March 18

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March 18 in recent years   2024 (Monday)   2023 (Saturday)   2022 (Friday)   2021 (Thursday)   2020 (Wednesday)   2019 (Monday)   2018 (Sunday)   2017 (Saturday)   2016 (Friday)   2015 (Wednesday)

March 18 is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 288 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Caligula emperor.
• 1229 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor declares himself King of Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade.
• 1241 - Kraków is ravaged by Mongols.
• 1314 - Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake.
• 1438 - Albert II of Habsburg becomes King of Germany.
• 1608 - Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.
• 1673 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers.
• 1766 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which had been very unpopular in the British colonies.
• 1793 - The first republican state in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann.
• 1834 - Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.
• 1850 - American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.
• 1865 - American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.
• 1871 - Declaration of the Paris Commune; President of the French Republic, Adolphe Thiers, orders evacuation of Paris.
• 1874 - Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.
• 1893 - Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best hockey team in Canada; originally presented to amateur champions, the Stanley Cup has been awarded to the top pro team since 1910, and since 1926, only to National Hockey League teams.
• 1906 - Traian Vuia flies a self-propelled heavier-than-air aircraft.
• 1909 - Einar Dessau uses a short-wave radio transmitter, becoming the first radio broadcaster.
• 1913 - King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki.
• 1915 - World War I: Massive naval attack in Battle of Gallipoli. Three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles.
• 1921 - The second Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Union.
• 1922 - In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience. He would serve only 2 years.
• 1922 - The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City.
• 1925 - The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people.
• 1937 - The New London School explosion kills three hundred, mostly children.
• 1937 - Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces defeat the Italians at the Battle of Guadalajara.
• 1937 - The human-powered aircraft, Pedaliante, flies 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) outside Milan.
• 1938 - Mexico nationalizes all foreign-owned oil properties within its borders.
• 1940 - World War II: Axis Powers - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
• 1944 - The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy kills 26 and causes thousands to flee their homes.
• 1945 - World War II: 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin.
• 1946 - Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and the Soviet Union are established.
• 1953 - An earthquake hits western Turkey, killing 250.
• 1959 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law allowing for Hawaiian statehood, which would become official on August 21.
• 1962 - The Evian Accords put an end to the Algerian War of Independence, which began in 1954.
• 1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.
• 1967 - The Supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the Cornish coast.
• 1968 - Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.
• 1970 - Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
• 1971 - A landslide at Chungar, Peru crashes into Lake Yanahuani killing 200.
• 1974 - Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
• 1980 - At Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, 50 people are killed by an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket on its launch pad during a fueling operation.
• 1989 - In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Pyramid of Cheops.
• 1990 - In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1996 - A nightclub fire in Quezon City, Philippines kills 162.
• 1997 - The tail of a Russian Antonov An-24 charter plane breaks off while en-route to Turkey causing the plane to crash and killing all 50 on board and leading to the grounding of all An-24s.
• 2003 - The Iraq War begins.
• 2003 - FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.
• 2003 - British Sign Language is recognised as an official British language.
• 2005 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband.

