McCune Smith, American physician and writer (d. 1865)
1819 – Carlos Cespedes, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1874)
1838 - Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French chemist (d. 1912)
1857 – Clarence Darrow, American lawyer (d. 1938)
1857 - Alexander Shirvanzade, Armenian playwright and novelist (d. 1935)
1858 – Dhondo Keshav Karve, Indian social reformer (d. 1962)
1858 – Alexander Shirvanzade, Armenian playwright and novelist (d. 1935)
1863 – Leopold Graf Berchtold, Austrian-Hungarian foreign minister (d. 1942)
1863 - Linton Hope, English architect and sailor (d. 1920)
1864 – Richard Harding Davis, American writer (d. 1916)
1874 – Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, German writer (d. 1941)
1877 - Vicente Sotto, Filipino patriot and writer (d. 1950)
1879 - Korneli Kekelidze, Georgian philologist (d. 1962)
1880 - Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach and umpire (d. 1968)
1882 - Leopold Stokowski, Polish conductor (d. 1977)
1882 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian ruler and writer (d. 1964)
1884 - Jaan Anvelt, Estonian Communist revolutionary and writer (d. 1937)
1889 - Jessie Street, American activist (d. 1970)
1890 - Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, Russian royal (d. 1958)
1893 - Violette Morris, French shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1944)
1896 - Ha Hye-sok, Korean poet, feminist, writer, painter, educator and journalist (d. 1948)
1897 – Ardito Desio, Italian topographer (d. 2001)
1897 - Per-Erik Hedlund, Swedish cross-country skier (d. 1975)

1901 – 1950

1901 – Al Lewis, American lyricist (d. 1967)
1901 – Elene Akhvlediani, Georgian artist (d. 1975)
1902 – Giuseppe Pella, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1981)
1905 – George H. Hitchings, American scientist (d. 1998)
1907 – Miklos Rozsa, Hungarian composer (d. 1995)
1911 – Maurice Goldhaber, Austrian-American physicist (d. 2011)
1914 - Claire Martin, Canadian writer (d. 2014)
1917 – Frederika of Hanover, Queen Consort of Greece (d. 1981)
1918 – Gabriel Axel, Danish movie director, screenwriter and actor (d. 2014)
1918 - Harry Firth, Australian racing driver (d. 2014)
1918 - Shinobu Hashimoto, Japanese screenwriter (d. 2018)
1918 - André Bazin, French critic and theorist (d. 1958)
1919 - Vondell Darr, American actress (d. 2012)
1921 - Jean Richard, French actor (d. 2001)
1922 - Barbara Hale, American actress (d. 2017)
1924 - Clarence Gatemouth Brown, American blues guitarist (d. 2005)
1924 - Roy Mason, British politician (d. 2015)
1925 - Bob Hastings, American actor (d. 2014)
1926 - Harry Volkman, American meteorologist (d. 2015)
1927 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Polish writer, journalist and politician (d. 2013)
1927 - Charles Pasqua, French politician (d. 2015)
1927 – Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist (d. 2008)
1928 - Otto Piene, German artist (d. 2014)
1928 - Karl Josef Becker, German theologian and cardinal (d. 2015)
1929 - Mario Francesco Pompedda, Italian cardinal (d. 2006)
1930 - Jean Guillou, French composer and organist
1931 - Klas Lestander, Swedish biathlete
1933 - Enrico Crispolti, Italian art critic, curator and art historian (d. 2018)
1934 – James Drury, American actor
1934 - Pedro Tenorio, Governor of the Northern Marianas (d. 2018)
1936 - Tarcisio Gitti, Italian politician (d. 2018)
1937 – Jan Kaplicky, Czech-British architect (d. 2009)
1937 - Teddy Taylor, British politician (d. 2017)
1940 – Joseph L. Goldstein, American scientist
1940 – Mike Vickers, British musician and composer
1940 - Ira von Fürstenberg, Italian socialite, actress and jewellery designer
1941 – Michael D. Higgins, 9th President of Ireland
1942 – Jochen Rindt, Austrian racecar driver (d. 1970)
1943 - Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (d. 2015)
1944 - Albin Planinc, Yugoslavian chess player (d. 2008)
1944 – Robert Hanssen, American double agent
1944 - Frances D'Souza, Baroness D'Souza, English academic and politician
1945 – Margaret Hassan, Irish aid worker (d. 2004)
1946 - Hayley Mills, British actress
1946 - Irene Fernandez, Malaysian activist (d. 2014)
1946 - Janet Kagan, American writer (d. 2008)
1947 – Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor and director
1947 – Moses Blah, Liberian politician (d. 2013)
1947 – Cindy Pickett, American actress
1947 – James Woods, American actor
1947 - Herbert Mullin, American serial killer
1950 - Kenny Ortega, American director, producer and choreographer

