May 18

Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAY : May 18

May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). There are 227 days remaining.

Contents

1 Events
2 Births
3 Deaths
4 Holidays and Observances
5 External links

Events

1152 - Henry II marries Eleanor of Aquitaine.
1268 - The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch; Baibars' destruction of the city of Antioch was so great as to permanently negate the city's importance.
1593 - Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
1631 - In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
1652 - Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal.
1765 - Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec.
1783 - First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States.
1803 - Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate.
1811 - Las Piedras Battle first great military triumph of the liberating revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay leaded by Jose Artigas.
1848 - Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
1863 - American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins, ending on July 4.
1869 - Surrender and dissolution of the Ezo Republic to Japan.
1876 - Wyatt Earp starts work in Dodge City, Kansas under Marshal Larry Deger.
1896 - The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal is constitutional.
1897 - Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published.
1900 - The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
1910 - The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley.
1917 - World War I: The Selective Service Act passes the U.S. Congress giving the President the power of conscription.
1926 - Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a Venice, California, beach.
1927 - The Bath School Disaster: Forty-five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
1933 - New Deal: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
1944 - World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino - Germans evacuate Monte Cassino and Allied forces take the stronghold after a struggle that claimed 20,000 lives.
1944 - Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
1944 - World War II: SS troops burn down six villages in the Brkini hills in south western Slovenia.
1948 - The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
1953 - Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier (she flew in a F-86 Sabrejet at an average speed of 652.337 miles per hour (1049.835 km/h) at Rogers Dry Lake, California).
1958 - An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).
1959 - Launching of the National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire in Conakry, Guinea.
1969 - Apollo program: Apollo 10 launches.
1974 - Nuclear test: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
1974 - Completion of the Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built at the time. It later collapses on August 8, 1991.
1980 - 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
1980 - Gwangju Massacre: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.
1980 - Peru: Terrorist group Shining Path attacked a voting poll in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho starting their activities.
1983 - In Ireland, scene of remarkable pirate radio broadcasting during the decade, the Government launched a crackdown, with the leading Dublin pirate Radio Nova being put off the air.
1991 - Helen Sharman from Sheffield becomes the first Briton to orbit in Space
1991 - 18th May, Chinese Natural Disaster, Flood killing 210,232,227.
1992 - The Archivist of the United States issues a proclamation to officially announce that the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been ratified, despite more than 200 years for completion of the ratification process by the state legislatures.
1995 - Alain Juppé becomes Prime Minister of France.
1998 - United States v. Microsoft: The United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states file an antitrust case against Microsoft.
2004 - Randy Johnson throws the 17th perfect game in Major League Baseball history and became the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game.
2006 - The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.