Births

• 1395 - John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, English military leader (d. 1447)
• 1496 - Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and queen consort of Louis XII of France (d. 1533)
• 1555 - François, Duke of Anjou (d. 1584)
• 1590 - Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649)
• 1602 - Jacques de Billy, French mathematician (d. 1679)
• 1603 - Simon Bradstreet, Massachusetts Bay colonist (d. 1693)
• 1634 - Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de la Fayette, French writer (d. 1693)
• 1640 - Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1719)
• 1657 - Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (d. 1743)
• 1679 - Matthew Decker, English merchant and writer (d. 1759)
• 1685 - Ralph Ersine, Scottish minister (d. 1752)
• 1690 - Christian Goldbach, Prussian mathematician (d. 1764)
• 1701 - Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish merchant and philanthropist (d. 1776)
• 1780 - Milos Obrenovic, Leader of The Second Serbian Uprising and Prince of Serbia (d. 1860)
• 1782 - John C. Calhoun, 7^th Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)
• 1813 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German writer (d. 1864)
• 1823 - Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy, French general (d. 1883)
• 1828 - William Randal Cremer, English politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1908)
• 1837 - Grover Cleveland, 22^nd and 24^th President of the United States (d. 1908)
• 1840 - William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (d. 1901)
• 1842 - Stéphane Mallarmé, French poet (d. 1898)
• 1844 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (d. 1908)
• 1848 - Nathanael Herreshoff, American naval architect (d. 1938)
• 1848 - Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria (d. 1939)
• 1858 - Rudolf Diesel, German inventor (d. 1913)
• 1869 - Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940)
• 1872 - Anna Held, Polish actress and singer (d. 1918)
• 1874 - Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher (d. 1948)
• 1877 - Edgar Cayce, American psychic (d. 1945)
• 1877 - Clem Hill, Australian cricketer (d. 1945)
• 1882 - Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer (d. 1973)
• 1886 - Edward Everett Horton, American actor (d. 1970)
• 1898 - Jake Swirbul, American aircraft manufacturer (d. 1960)
• 1893 - Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (d. 1978)
• 1893 - Wilfred Owen, British poet (d. 1918)
• 1893 - Jean Goldkette, Greek-born jazz musician (d. 1962)
• 1901 - William H. Johnson, African-American artist of the Harlem Renaissance (d. 1970)
• 1904 - Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (d. 1926)
• 1905 - Robert Donat, English actor (d. 1958)
• 1905 - Thomas Townsend Brown, American scientist (d. 1985)
• 1907 - John Zachary Young, British biologist (d. 1997)
• 1909 - Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (d. 2007)
• 1910 - Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China (d. 1988)
• 1911 - Smiley Burnette, American singer and songwriter (d. 1967)
• 1913 - René Clément, French film director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
• 1913 - Werner Mölders German WWII fighter pilot (d. 1941)
• 1915 - Richard Condon, American novelist (d. 1996)
• 1917 - Frederika of Hanover, queen of the Hellenes (d. 1981)
• 1918 - Al Benton, American baseball player (d. 1968)
• 1918 - Bob Broeg, American sports writer (d. 2005)
• 1919 - Christopher Challis, British cinematographer
• 1922 - Egon Bahr, German politician
• 1923 - Andy Granatelli, American motorsports entrepreneur
• 1926 - Peter Graves, American actor
• 1926 - Dick Littlefield, American baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1927 - John Kander, American songwriter
• 1927 - George Plimpton, American writer and actor (d. 2003)
• 1928 - Julia Mullock, Princess of Korea
• 1928 - Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist
• 1928 - Fidel V. Ramos, President of the Philippines
• 1929 - John Macurdy, American bass
• 1930 - Pat Halcox, British musician
• 1931 - John Fraser, Scottish-born stage, film and television actor
• 1931 - John Mollo, British costume designer
• 1932 - John Updike, American author
• 1934 - Roy Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
• 1935 - Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, Danish mathematician
• 1936 - Frederik Willem de Klerk, President of South Africa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
• 1937 - Mark Donohue, American race car driver (d. 1975)
• 1937 - Rudi Altig, German cyclist
• 1938 - Charley Pride, American musician
• 1938 - Shashi Kapoor, Indian Actor
• 1938 - Timo Mäkinen, Finnish race car driver
• 1939 - Ron Atkinson, English former footballer and manager
• 1939 - Giannis Markopoulos, Greek composer
• 1939 - Kenny Lynch, British entertainer
• 1941 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (d. 2006)
• 1941 - John W. Derr, American politician
• 1943 - Kevin Dobson, American actor