1951 – 1975

1953 - Rick Moranis, Canadian-American actor, singer and screenwriter
1956 – Eric Roberts, American actor
1956 - Melody Thomas Scott, American actress
1956 - Roberto Calderoli, Italian politician
1958 - Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian cricketer
1959 - Frank Mulholland, Scottish lawyer
1960 - Neo Rauch, German artist
1960 - J. Christopher Stevens, American diplomat (d. 2012)
1961 - Jane Leeves, British actress
1961 – Steve Lombardi, American professional wrestler
1963 – Eric McCormack, Canadian actor
1963 – Conan O'Brien, American comedian
1963 - Universo 2000, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 2018)
1964 – Niall Ferguson, British historian
1964 - Rithy Panh, Cambodian documentary moviemaker
1966 - Valeri Kamensky, Russian ice hockey player
1966 - Trine Hattestad, Norwegian javelin thrower
1966 - Camille Coduri, English actress
1967 – Maria Bello, American actress
1968 – David Hewlett, English-Canadian actor
1969 - Princess Sayako of Japan
1970 - Esther Schweins, German actress
1970 – Saad Hariri, Lebanese Prime Minister
1971 – Samantha Cameron, wife of David Cameron
1971 – David Tennant, Scottish actor
1971 – Oleg Petrov, Russian ice hockey player
1972 - Rosa Clemente, American journalist and activist
1972 - Eli Roth, American director
1972 - Lars Christiansen, Danish handball player
1973 – Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian runner
1973 - Arnaud Beltrame, French gendarme (d. 2018)
1974 - Mark Tremonti, American musician
1974 - Edgar Wright, English director and writer

From 1976

1976 – Melissa Joan Hart, American actress
1976 – Rodrigo de la Serna, Argentine actor
1976 – Sean Maguire, English actor
1977 – Hassan El Fakri, Norwegian footballer
1977 – Jonathan Rowson, Scottish chess player
1979 – Matthew Upson, English footballer
1979 – Kourtney Kardashian, American reality TV personality
1979 – Anthony Davidson, British racing driver
1980 – Rabiu Afolabi, Nigerian footballer
1980 – Carolina Crescentini, Italian actress
1980 – Robyn Regehr, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Milan Jovanovic, Serbian footballer
1982 – Simone Farina, Italian footballer
1983 – Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player
1983 – Hernán Rengifo, Peruvian footballer
1984 – America Ferrera, American actress
1985 – Lukasz Fabianski, Polish footballer
1985 – Rachel Smith, American model
1986 – Maurice Edu, American soccer player
1986 – Mateusz Rutkowski, Polish ski jupmer
1987 – Danny Guthrie, English footballer
1987 – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, British model and actress
1987 – Samantha Jade, Australian singer-songwriter
1987 – Cara Maria Wayans, American actress
1988 – Anagabriela Espinoza, Mexican model
1989 – Hannah Wang, Australian actress
1989 – Jessica, Korean-American actress, model and singer (Girls' Generation)
1990 – Wojciech Szczesny, Polish footballer
1990 – Britt Robertson, American actress
1992 – Chloe Bennet, American actress and singer
1993 – Nathan Sykes, British singer (The Wanted)
1995 – Divock Origi, Belgian footballer
1996 – Ski Mask the Slump God, American rapper and songwriter
2007 – Hayah bint Hamzah, Princess of Jordan

Deaths

Up to 1900

1143 - Gertrud of Süpplingenburg, Saxon noblewoman (b. 1115)
1161 – Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury
1556 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (b. 1495)
1567 – Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer (b. 1503)
1674 – John Graunt, English statistician (b. 1620)
1794 – Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714)
1796 - Johan Wilcke, Swedish physicist (b. 1732)
1802 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist (b. 1731)
1832 - Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet, French painter (b. 1761)
1859 - Tatya Tope, Indian general (b. 1814)
1864 - Juris Alunans, Latvian philologist (b. 1832)
1873 – Justus von Liebig, German scientist (b. 1803)
1898 – Gustave Moreau, French painter (b. 1826)

