September 18
September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in
leap years). There are 104 days remaining.
*
96 -
Nerva is proclaimed
Roman Emperor after
Domitian is stabbed to death.
*
323 -
Constantine the Great decisively defeats
Licinius in the
Battle of Chrysopolis, establishing Constantine's sole control over the
Roman Empire.
*
1180 -
Philip Augustus becomes king of
France.
*
1437 - Farmer uprising in
Transylvania.
*
1454 - In the
Battle of Chojnice,
Polish army is defeated by
Teutonic army during the
Thirteen Years' War.
*
1502 -
Christopher Columbus lands at
Costa Rica on his fourth, and final, voyage.
*
1544 -
Charles V of Germany and
Francis I of France sign peace treaty.
*
1573 - Spanish attack
Alkmaar.
*
1634 -
Anne Hutchinson arrives in the
New World.
*
1635 -
Emperor Ferdinand II declares war on
France.
*
1679 -
New Hampshire becomes a county of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
*
1739 - The
Treaty of Belgrade is signed, ceding
Belgrade to the
Ottoman Empire.
*
1755 -
Fort Ticonderoga,
New York is opened.
*
1759 - The
British capture
Quebec City.
*
1760 - The town (later city) of
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico is founded.
*
1769 - The first American-built
piano is reported by the Boston Gazette.
*
1789 -
American government takes out first ever loan, a total of $191,608.81.
*
1793 - The first cornerstone of the
Capitol building is laid by
George Washington.
*
1809 -
Royal Opera House in
London opens.
*
1810 - First Government Junta in
Chile. Though supposed to rule only in the absence of the king, it was in fact the first step towards independence from
Spain, and it is commemorated as such.
*
1811 - English expeditionary army conquerors
Dutch Indies.
*
1812 - Fire in
Moscow destroys 90% of houses & 1,000 churches.
*
1830 - A
horse beats the first U.S.-made
locomotive near
Baltimore.
*
1838 -
Anti-Corn Law League established by
Richard Cobden.
*
1842 - The first edition of the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is published.
*
1850 - The
U.S. Congress passes the
Fugitive Slave Act.
*
1851 -
The New-York Daily Times, which will become
The New York Times, begins publishing.
*
1862 -
General Robert E. Lee's army pulls away from
Antietam Creek.
*
1863 -
American Civil War:
Battle of Chickamauga*
1868 - First convocation of the
University of the South in
Sewanee,
Tennessee.
*
1872 - King
Oscar II accedes to the throne of
Sweden-Norway.
*
1873 - The
Panic of 1873 begins.
*
1882 -
Pacific Stock Exchange opens (as the Local Security Board).
*
1885 - Riots break out in
Montreal to protest compulsory
smallpox vaccination.
*
1888 - Start of the
Sherlock Holmes adventure "
The Sign of Four".
*
1895 -
Daniel David Palmer makes the first
chiropractic adjustment.
* 1895 -
Booker T Washington delivers "Atlanta Compromise" address.
*
1898 -
Lord Kitchener's ships reach
Fashoda,
Sudan.
*
1904 - Completion of the first crossing of the
Canadian Rockies in an automobile.
*
1905 - Electric tramline opens in
Rotterdam.
*
1906 - A
typhoon with
tsunami kills an estimated 10,000 people in
Hong Kong.
*
1910 - In
Amsterdam, 25,000 demonstrate for general male/female
suffrage.
*
1911 - The first
British twin-engined plane is test flown.
*
1914 - The
Irish Home Rule Bill becomes law, but is delayed until after
World War I.
* 1914 - World War I: The
Battle of Aisne ends with Germans beating French.
* 1914 - World War I: South African troops land in
German South West Africa.
*
1919 - The
Netherlands gives women the right to vote.
* 1919 -
Fritz Pollard becomes the first
African-American to play professional football for a major team, the
Akron Pros.
