1756
270 years ago
UK story
The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.
On this day: 18 May
142 things happened on 18 May, from AD 332 to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
In the UK 5
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
1803
223 years ago
UK story
Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
1843
183 years ago
UK story
The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.
1900
126 years ago
UK story
The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
1922
104 years ago
UK story
Seamus Woods and Roger McCorley lead an Irish Republican Army attack on the headquarters of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Belfast.
Around the world 38
AD 332
1,694 years ago
Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
AD 872
1,154 years ago
Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father Lothair I.
1268
758 years ago
The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch.
1291
735 years ago
Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.
1388
638 years ago
At the Battle of Buir Lake, a Ming Chinese army led by general Lan Yu defeated the forces of Tögüs Temür, the Mongol khan of Northern Yuan.
1499
527 years ago
Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
1565
461 years ago
The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.
1631
395 years ago
In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
1652
374 years ago
Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced.
1783
243 years ago
First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States.
1794
232 years ago
Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
1804
222 years ago
Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
1811
215 years ago
Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas.
1848
178 years ago
Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
1860
166 years ago
United States presidential election: Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.
1863
163 years ago
American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant led his Army of the Tennessee across the Big Black River in preparation for the Siege of Vicksburg.
1896
130 years ago
Ruling in the landmark decision Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legality of racial segregation in public transportation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.
1912
114 years ago
The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai.
1917
109 years ago
World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
1927
99 years ago
After being founded for 20 years, the Nationalist government approves Tongji University to be among its first national universities.
1933
93 years ago
U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act establishing the Tennessee Valley Authority to stimulate the economic development of the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted by the Great Depression.
1944
82 years ago
World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
1948
78 years ago
The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
1952
74 years ago
First Indochina War: Viet Minh forces overran a French and Laotian garrison at Muong Khoua, leaving only four survivors.
1953
73 years ago
Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
1955
71 years ago
Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ended.
1962
64 years ago
The French government and representatives of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic reach a settlement to end the Algerian war in the Évian Accords.
1969
57 years ago
Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
1977
49 years ago
Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel.
1980
46 years ago
Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
1990
36 years ago
In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
1991
35 years ago
Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland.
1994
32 years ago
Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern.
1996
30 years ago
Ireland won the Eurovision song contest for the seventh time, the highest number of wins for any country before Sweden tied it in 2023.
2005
21 years ago
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion publicly debuted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
2005
21 years ago
A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.
2006
20 years ago
The Parliament of Nepal unanimously voted to strip King Gyanendra of many of his powers.
2019
7 years ago
United States presidential election: Joe Biden launches his presidential campaign.
Quick quiz
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
-
In which year did this happen: “Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares”?
- 1803
- 1942
- 1872
Show the answer
A: 1803. 1803 — that’s 223 years ago. Find it on the page
-
In which year did this happen: “The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France”?
- 1922
- 1803
- 1756
Show the answer
C: 1756. 1756 — that’s 270 years ago. Find it on the page
-
Which of these happened first?
- Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares
- The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga
- The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France
Show the answer
C: The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France. 1803: Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares · 1900: The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga · 1756: The Seven Years' War begins when Great Britain declares war on France Find it on the page
-
“Bertrand Russell” happened in 1872. How many years ago was that?
- 154 years
- 164 years
- 144 years
Show the answer
A: 154 years. 2026 − 1872 = 154. Find it on the page
Born on this day 40
Famous people whose birthday is 18 May.
- 1888 (O.S.) Hanna Barysevich — the oldest female resident of Belarus not registered by the Guinness Book of Records. (died 2007) Read more about (O.S.) Hanna Barysevich on Wikipedia
- 1872 Bertrand Russell — British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970) UK Read more about Bertrand Russell on Wikipedia
- 1920 Pope John Paul II Read more about Pope John Paul II on Wikipedia
- 1048 Omar Khayyám — Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (died 1131) Read more about Omar Khayyám on Wikipedia
- 1868 Nicholas II Read more about Nicholas II on Wikipedia