1901 – 2000

1905 - Juan Valera, Spanish writer, diplomat and politician (b. 1824)
1906 - Luis Martín, Spanish Superior-General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1846)
1936 - Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer (b. 1879)
1941 - Alexandros Koryzis, Prime minister of Greece (b. 1885)
1942 – Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American sculptor and art collector (b. 1875)
1943 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (b. 1884)
1945 – John Ambrose Fleming, English physicist and engineer (b. 1849)
1945 – Ernie Pyle, American journalist (b. 1900)
1945 – William, Prince of Albania (b. 1876)
1947 – Jozef Tiso, Slovakian politician (b. 1887)
1949 – Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
1951 – Antonio Oscar Carmona, Portuguese politician (b. 1869)
1955 – Albert Einstein, German physicist and Nobel laureate (b. 1879)
1957 - Ben W. Hooper, 33rd Governor of Tennessee (b. 1870)
1958 – Maurice Gamelin, French general (b. 1872)
1964 - Ben Hecht, American director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1894)
1965 - Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena, Mexican inventor and engineer (b. 1917)
1974 – Marcel Pagnol, French writer and movie maker (b. 1895)
1976 - Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (b. 1911)
1988 - Pierre Desproges, French journalist, comedian and actor (b. 1939)
1991 - Gabriel Celaya, Spanish poet (b. 1911)
1992 - Frankie Howerd, English comedian and actor (b. 1917)
1993 - Masahiko Kimura, Japanese judoka (b. 1917)
1995 – Arturo Frondizi, President of Argentina (b. 1908)
1996 - Piet Hein, Danish scientist, mathematician and inventor (b. 1905)
1998 - Terry Sanford, 65th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1917)

From 2001

2002 – Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer, ethnographer, zoologist and writer (b. 1914)
2004 – Kamisese Mara, first Prime Minister of Fiji (b. 1920)
2007 – Iccho Itoh, Japanese politician, Mayor of Nagasaki (b. 1945)
2008 - Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist (b. 1907)
2011 – Pietro Ferrero Jr., Italian businessman (b. 1963)
2011 – William Donald Schaefer, American politician (b. 1921)
2012 – Dick Clark, American radio and television host, and producer (b. 1929)
2013 - Storm Thorgerson, British graphic designer (b. 1944)
2014 - Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer (b. 1994)
2014 - Brian Priestman, British maestro and conductor (b. 1927)
2014 - Derek Cooper, British broadcaster and food naturalist (b. 1925)
2014 - Andrew Sessler, American physicist (b. 1928)
2015 - Mario Pirani, Italian journalist (b. 1925)
2015 - Erwin Waldner, German footballer (b. 1933)
2016 - Yuri Bychkov, Russian art historian (b. 1931)
2016 - Cox Habbema, Dutch actress (b. 1944)
2016 - Eva Henning, Swedish actress (b. 1920)
2016 - Sir John Leslie, 4th Baronet, Irish aristocrat and media personality (b. 1916)
2016 - Johan van Minnen, Dutch journalist and politician (b. 1932)
2017 - Yvonne Monlaur, French actress (b. 1939)
2017 - Jaak Panksepp, Estonian-American neuroscientist (b. 1943)
2018 - Luisa Pastor Lillo, Spanish politician (b. 1948)
2018 - Bruno Sammartino, Italian-American professional wrestler (b. 1935)
2018 - Henk Schouten, Dutch footballer (b. 1932)
2018 - Jeanne Wilson, American swimmer (b. 1926)
2018 - Dale Winton, English television presenter (b. 1955)
2019 - Jameel Jalibi, Pakistani linguist, writer and academic (b. 1929)
2019 - Con de Lange, South African-Scottish cricketer (b. 1981)
2019 - Lyra McKee, Northern Irish journalist (b. 1990)
2019 - Lorraine Warren, American paranormal investigator (b. 1927)

Observances

Independence Day (Zimbabwe)
Invention Day (Japan)
International Day of Monuments and Sites
Army Day (Iran)