*
1920 -
Jack Warden, American actor is born.
*
1922 -
Hungary admitted to
League of Nations.
* 1922 -
Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck re-elected in the
Netherlands.
*
1927 -
Columbia Broadcasting System goes on the air.
*
1928 -
Juan de la Cierva makes first
autogyro crossing of the
English Channel.
* 1928 -
Walt Disney's "
Mickey Mouse" trademark application is granted.
*
1931 - The
Mukden Incident gives
Japan the pretext to invade and occupy
Manchuria.
*
1932 - Actress
Peg Entwistle commits
suicide by jumping from the H in the
Hollywood sign.
*
1934 -
USSR admitted to
League of Nations.
*
1938 -
New York Yankees win 10th pennant.
*
1939 -
World War II:
Polish government of
Ignacy Mościcki flees to
Romania.
* 1939 - World War II: A German U-boat sinks the British aircraft carrier
HMS Courageous.
*
1940 - World War II: Italian troops conquer
Sidi Barrani.
*
1942 -
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation authorized.
*
1943 - World War II: The
Jews of
Minsk are massacred at
Sobibór.
* 1943 - World War II:
Hitler orders deportation of
Danish Jews.
*
1944 - World War II: British submarine
HMS Tradewind torpedoes
Junyo Maru, 5,600 killed.
*
1945 -
Gen. Douglas MacArthur moves his command headquarters to
Tokyo.
* 1945 - In
Gary, Indiana, 1000 whites walk out of schools to protest integration.
*
1946 -
Joe Louis knockouts Tami Mauriello in 1 round for the heavyweight boxing title.
*
1947 - The
United States Department of Defense begins operation (formerly known as
National Military Establishment).
* 1947 - The
United States Air Force is created separate from the
United States Army.
* 1947 - Country singers
Ernest Tubb and
Roy Acuff performed at
Carnegie Hall in
New York City, making it the venue's first country performance.
*
1948 -
Communist Madiun-uprising in
Dutch Indies.
* 1948 -
Margaret Chase Smith becomes the first woman elected to the Senate without completing another senator's term when she defeats Democratic opponent Adrian Scolten.
* 1948 -
Ralph Bunche confirmed as acting
UN mediator in
Palestine.
*
1955 -
Ford produces 2,000,000th
V8 engine.
* 1955 - Toast of the Town becomes
The Ed Sullivan Show.
*
1959 -
Barbara Joanna Blakeley marries
Zeppo Marx.
* 1959 -
Vanguard 3 launched into Earth orbit.
* 1959 -
Harvey Murray Glatman executed in a California
gas chamber for murdering three young women in
Los Angeles.
*
1960 -
Fidel Castro arrives in
New York City as the head of the
Cuban delegation to the
United Nations.
*
1961 -
USSR performs nuclear test at
Novaya Zemlya* 1961 - U.N. Secretary-General
Dag Hammarskjold dies in a plane crash while attempting to negotiate peace in the war-torn
Katanga region of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
*
1962 -
Rwanda,
Burundi and
Jamaica admitted to the
United Nations.
* 1962 -
The Fellowship (FGFCMI) founded in
Dallas,
Texas.
*
1964 -
Constantine II of Greece marries
Danish princess Anne-Marie.
* 1964 -
North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration of
South Vietnam.
*
1965 -
Mickey Mantle plays in his 2000th game.
* 1965 - The first episode of "
I Dream of Jeannie" shown on
NBC.
*
1967 -
Esporte Clube Santo André, from
Brazil, is founded.
*
1972 - First
Ugandans expelled by
Idi Amin arrive in the UK.
*
1973 -
East and
West Germany are admitted to the
United Nations.
*
1974 -
Hurricane Fifi strikes
Honduras with 110 mph winds, 5,000 die.
* 1974 - Actress
Doris Day wins a $22.8 million malpractice suit against her former lawyer.