• 1943 - Toula Grivas, Greek actress
• 1944 - Dick Smith, Australian Adventurer and Businessman
• 1944 - Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Israeli military leader and politician
• 1945 - Joy Fielding, Canadian novelist and actress
• 1946 - Martyn Griffiths, British racing driver
• 1946 - Michel Leclère, French racing driver
• 1947 - B.J. Wilson, English drummer (d. 1990)
• 1947 - Patrick Chesnais, French actor
• 1947 - Patrick Barlow, English actor, comedian and playwright
• 1947 - Roger Kenneth Evans, English politician
• 1947 - Heather Ryan, American model and former Playmate of the Month
• 1948 - Guy Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1948 - Lockwood Phillips, American radio host
• 1948 - Brian Lloyd, Welsh footballer
• 1949 - Alex Higgins, Northern Irish snooker player
• 1949 - Åse Kleveland, Norwegian singer and politician
• 1949 - Hannu Siitonen, Finnish athlete
• 1950 - Brad Dourif, American actor
• 1950 - Richard Kretchmer, English artist and historian
• 1950 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (d. 1997)
• 1950 - Eiji Okuda, Japanese actor and film director
• 1950 - Larry Perkins, Australian racing driver
• 1950 - John Hartman, American drummer (Doobie Brothers
• 1951 - Bill Frisell, American jazz musician
• 1951 - Ben Cohen, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream
• 1952 - Mike Webster, American football player (d. 2002)
• 1955 - Francis G. Slay, Mayor of St. Louis, Mo.
• 1956 - Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish skier
• 1957 - György Pazdera, Hungarian bassist (Pokolgép)
• 1957 - Christer Fuglesang, Swedish ESA astronaut
• 1959 - Luc Besson, French producer, writer, and director
• 1959 - Irene Cara, American actress and singer
• 1960 - Richard Biggs, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1960 - Guy Carbonneau, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
• 1960 - James MacPherson, Scottish actor
• 1962 - Thomas Ian Griffith, American actor
• 1962 - James McMurtry, American folk singer/songwriter
• 1962 - Mike Rowe, American television personality
• 1962 - Etsushi Toyokawa, Japanese actor
• 1963 - Jeff LaBar, American guitarist
• 1963 - Vanessa L. Williams, American beauty queen, actress, and singer
• 1963 - Keith Brown, English cricketer
• 1964 - Bonnie Blair, American speed skater
• 1964 - Courtney Pine, British jazz saxophonist
• 1964 - Rozalla, Zambian singer
• 1964 - Alex Caffi, Italian racecar driver
• 1964 - Paul Elliott, English footballer
• 1965 - Yoriko Douguchi, Japanese actress
• 1965 - Birgit Clarius, German heptathlete
• 1966 - Jerry Cantrell, American musician
• 1967 - Miki Berenyi, English singer (Lush)
• 1968 - Shinichiro Miki, Japanese seiyu (voice actor)
• 1968 - Eudes, duc d'Angoulême, French prince
• 1969 - Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukrainian chess player
• 1969 - Shaun Udal, English cricketer
• 1969 - Andy Cutting, English folk musician and composer
• 1970 - Queen Latifah, American singer and actress
• 1972 - Dane Cook, American comedian and actor
• 1972 - Anja Möllenbeck, German discus thrower
• 1973 - Max Barry, Australian author
• 1975 - Brian Griese, American football player
• 1975 - Tomas Žvirgždauskas, Lithuanian footballer
• 1975 - Sutton Foster, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1975 - Rodleen Getsic, American musician, civil servant
• 1976 - Jovan Kirovski, American soccer player
• 1976 - Tomokazu Ohka, Japanese baseball player
• 1976 - Scott Podsednik, American baseball player
• 1977 - Danny Murphy, English footballer
• 1977 - Zdeno Chára, Slovak ice hockey player
• 1977 - Devin Lima, American singer
• 1977 - Willy Sagnol, French footballer
• 1977 - Terrmel Sledge, American baseball player
• 1977 - Fernando Rodney, Dominican baseball player
• 1978 - Khalilah Adams, American actress
• 1978 - Yoshie Takeshita, Japanese volleyball player
• 1978 - Jan Bulis, Czech ice hockey player
• 1978 - Jonas Wallerstedt, Swedish footballer
• 1979 - Adam Levine, American singer (Maroon 5)
• 1979 - Brandon Lee, American adult actor
• 1979 - Danneel Harris, American actress
• 1979 - Dramane Coulibaly, Malian footballer
• 1980 - Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
• 1980 - Sophia Myles, English actress
• 1980 - Sebastien Frey, French footballer
• 1981 - Jang Nara, Korean singer and actress
• 1981 - Tora Berger, Norwegian biathlete
• 1982 - Chad Cordero, American baseball player
• 1982 - Timo Glock German Formula 1 driver
• 1982 - Pedro Mantorras, Angolan footballer
• 1983 - Andy Sonnanstine, American baseball player
• 1984 - Vonzell Solomon, American Idol Contestant
• 1985 - Vince Lia, Australian Footballer
• 1985 - Gennaro Esposito, Italian footballer
• 1986 - Bia Figueiredo, Brazilian racing driver
• 1987 - Mauro Zárate, Argentinian Footballer
• 1987 - Gabriel Mercado, Argentinian Footballer
• 1987 - Ben Waterworth, Australian Radio Personality
• 1987 - Cesare Rickler, Italian footballer
• 1996 - Madeline Carroll, American actress