Births

1048 - Omar Khayyám, Persian poet (d. 1131)
1186 - Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (d. 1218)
1474 - Isabella d'Este, Marquise of Mantua (d. 1539)
1610 - Stefano della Bella, Italian printmaker (d. 1664)
1616 - Johann Jakob Froberger, German composer (d. 1667)
1662 (O.S.) - George Smalridge, English bishop of Bristol (d. 1719)
1692 (O.S.) - Joseph Butler, English bishop and philosopher (d. 1752)
1711 - Ruđer Josip Bošković, Serbian atomic theorist (d. 1787)
1778 - Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry
1785 - John Wilson, Scottish writer (d. 1854)
1797 - Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (d. 1854)
1850 - Oliver Heaviside, English physicist (d. 1925)
1868 - Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov, Nicholas II, Last Emperor of Russia. (d. 1918)
1872 - Lord Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 1970)
1876 - Hermann Müller, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1931)
1883 - Eurico Gaspar Dutra, President of Brazil (d. 1974)
1883 - Walter Gropius, German architect (d. 1969)
1889 - Thomas Midgley, American chemist and inventor (d. 1944)
1891 - Rudolf Carnap, German philosopher (d. 1970)
1892 - Ezio Pinza, Italian-born bass (d. 1957)
1897 - Frank Capra, American producer, director, and writer (d. 1991)
1901 - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
1902 - Meredith Willson, American composer (d. 1984)
1905 - Hedley Verity, English cricketer (d. 1943)
1911 - Big Joe Turner, American blues singer (d. 1985)
1912 - Perry Como, American singer (d. 2001)
1912 - Richard Brooks, American film director, writer and producer (d. 1992)
1912 - Walter Sisulu, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 2003)
1913 - Charles Trenet, French singer and songwriter (d. 2001)
1914 - Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer (d. 1982)
1918 - George Welch, American pilot and war hero (d. 1954)
1919 - Dame Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (d. 1991)
1920 - Pope John Paul II (d. 2005)
1920 - Lucia Mannucci, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra)
1922 - Kai Winding, Danish-born musician (d. 1983)
1923 - Hugh Shearer, Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
1923 - Jean-Louis Roux, French Canadian actor and artistic director
1924 - Priscilla Pointer, American actress
1926 - Dirch Passer, Danish actor (d. 1980)
1928 - Pernell Roberts, American actor
1929 - Jack Sanford, baseball player
1931 - Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
1931 - Robert Morse, American actor
1934 - Dwayne Hickman, American actor and television executive
1937 - Brooks Robinson, baseball player
1937 - Jacques Santer, Luxembourg statesman
1939 - Giovanni Falcone, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)
1942 - Albert Hammond, British musician and composer
1942 - Nobby Stiles, English footballer
1943 - James Reiher, American professional wrestler
1946 - Reggie Jackson, baseball player
1946 - Andreas Katsulas, American actor (d. 2006)
1947 - John Bruton, ninth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland
1949 - Rick Wakeman, English composer and musician (Yes)
1949 - Bill Wallace, Canadian musician (The Guess Who)
1950 - Thomas Gottschalk, German television show host
1950 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (d. 1997)
1950 - Mark Mothersbaugh, American composer, musician, and singer (Devo)
1952 - George Strait, American musician
1952 - Diane Duane, American writer
1955 - Chow Yun-Fat, Hong Kong actor
1957 - Michael Cretu, German musician (Enigma)
1959 - Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 - Jari Kurri, Finnish hockey player
1960 - Yannick Noah, French tennis player
1962 - Nanne Grönvall, Swedish singer
1962 - Sandra Cretu, German singer
1965 - Christopher Hall, American musician (Stabbing Westward)
1966 - Michael Tait, American member of Christian rock group dc Talk and founder of Christian rock group Tait.
1967 - Heinz-Harald Frentzen, F1 driver
1969 - Martika, Cuban-American singer
1970 - Tina Fey, American writer, comedian, and actress (Saturday Night Live)
1970 - Daniel Sonenberg, American composer and performer
1971 - Brad Friedel, American football (soccer) player
1975 - John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
1975 - Jack Johnson, American musician
1975 - Peter Iwers, Swedish bass player (In Flames)
1976 - Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian ice hockey player
1977 - Lee Hendrie, English footballer (Aston Villa F.C.)
1977 - Danny Mills, English footballer
1978 - Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
1978 - Ciarán Toland, Northern Irish activist
1979 - Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
1982 - Eric West, American singer and actor
1983 - Vince Young, American football player (Tennessee Titans)
1983 - Gary O'Neil, English footballer (Portsmouth FC)

Deaths

1450 - Sejong the Great of Joseon, ruler of Korea (b. 1397)
1550 - John, Cardinal of Lorraine, French churchman (b. 1498)
1584 - Ikeda Motosuke, Japanese samurai commander (b. 1559)
1675 - Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer (b. 1623)
1675 - Jacques Marquette, French Jesuit missionary and explorer (b. 1637)
1692 - Elias Ashmole, English antiquarian (b. 1617)
1733 - Georg Böhm, German organist (b. 1761)
1780 - Charles Hardy, British governor of Newfoundland
1781 - Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian Indian revolutionary, a descendant of the last Inca ruler, Túpac Amaru (b. 1742)
1799 - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (b. 1732)
1800 - Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (b. 1729)
1807 - John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters (b. 1721)
1808 - Elijah Craig, American minister and inventor (b. 1738?)
1900 - Jean Gaspard Felix Ravaisson-Mollien, French philosopher (b. 1813)
1909 - George Meredith, English novelist and poet (b. 1828)
1909 - Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1860)
1910 - Pauline Garcia-Viardot, French mezzo-soprano and composer (b. 1821)
1911 - Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (b. 1860)
1922 - Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1845)
1941 - Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
1955 - Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (b. 1875)
1956 - Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
1973 - Jeannette Rankin, first U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1880)
1975 - Leroy Anderson, American composer (b. 1908)
1980 - Ian Curtis, British musician, singer and lyricist (Joy Division) (b. 1956)
1981 - William Saroyan, American author (b. 1908)
1988 - Daws Butler, American voice actor (b. 1916)
1990 - Jill Ireland, British actress (b. 1936)
1992 - Marshall Thompson, American actor (b. 1925)
1995 - Elisha Cook Jr., American actor (b. 1903)
1995 - Alexander Godunov, Russian ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
1995 - Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b. 1933)
1999 - Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer (b. 1954)
1999 - Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
2000 - Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian musician and arranger (b. 1946)
2003 - Anna Santisteban, Puerto Rican beauty contest organizer (b. 1914)
2003 - Barb Tarbox, Canadian anti-smoking crusader (b. 1961)
2004 - Elvin Jones, American jazz drummer (b. 1927)
2006 - Andrew Martinez, U.C. Berkeley's "Naked Guy". (b. 1973?)

Holidays and Observances

Festival of the god Pan in Ancient Greece
Festival of Faunus in Ancient Rome
liturgical Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
* Saint Eric of Sweden
* Saint Dioscorus
* St. Felix of Cantalice
* Pope John I
* Saint Alexandra

External links

May 17 - May 19 - April 18 - June 18 -- listing of all days

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