*
1975 -
Patty Hearst is arrested after a year on the
FBI Most Wanted List.
*
1976 -
Dom Mintoff re-elected in
Malta.
* 1976 -
Mao Tse Tung's funeral takes place in
Beijing.
* 1976 -
Rev. Sun Myung Moon holds "God Bless America" convention.
*
1977 - US
Voyager I takes 1st space photograph of Earth & Moon together.
* 1978 - Leaders of
Israel and
Egypt reach a settlement for the
Middle East at
Camp David.
*
1979 -
Bolshoi Ballet dancers Leonid & Valentina Kozlov defect.
*
1980 -
Soyuz 38 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Cuban) to
Salyut 6 space station.
*
1981 - A museum honoring former U.S.
President Ford is dedicated in
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
* 1981 -
Georgia General Assembly approved a joint resolution proposing a new constitution for the state.
*
1982 -
Christian militia begin
massacre of 600 Palestinians in
Lebanon.
*
1984 -
Joe Kittinger completes 1st solo balloon crossing of
Atlantic.
* 1984 - The 39th session of the
U.N. General Assembly was opened with an appeal to the
U.S. and
Soviet Union to resume arms negotiations.
*
1985 -
Steve Jobs resigns from
Apple Computer.
* 1987 -
Ronald Reagan announces joint destruction of nuclear war heads by
USA and
USSR.
*
1988 -
Burma suspends its constitution.
*
1989 -
Hurricane Hugo hits
Puerto Rico, killing six.
* 1989 -
Ontario NDP Leader
Bob Rae arrested with 15 others in Temagami Wilderness Society anti-logging blockade.
* 1989 -
Charles Keating jailed in
Los Angeles after being indicted on criminal fraud charges concerning saving-and-loans.
*
1990 - 500 lb
Hershey's Kiss is displayed at
Times Square.
* 1990 -
Liechtenstein becomes a member of the
United Nations.
*
1992 - The existence of the
National Reconnaissance Office, operating since
1960, is declassified.
* 1992 - Nine formerly pro-
Albanian
Marxist-Leninist parties hold a conference in
Strassburg,
Germany.
*
1994 -
Haiti's military leaders agreed to depart on
October 15th.
* 1994 -
National Party of Canada collapses due to party infighting.
*
1996 -
Okinawans vote to have the
USA remove its 28,000 troops stationed on their island.
*
1997 - U.S. media magnate
Ted Turner donates
USD $1 billion to the
United Nations.
* 1997 - Voters in
Wales vote
yes (50.3%) on a referendum on Welsh autonomy.
*
1998 -
ICANN is formed.
* 1998 - The
Food and Drug Administration approves a once-a-day easier-to-swallow medication for
AIDS patients.
*
2001 - First mailing of
anthrax letters from
Trenton,
New Jersey in the
2001 anthrax attacks.
*
2003 -
Hurricane Isabel makes landfall in the U.S.
* 2003 - The
UK's
Local Government Act 2003, repealing
Section 28, receives
Royal Assent.
*
2005 -
Swedish Church elections take place
*
53 -
Trajan,
Roman Emperor (d.
117)
*
1505 -
Maria of Austria, wife of
Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia (d.
1558)
*
1587 -
Francesca Caccini, Italian composer (d. circa
1640)
*
1643 -
Gilbert Burnet, Scottish Bishop of Salisbury (d.
1715)
*
1684 -
Johann Gottfried Walther, German composer (d.
1748)
*
1709 -
Samuel Johnson, English writer and lexicographer (d.
1784)
*
1718 -
Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Russian statesman (d.
1783)
*
1733 -
George Read, American lawyer and signer of the
Declaration of Independence (d.
1798)
*
1750 -
Tomas de Iriarte, Spanish writer (d.
1791)
*
1752 -
Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (d.
1833)
*
1765 -
Pope Gregory XVI (d.
1846)
*
1779 -
Joseph Story, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d.
