Historical Events on April 18

  • 1689: In response to the unfavorable rule of the Governor of the Dominion of New England Sir Edmund Andros – citizens of Boston rebel during the 1689 Boston Revolt.
  • 1738: In Madrid, the Royal Academy of History is founded.
  • 1831: In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the University of Alabama is started.
  • 1847: When American forces win the Battle of Cerro Gordo, they open the way for an invasion of Mexico itself.
  • 1864: At the Battle of Dybbol, Denmark is defeated by Prussian-Austrian forces.
  • 1897: Greece and the Ottoman Empire declare war on each other, thereby starting the Greco Turkish War.
  • 1902: Guatemala is hit by an earthquake that ends up killing approximately two thousand residents.
  • 1906: An earthquake, and a resulting fire, destroys a large portion of San Francisco in California.
  • 1923: Yankee Stadium opens to the public on this day.
  • 1942: The Japanese cities of Nagoya, Tokyo, Yokohama and Kobe are bombed during the Doolittle Raid of World War II.
  • 1943: During Operation Vengeance of World War II, United States’ fighters shoot down the aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
  • 1945: The island of Heligoland, Germany is bombed by over a thousand bombers.
  • 1949: Ireland exits the British Commonwealth and becomes the Republic of Ireland.
  • 1983: Over 60 people are killed in Beirut when a suicide bomber destroys a U.S Embassy.
  • 1988: In the largest American naval battle since WWII, the U.S launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iran’s naval forces.

Famous Birthdays on April 18

  • American actor James Drury is born in 1934.
  • American novelist Robert Bausch is born in 1945.
  • American novelist Richard Bausch is born in 1945.
  • English actress Hayley Mills is born in 1946.
  • American actor James Wood is born in 1947.
  • American actress Cindy Pickett is born in 1947.
  • English actress and dancer, Hane Leeves is born in 1961.
  • American ventriloquist Jeff Dunham is born in 1962.
  • American actress and author, Maria Bello is born in 1967.
  • American author Keith DeCandido is born in 1969.
  • American screenwriter, director and actor, Eli Roth is born in 1972.
  • American actress Melissa Joan Hart is born in 1976.
  • American actor Ethan Cohn is born in 1979.