September 18

September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). There are 104 days remaining.

Events

* 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

Births

*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

Deaths

* 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)

Holidays and observances

* 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)

External links

* BBC: On This Day
* The New York Times: On This Day
* On This Day in Canada

September 17 · September 19 · August 18 · October 18 · more historical anniversaries