1845)
*
1786 -
Justinus Kerner, German poet, medical writer (d.
1862)
*
1812 -
Herschel Vespasian Johnson, American politician (d.
1880)
*
1819 -
Leon Foucault, French physicist (d.
1868)
*
1838 -
Anton Mauve, Dutch artist (d.
1888)
*
1857 -
John Hessin Clarke, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d.
1945)
*
1858 -
Kate Booth, the oldest daughter of
William and
Catherine Booth (d.
1955)
*
1863 -
Hermann Kutter, Swiss theologian (d.
1931)
*
1870 -
Clark Wissler, American anthropologist (d.
1947)
*
1876 -
James Scullin, ninth
Prime Minister of Australia (d.
1953)
*
1883 -
Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, British composer (d.
1950)
*
1889 -
Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (d.
1970)
*
1893 -
Arthur Benjamin, Australian composer (d.
1960)
*
1895 -
John Diefenbaker, thirteenth
Prime Minister of Canada (d.
1979)
*
1901 -
Harold Clurman, American producer and director (d.
1980)
*
1905 -
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, American actor (d.
1977)
* 1905 -
Agnes de Mille, American dancer and choreographer (d.
1993)
* 1905 -
Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (d.
1990)
*
1907 -
Leon Askin, Austrian actor (d.
2005)
* 1907 -
Edwin McMillan, American chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1991)
*
1911 -
Syd Howe, Canadian hockey player (d.
1976)
*
1916 -
Rossano Brazzi, Italian singer and actor (d.
1994)
* 1916 -
John Jacob Rhodes, Jr., American politician and lawyer (d.
2003)
*
1917 -
June Foray, American voice actress
* 1917 -
Francis Parker Yockey, political philosopher and author of
Imperium*
1918 -
John Berger, English politician
*
1920 -
Jack Warden, American actor (d.
2006)
*
1922 -
Ray Steadman-Allen, English composer
*
1923 -
Peter Smithson, English architect (d.
2003)
*
1925 -
Harvey Haddix, baseball player
*
1926 -
Bud Greenspan, American film producer and director
*
1927 -
Bob Toski, American golfer
*
1928 -
Phyllis Kirk, American actress
*
1932 -
Nikolai Rukavishnikov, cosmonaut (d.
2002)
*
1933 -
Scotty Bowman, Canadian hockey coach
* 1933 -
Robert Blake, American actor
* 1933 -
Jimmie Rodgers, American singer and composer
* 1933 -
Robert Foster Bennett, American senator (
Utah)
*
1939 -
Frankie Avalon, American musician
* 1939 -
Fred Willard, American comedian
*
1944 -
Michael Franks, American musician
* 1944 -
Charles L. Veach, American astronaut
*
1946 -
Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (d.
2006)
*
1948 -
Ken Brett, baseball player (d.
2003)
*
1949 -
Jim McCrery, American politician
* 1949 -
Mo Mowlam, British politician (d.
2005)
* 1949 -
Peter Shilton, English footballer
* 1949 -
Kerry Livgren, American singer (
Kansas)
*
1950 -
Shabana Azmi, Indian actress
* 1950 -
Darryl Sittler, Canadian hockey player
* 1950 -
Anna Deavere Smith, American actress and playwright
*
1951 -
Benjamin Carson, American neurosurgeon
*
1952 -
Rick Pitino, American basketball coach
* 1952 -
Dee Dee Ramone, American bassist (
The Ramones) (d.
2002)
*
1954 -
Takao Doi, Japanese astronaut
* 1954 -
Murtaza Bhutto, Pakistani politician (d.