Deaths

• 978 - King Edward the Martyr of England
• 1227 - Pope Honorius III (b. 1148)
• 1314 - Jacques DeMolay, Frankish noble, the 23rd Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b.1244)
• 1583 - King Magnus of Livonia (b. 1540)
• 1584 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (b. 1530)
• 1675 - Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (b. 1606)
• 1689 - John Dixwell, English judge (b. 1607)
• 1696 - Robert Charnock, English conspirator
• 1745 - Sir Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1676)
• 1746 - Anna Leopoldovna, regent of Russia (b. 1718)
• 1768 - Laurence Sterne, Irish writer (b. 1713)
• 1781 - Anne Robert Turgot, French statesman (b. 1727)
• 1823 - Jean-Baptiste Breval, French composer (b. 1753)
• 1835 - Christian Gunther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian statesman and diplomat (b. 1769)
• 1871 - Augustus De Morgan, Indian-born British mathematician and logician (b. 1806)
• 1898 - Matilda Joslyn Gage, American suffragist (b. 1826)
• 1907 - Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist and politician (b. 1827)
• 1913 - King George I of Greece (b. 1845)
• 1936 - Eleftherios Venizelos, Former Prime minister of Greece
• 1939 - Henry Simpson Lunn, English humanitarian and religious leader (b. 1859)
• 1941 - Henri Cornet, French cyclist (b. 1884)
• 1945 - William Grover-Williams, British racing driver
• 1947 - William C. Durant, American automobile pioneer (b. 1861)
• 1962 - Walter W. Bacon, Governor of Delaware (b. 1880)
• 1963 - Wanda Hawley, American actress (b. 1895)
• 1964 - Sigfrid Edström, Swedish sports official (b. 1870)
• 1965 - King Farouk I of Egypt (b. 1920)
• 1969 - Barbara Bates, American film actress (b. 1925)
• 1973 - Lauritz Melchior, Danish-born American opera singer (b. 1890)
• 1975 - Alain Grandbois, Quebec poet (b. 1900)
• 1976 - Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (b. 1893)
• 1977 - Marien Ngouabi, President of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1938)
• 1977 - José Carlos Pace, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1944)
• 1978 - Leigh Brackett, American author (b. 1915)
• 1978 - Peggy Wood, American actress (b. 1892)
• 1980 - Erich Fromm, German-born psychologist and philosopher (b. 1900)
• 1983 - King Umberto II of Italy, (b. 1904)
• 1983 - Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (b. 1910)
• 1984 - Charlie Lau, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 1986 - Bernard Malamud, American writer (b. 1914)
• 1988 - Will Thomas, all time ledgend (b. 1917)
• 1988 - Billy Butterfield, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1917)
• 1990 - Robin Harris, American actor and comedian (b. 1953)
• 1995 - Robin Jacques, illustrator of children's books (b. 1920)
• 1996 - Odysseas Elytis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
• 1999 - Elizabeth Huckaby, American educator (b. 1905)
• 2000 - Eberhard Bethge, German theologian (b. 1909)
• 2001 - John Phillips, American musician (The Mamas and the Papas) (b. 1935)
• 2002 - R.A. Lafferty, American science fiction writer (b. 1914)
• 2002 - Gösta Winbergh, Swedish tenor (b. 1943)
• 2003 - Karl Kling, German race car driver (b. 1910)
• 2003 - Adam Osborne, British computer pioneer (b. 1939)
• 2004 - Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman (b. 1927)
• 2006 - Bill Beutel, American journalist (b. 1930)
• 2006 - Michael Attwell, British actor (b. 1943)
• 2006 - Dan Gibson, musician (b. 1922)
• 2007 - Bob Woolmer, South African cricketer and Pakistan national coach (b. 1948)
• 2008 - Anthony Minghella, Film Director (b. 1954)

Holidays and observances

• Aruba - Flag Day (1976)
• Ancient Latvia - Bindus Diena
• Mothers Day (Nigeria)
• Mexico - Expropiación Petrolera
• Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (d.386)
• Saint Alexander of Jerusalem
• Saint Anselm
• Saint Edward the Martyr (d.978)
• Saint Narcissus
• Saint Salvator
• Turkey - Memorial Day for the martyrs of The Battle of Gallipoli

External links

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

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