- 1850 Oliver Heaviside — English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (died 1925) UK Read more about Oliver Heaviside on Wikipedia
- 1919 Margot Fonteyn — British ballerina (died 1991) UK Read more about Margot Fonteyn on Wikipedia
- 1883 Walter Gropius — German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (died 1969) Read more about Walter Gropius on Wikipedia
- 1975 John Higgins — Scottish snooker player UK Read more about John Higgins on Wikipedia
- 1897 Frank Capra — Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991) Read more about Frank Capra on Wikipedia
- 1909 Fred Perry — English tennis player and academic (died 1995) UK Read more about Fred Perry on Wikipedia
- 2000 Ryan Sessegnon — English footballer UK Read more about Ryan Sessegnon on Wikipedia
- 1970 Tina Fey — American actress, producer, and screenwriter Read more about Tina Fey on Wikipedia
- 1942 Nobby Stiles — English footballer, coach, and manager (died 2020) UK Read more about Nobby Stiles on Wikipedia
- 1941 Miriam Margolyes — English-Australian actress and singer UK Read more about Miriam Margolyes on Wikipedia
- 1949 Rick Wakeman — English progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter UK Read more about Rick Wakeman on Wikipedia
- 1983 Gary O'Neil — English footballer UK Read more about Gary O'Neil on Wikipedia
- 1977 Danny Mills — English footballer and sportscaster UK Read more about Danny Mills on Wikipedia
- 1891 Rudolf Carnap — German-American philosopher and academic (died 1970) Read more about Rudolf Carnap on Wikipedia
- 1944 Albert Hammond — English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer UK Read more about Albert Hammond on Wikipedia
- 1978 Ricardo Carvalho — Portuguese footballer Read more about Ricardo Carvalho on Wikipedia
- 1692 (O.S.) Joseph Butler — English bishop, theologian, and apologist (died 1752) UK Read more about (O.S.) Joseph Butler on Wikipedia
- 1990 Yuya Osako — Japanese footballer Read more about Yuya Osako on Wikipedia
- 1975 Jem — Welsh singer-songwriter and producer UK Read more about Jem on Wikipedia
- 1777 John George Children — English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (died 1852) UK Read more about John George Children on Wikipedia
- 1955 Chow Yun-fat — Hong Kong actor and screenwriter Read more about Chow Yun-fat on Wikipedia
- 1992 Adwoa Aboah — British fashion model UK Read more about Adwoa Aboah on Wikipedia
- 1977 Lee Hendrie — English footballer UK Read more about Lee Hendrie on Wikipedia
- 1958 Toyah Willcox — English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress UK Read more about Toyah Willcox on Wikipedia
- 1921 Michael A. Epstein — English pathologist and academic (died 2024) UK Read more about Michael A. Epstein on Wikipedia
- 1982 Jason Brown — English footballer UK Read more about Jason Brown on Wikipedia
- 1920 Anthony Storr — English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author (died 2001) UK Read more about Anthony Storr on Wikipedia
- 1711 Roger Joseph Boscovich — Ragusan physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (died 1787) Read more about Roger Joseph Boscovich on Wikipedia
- 1785 John Wilson — Scottish author and critic (died 1854) UK Read more about John Wilson on Wikipedia
- 1871 Denis Horgan — Irish shot putter and weight thrower (died 1922) UK Read more about Denis Horgan on Wikipedia
- 1912 Perry Como — American singer and television host (died 2001) Read more about Perry Como on Wikipedia
- 1979 Milivoje Novaković — Slovenian footballer Read more about Milivoje Novaković on Wikipedia
- 1914 Boris Christoff — Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (died 1993) Read more about Boris Christoff on Wikipedia
- 1960 Yannick Noah — French tennis player Read more about Yannick Noah on Wikipedia
- 1969 Antônio Carlos Zago — Brazilian footballer and manager Read more about Antônio Carlos Zago on Wikipedia
Remembering 20
Well-known people who died on 18 May.
- 1911 Gustav Mahler — Austrian composer and conductor (born 1860) Read more about Gustav Mahler on Wikipedia
- 1909 George Meredith — English novelist and poet (born 1828) UK Read more about George Meredith on Wikipedia
- 1799 Pierre Beaumarchais — French playwright and publisher (born 1732) Read more about Pierre Beaumarchais on Wikipedia
- 1980 Ian Curtis — English singer-songwriter (born 1956) UK Read more about Ian Curtis on Wikipedia
- 1800 Alexander Suvorov — Russian general (born 1729) Read more about Alexander Suvorov on Wikipedia
- AD 526 Pope John I Read more about Pope John I on Wikipedia
- 1922 Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran — French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1845) Read more about Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran on Wikipedia
- 1981 William Saroyan — American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (born 1908) Read more about William Saroyan on Wikipedia
- 1692 Elias Ashmole — English astrologer and politician (born 1617) UK Read more about Elias Ashmole on Wikipedia
- 1990 Jill Ireland — English actress (born 1936) UK Read more about Jill Ireland on Wikipedia
- 2007 Pierre-Gilles de Gennes — French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1932) Read more about Pierre-Gilles de Gennes on Wikipedia
- 2002 Davey Boy Smith — English professional wrestler (born 1962) UK Read more about Davey Boy Smith on Wikipedia
- 2017 Chris Cornell — American singer (born 1964) Read more about Chris Cornell on Wikipedia
- 1909 Isaac Albéniz — Spanish pianist and composer (born 1860) Read more about Isaac Albéniz on Wikipedia
- 1974 Harry Ricardo — English engine designer and researcher (born 1885) UK Read more about Harry Ricardo on Wikipedia
- 2015 Raymond Gosling — English physicist and academic (born 1926) UK Read more about Raymond Gosling on Wikipedia
- 1795 Robert Rogers — English colonel (born 1731) UK Read more about Robert Rogers on Wikipedia
- 1910 Eliza Orzeszkowa — Polish author and publisher (born 1841) Read more about Eliza Orzeszkowa on Wikipedia
- 2023 Jim Brown — American football player, civil rights activist, and actor (born 1936) Read more about Jim Brown on Wikipedia
- 1160 Saint Erik Read more about Saint Erik on Wikipedia
Special days 13
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 18 May somewhere in the world.