1996)
*
1956 -
Peter Stastny, Slovak
ice hockey player
*
1958 -
John Aldridge, Irish footballer
*
1959 -
Ryne Sandberg, baseball player
* 1959 -
Ian Arkwright, English footballer
*
1961 -
James Gandolfini, American actor
*
1962 -
Joanne Catherall, English singer
*
1963 -
Rob Brettle, British historian
*
1964 -
Marco Masini, Italian singer-songwriter
* 1964 -
Holly Robinson, American actress
*
1967 -
Tara Fitzgerald, English actress
* 1967 -
Ricky Bell, American singer
*
1968 -
Toni Kukoč, Croatian basketball player
*
1970 -
Darren Gough, English cricketer
*
1971 -
Lance Armstrong, American cyclist
* 1971 -
Anna Netrebko, Russian opera singer
* 1971 -
Jada Pinkett Smith, American model and actress
*
1973 -
James Marsden, American actor
* 1973 -
Ami Onuki, Japanese singer (
Puffy Amiyumi)
* 1973 -
Mark Shuttleworth, South African entrepreneur
*
1974 -
Sol Campbell, English footballer
* 1974 -
Ticha Penicheiro, Portuguese basketball player
* 1974 -
Xzibit, American rapper
*
1977 -
Li Tie, Chinese footballer
*
1979 -
Alison Lohman, American actress
*
1986 -
Keeley Hazell, British model
*
96 -
Domitian,
Roman Emperor (b.
51)
*
887 -
Pietro I Candiano,
Doge of Venice (killed in battle)
*
1180 - King
Louis VII of France (b.
1120)
*
1598 -
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese warlord (b.
1536)
*
1630 -
Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal and statesman (b.
1552)
*
1663 -
St Joseph of Cupertino, Italian saint (b.
1603)
*
1675 -
Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (b.
1604)
*
1721 -
Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat (b.
1664)
*
1722 -
André Dacier, French classical scholar (b.
1651)
*
1783 -
Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (b.
1707)
* 1783 -
Benjamin Kennicott, English churchman and Hebrew scholar (b.
1718)
*
1792 -
August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German religious leader (b.
1704)
*
1827 -
Robert Pollok, Scottish poet (b.
1789)
*
1860 -
Joseph Locke, English railway builder and civil engineer (b.
1805)
*
1891 -
William Ferrel, American mathematician (b.
1817)
*
1896 -
Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist (b.
1819)
*
1905 -
George MacDonald, Scottish writer and minister (b.
1824)
*
1924 -
Francis Herbert Bradley, British philosopher (b.
1846)
*
1939 -
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer, painter, and photographer (b.
1885)
*
1949 -
Frank Morgan, American actor (b.
1890)
*
1959 -
Benjamin Péret, French
surrealist author
*
1961 -
Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish
United Nations Secretary-General, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (b.
1905)
*
1964 -
Clive Bell, English art critic (b.
1881)
* 1964 -
Sean O'Casey, Irish writer (b.
1880)
*
1967 -
John Cockcroft, British physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1897)
*
1970 -
Jimi Hendrix, American musician (b.
1942)
*
1977 -
Paul Bernays, Swiss mathematician (b.
1888)
*
1980 -
Katherine Anne Porter, American novelist
*
1994 -
Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player (b.
1954)
*
2001 -
Ernie Coombs, Canadian entertainer (b.
1927)
*
2002 -
Bob Hayes, American athlete (b.
1942)
* 2002 -
Mauro Ramos, Brazilian football player (b.
1930)
*
2003 -
Emil Fackenheim, German Holocaust survivor and philosopher (b.
1916)
* 2003 -
Bob Mitchell, British politician (b.
1927)
*
2004 -
Norman Cantor, Canadian historian (b.
1929)
*
2005 -
Michael Park, British Rally co-driver (b.
1966)
* In
ancient Greece, the fifth day of the
Eleusinian Mysteries.
*
RC Saints - Feast day of
St Joseph of Cupertino and
Methodius of Olympus* Also see
September 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)*
Chile - Independence Day (first junta
1810)
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in CanadaSeptember 17 ·
September 19 ·
August 18 ·
October 18 · more
historical anniversaries
