142 things happened on 18 November, from AD 326 to 2020. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1910 · 116 years ago
About 300 suffragettes marched to the Houses of Parliament in London to demand the right for women to vote. They were angry that Prime Minister H. H. Asquith would not give more time to a bill that would let some women vote. Outside Parliament the marchers we…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
William Caxton printed a book called Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, meaning 'Sayings of the Philosophers'. It was made on his printing press in Westminster, the first ever set up in England. The book had been translated into English by Earl Rivers, the king's brother-in-law. Caxton's press also printed Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.
UK story
About 300 suffragettes marched to the Houses of Parliament in London to demand the right for women to vote. They were angry that Prime Minister H. H. Asquith would not give more time to a bill that would let some women vote. Outside Parliament the marchers were met by lines of police and crowds of men, and many were treated violently. The day became known as Black Friday.
UK story
The British commander Douglas Haig called off the Battle of the Somme, which had begun on 1 July 1916. Armies from the British Empire and France had been fighting the German army beside the River Somme in France. It was one of the deadliest battles in history. The battle is also remembered for the first use of tanks, in September 1916.
UK story
Britain and the United States sign the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty, which nullifies the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty and withdraws British objections to an American-controlled canal in Panama.
Christopher Columbus first saw the Caribbean island now known as Puerto Rico. Columbus was an Italian explorer who made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean on behalf of Spain's rulers. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America. Puerto Rico is now a self-governing territory of the United States.
The new St Peter's Basilica was consecrated, which means it was officially made a holy place. It stands in Vatican City, a tiny independent country inside Rome. Building work had begun in 1506, so it took 120 years to finish. It replaced the old St Peter's, which had been built in the 4th century by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
Railway companies in the United States and Canada began using four standard time zones. It happened on a day known as the 'day of two noons'. A time zone is an area where everyone sets their clocks to the same time. Before this, there were thousands of different local times, which caused a great deal of confusion.
The cartoon Steamboat Willie, made by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, was released. It is seen as the official first appearance of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. It was one of the first cartoons with sound that matched the pictures exactly. Walt Disney performed all the voices himself, and it became the most popular cartoon of its time.
The Bell System officially introduced its Touch-Tone push-button telephones in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Earlier telephones had a rotary dial, a wheel that you turned for each number. Each button on the new phones made its own pair of tones. Over the following decades, this touch-tone system became a worldwide standard for telephones.
The video game Minecraft was officially released as version 1.0, after more than two years of early testing by players. It was created by Markus Persson and made by the Swedish company Mojang Studios. Players explore a world made of blocks, collect materials, craft tools and build things. With over 400 million copies sold, it has become the best-selling video game ever.
NASA launched the MAVEN spacecraft from Florida on its journey to Mars. It went into orbit around the planet in September 2014. MAVEN was NASA's first mission to study the atmosphere of Mars, the layer of gases around the planet. It studied how these gases escape into space, helping scientists learn about the history of the planet's climate and water.
The old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated by Pope Sylvester I.
The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy.
The Council of Clermont begins: called by Pope Urban II, it led to the First Crusade to the Holy Land.
Maginulfo is elected Antipope Sylvester IV in opposition to Pope Paschal II.
Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III after Otto commanded him to annul the Concordat of Worms.
Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Unam sanctam, claiming spiritual supremacy for the papacy.
The Siege of Godesberg, the first major siege of the Cologne War, began.
Tiryaki Hasan Pasha, an Ottoman provincial governor, routs the Habsburg forces commanded by Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria who were besieging Nagykanizsa.
The future Frederick the Great of Prussia is granted a pardon by his father and is released from confinement.
The Battle of Vertières, the last major battle of the Haitian Revolution, is fought, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Haiti, the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere.
Napoleonic Wars: In the Bay of Bengal, a French frigate squadron captured three ships carrying recruits for the armies of the East India Company.
Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Krasnoi ends in French defeat, but Marshal of France Michel Ney's leadership leads to him becoming known as "the bravest of the brave".
King Christian IX of Denmark signs the November constitution that declares Schleswig to be part of Denmark. This is seen by the German Confederation as a violation of the London Protocol and leads to the German–Danish war of 1864.
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published, becoming the first great success of American author Mark Twain.
Elisha P. Ferry is inaugurated as first governor of Washington.
The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the United States exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.
Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway.
Latvia declares its independence from Russia.
Grand Banks earthquake: Off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, a Richter magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake, centered on the Grand Banks, breaks 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and triggers a tsunami that destroys many south coast communities in the Burin Peninsula.
The Popular Socialist Youth is founded in Cuba.
At the Polish embassy in Moscow, a phrase in an address by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was translated into English as "We will bury you", prompting Western envoys to leave the room.
Vietnam War: United States President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.
U.S. President Richard Nixon asks the U.S. Congress for $155 million in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government.
Oman declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
Solomon Islands ratified the adoption of a new flag (pictured).
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet makes its first flight, at the Naval Air Test Center in Maryland, United States.
The first comic of Calvin and Hobbes is published in ten newspapers.
The current flag of Uzbekistan was adopted, making the country the first newly independent republic in Central Asia to choose a new flag.
Croatian War of Independence: The Yugoslav People's Army captured the Croatian city of Vukovar, ending an 87-day siege.
The autonomous Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, which would in 1993 become a republic, was established in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the United States, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is approved by the House of Representatives.
In South Africa, 21 political parties approve a new constitution, expanding voting rights and ending white minority rule.
Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.
Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria becomes the 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Cyclone Numa, a rare "medicane", made landfall in Greece to become the worst weather event that the country had experienced since 1977.
The Utah monolith, built sometime in 2016 is discovered by state biologists of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “The Battle of the Somme comes to an end”?
B: 1916. 1916 — that’s 110 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Suffragettes march on Parliament on 'Black Friday'”?
B: 1910. 1910 — that’s 116 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: William Caxton prints an early book on England's first press. 1477: William Caxton prints an early book on England's first press · 1916: The Battle of the Somme comes to an end · 1910: Suffragettes march on Parliament on 'Black Friday' Find it on the page
“Patrick Blackett” happened in 1897. How many years ago was that?
B: 129 years. 2026 − 1897 = 129. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 18 November.
UK story
Patrick Blackett was a British physicist who won the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1925 he became the first person to prove that radioactivity could change one chemical element into another. During the Second World War he advised the Allies on military plans. He also developed a new way of solving problems, called operational research.
UK story
W. S. Gilbert was an English writer, poet and illustrator. He worked with the composer Arthur Sullivan to create fourteen comic operas, with Gilbert writing the words and Sullivan the music. Their most famous works include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. These shows, known as the Savoy operas, are still often performed.
Well-known people who died on 18 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 18 November somewhere in the world.
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.
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 “November 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.