# What happened on April 18 in history?

**Date:** April 18  
**Events recorded:** 46  
**Years spanned:** 796 – 2026  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/april/18/

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## Featured Event

**2019** — A redacted version of the Mueller report is released to the United States Congress and the public.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_report)

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## Events on this date

- **796** — King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelred_I_of_Northumbria))
- **1428** — Peace of Ferrara between Republic of Venice, Duchy of Milan, Republic of Florence and House of Gonzaga: ending of the second campaign of the Wars in Lombardy fought until the Treaty of Lodi in 1454, which will then guarantee the conditions for the development of the Italian Renaissance. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Venice))
- **1506** — The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone))
- **1518** — Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_Sforza))
- **1521** — Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther))
- **1689** — Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston))
- **1738** — Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") is founded in Madrid. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Academy_of_History))
- **1775** — American Revolution: The British Army advances up the Charles River in Massachusetts to destroy supplies of American militias, while Paul Revere and other riders rapidly warn the countryside. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution))
- **1783** — Three-Fifths Compromise: The first instance of black slaves in the United States of America being counted as three-fifths of persons (for the purpose of taxation), in a resolution of the Congress of the Confederation. This was later adopted in the 1787 Constitution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-fifths_Compromise))
- **1797** — War of the First Coalition: The Peace of Leoben is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Maximilian, Count of Merveldt, creating an armistice between France and Austria, setting the stage for the Treaty of Campo Formio and ending the War of the First Coalition.[citation needed] ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_First_Coalition))
- **1831** — The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Alabama))
- **1847** — American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cerro_Gordo))
- **1857** — The Spirits Book by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirits_Book))
- **1864** — Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dybb%C3%B8l))
- **1897** — The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1897)))
- **1899** — The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Andrew's_First_Aid))
- **1902** — The 7.5 Mw  Guatemala earthquake shakes Guatemala with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing between 800 and 2,000. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1902_Guatemala_earthquake))
- **1906** — The 7.9 Mw earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California, killing more than 3,000 people, making one of the worst natural disasters in American history. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake))
- **1909** — Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc))
- **1912** — The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunard_Line))
- **1915** — World War I: French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I))
- **1916** — World War I: During a mine warfare in high altitude on the Dolomites, the Italian troops conquer the Col di Lana held by the Austrian army. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mines_on_the_Italian_front_(World_War_I)))
- **1930** — A fire kills 118 people at a wooden church in the small Romanian town of Costești, most of them schoolchildren, after starting during Good Friday services. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_Coste%C8%99ti_wooden_church_fire))
- **1938** — Superman debuts in Action Comics #1 (cover dated June 1938). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman))
- **1939** — Robert Menzies, who became Australia's longest-serving prime minister, is elected as leader of the United Australia Party after the death of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Menzies))
- **1942** — World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1942** — Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Laval))
- **1943** — World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Vengeance))
- **1945** — World War II: Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomber))
- **1945** — Italian resistance movement: In Turin, despite the harsh repressive measures adopted by Nazi-fascists, a great pre-insurrectional strike begins. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_resistance_movement))
- **1946** — The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice))
- **1946** — Jackie Robinson makes his regular season debut for the Montreal Royals of the International League, to make them the first integrated modern professional baseball team. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson))
- **1947** — The Operation Big Bang, the largest non-nuclear man-made explosion to that time, destroys bunkers and military installations on the North Sea island of Heligoland, Germany. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Big_Bang))
- **1949** — The Republic of Ireland Act comes into force, declaring Éire to be a republic and severing Ireland's "association" with the Commonwealth of Nations. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Republic_of_Ireland_Act_1948))
- **1954** — Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser))
- **1955** — Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandung))
- **1972** — East African Airways Flight 720 crashes during a rejected takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 43. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_African_Airways_Flight_720))
- **1980** — The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe))
- **1980** — The town of Elmore City, Oklahoma holds its first dance in the town's history. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmore_City%2C_Oklahoma))
- **1988** — The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Praying_Mantis))
- **1988** — In Israel John Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II, although the verdict is later overturned. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Demjanjuk))
- **1996** — The Israeli military commits the Qana massacre in a deliberate shelling of a United Nations compound near the village of Qana in southern Lebanon, killing 106 Lebanese civilians who were taking shelter there and wounding over 100 more. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qana_massacre))
- **2018** — King Mswati III of Swaziland announces that his country's name will change to Eswatini. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Eswatini))
- **2018** — Anti-government protests start in Nicaragua. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_Daniel_Ortega))
- **2019** — A redacted version of the Mueller report is released to the United States Congress and the public. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_report))
- **2026** — Seven people are killed and fourteen others are injured in a mass shooting in Kyiv, Ukraine ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Kyiv_shooting))

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## Notable births on April 18

- **1996** — **Ski Mask the Slump God** — American rapper ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski_Mask_the_Slump_God))
- **1995** — **Divock Origi** — Belgian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divock_Origi))
- **1994** — **Aminé** — American singer-songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amin%C3%A9))
- **1993** — **Mika Zibanejad** — Swedish ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mika_Zibanejad))
- **1992** — **Chloe Bennet** — American actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloe_Bennet))
- **1990** — **Wojciech Szczęsny** — Polish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojciech_Szcz%C4%99sny))
- **1989** — **Alia Shawkat** — American actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alia_Shawkat))
- **1988** — **Vanessa Kirby** — English actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Kirby))
- **1986** — **Tina Bru** — Norwegian politician ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Bru))
- **1985** — **Łukasz Fabiański** — Polish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%81ukasz_Fabia%C5%84ski))

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## Notable deaths on April 18

- **2024** — **Dickey Betts** — American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer (born 1943) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickey_Betts))
- **2024** — **Mandisa** — American gospel singer (born 1976) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandisa))
- **2022** — **Harrison Birtwistle** — British composer (born 1934) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Birtwistle))
- **2019** — **Lyra McKee** — Irish journalist (born 1990) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyra_McKee))
- **2014** — **Guru Dhanapal** — Indian director and producer (born 1959) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Dhanapal))
- **2014** — **Sanford Jay Frank** — American screenwriter and producer (born 1954) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanford_Jay_Frank))
- **2014** — **Brian Priestman** — English conductor and academic (born 1927) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Priestman))
- **2013** — **Goran Švob** — Croatian philosopher and author (born 1947) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goran_%C5%A0vob))
- **2013** — **Anne Williams** — English activist (born 1951) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Williams_(activist)))
- **2012** — **Dick Clark** — American television host and producer, founded Dick Clark Productions (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Clark))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/april/18/](https://thisday.info/events/april/18/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.