- Teacher's Day (Syria) Read more about List of Teachers' Days on Wikipedia
- International Museum Day Read more about International Museum Day on Wikipedia
- National Speech Pathologist Day (United States) Read more about Speech–language pathology on Wikipedia
- Baltic Fleet Day (Russia) Read more about Public holidays in Russia on Wikipedia
- Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day (Turkmenistan) Read more about Public holidays in Turkmenistan on Wikipedia
- Independence Day (Somaliland) (unrecognized) Read more about Independence Day (Somaliland) on Wikipedia
- Christian saints’ and feast days: Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, Pope John I, Blessed Blandine Merten, Eric IX of Sweden, Felix of Cantalice, Venantius of Camerino, May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
For older readers 26 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
- 1152 The future Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. He would become king two years later, after the death of his cousin once removed King Stephen of England. Read more about Henry II of England on Wikipedia
- 1593 Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. Read more about Thomas Kyd on Wikipedia
- 1812 John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. Read more about John Bellingham on Wikipedia
- 1980 Mount St. Helens explosively erupted (pictured), killing approximately 57 people in southern Washington state, reducing hundreds of square miles to wasteland, and causing more than US$1 billion in damage. Read more about Mount St. Helens on Wikipedia
- 1926 Pentecostal evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson (pictured) was reportedly kidnapped near Venice Beach in Los Angeles before reappearing five weeks later in Mexico. Read more about Pentecostalism on Wikipedia
- 1944 The Soviet Union forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars to the Uzbek SSR and elsewhere in the country. Read more about Deportation of the Crimean Tatars on Wikipedia
- 1965 Eli Cohen, a spy who is credited with gathering significant intelligence used by Israel during the Six-Day War, was publicly hanged in Syria. Read more about Eli Cohen on Wikipedia
- 2018 Cubana de Aviación Flight 0972 crashed near Santiago de las Vegas shortly after takeoff from José Martí International Airport, killing 112 of the 113 people on board. Read more about Cubana de Aviación Flight 0972 on Wikipedia
- 1936 In a crime that captivated Japan, Sada Abe strangled her lover, cut off his genitals, and carried them around with her for several days until her arrest. Read more about Sada Abe on Wikipedia
- 1974 India conducted its first nuclear test explosion at Pokhran, the first confirmed nuclear test by a nation outside the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Read more about Smiling Buddha on Wikipedia
- 1302 Armed insurrectionists massacred the occupying French garrison in Bruges, Flanders, killing approximately 2,000 people. Read more about Matins of Bruges on Wikipedia
- 1927 Disgruntled school board treasurer Andrew Kehoe set off explosives with timers and a rifle, causing the Bath School disaster in the Bath Consolidated School in Michigan, killing 44 people in the deadliest mass murder in a school in United States history. Read more about Andrew Kehoe on Wikipedia
- 2009 The Sri Lanka Army killed Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader and founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, to bring an end to the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war. Read more about Sri Lanka Army on Wikipedia
- 1695 An earthquake measuring .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}Ms 7.8 struck Shanxi Province in northern China, resulting in at least 52,600 deaths. Read more about 1695 Linfen earthquake on Wikipedia
- 2013 Mark Carson, an openly gay man, was murdered in a hate crime incident in New York City, prompting a 1,500-person march against anti-LGBTQ violence. Read more about Murder of Mark Carson on Wikipedia
- 1096 First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany. Read more about First Crusade on Wikipedia
- 1012 Pope Benedict VIII begins his papacy following the death of his predecessor Pope Sergius IV earlier that month. Read more about Pope Benedict VIII on Wikipedia
- 1972 During approach to Kharkiv International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 1491 crashes near Ruska Lozova, killing all 112 aboard. Read more about Kharkiv International Airport on Wikipedia
- 1896 Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people. Read more about Khodynka Tragedy on Wikipedia
- 2018 A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills ten people. Read more about 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting on Wikipedia
- 2026 A shooting carried out by two gunmen at the Islamic Center of San Diego results in the deaths of five people, including the perpetrators. Read more about 2026 Islamic Center of San Diego shooting on Wikipedia
- 2015 At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar. Read more about 2015 Colombian landslide on Wikipedia
- 1973 Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker's bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board. Read more about Aeroflot Flight 109 on Wikipedia
- 1993 Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators. Read more about 1993 Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum on Wikipedia
- 1980 Rioting spreads to Miami's mostly African-American neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City following the previous day's courthouse protests. Read more about 1980 Miami riots on Wikipedia
- — Day of Remembrance of Crimean Tatar genocide (Ukraine) Read more about Deportation of the Crimean Tatars on Wikipedia
Where these facts come from
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “May 18” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.