January 18
January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 347 days remain until the end of the year (348 in leap years).
Events
- 350 - General Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans, proclaims himself Emperor.
- 474 - Leo II briefly becomes Byzantine emperor
- 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
- 1126 - Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne to his son Emperor Qinzong
- 1486 - King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV.
- 1520 - King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Åsunden.
- 1535 - Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru.
- 1562 - Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
- 1670 - Henry Morgan captures Panama.
- 1701 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
- 1777 - Representatives of the New Hampshire Grants declare the independence of the Vermont Republic from Britain.
- 1778 - James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands."
- 1788 - The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.
- 1861 - American Civil War - Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in secession from the United States.
- 1871 - Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the 'Hall of Mirrors' of the Palace of Versailles towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire, to the Germans, was known as The Second Reich
- 1884 - Dr William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the UK.
- 1886 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
- 1896 - The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.
- 1903 - Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
- 1911 - Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, marking the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
- 1912 - British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrives at the South Pole only to find that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had preceded them by just over a month.
- 1913 - A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos during the First Balkan War, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
- 1915 - Japan issues the "Twenty-One Demands" to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
- 1916 - A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite struck a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.
- 1918 - World War I : Woodrow Wilson delivers his Fourteen Points speech in front of Congress.
- 1919 - World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France. Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
- 1919 - Bentley Motors Limited is founded.
- 1943 - Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
- 1944 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
- 1944 - Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
- 1945 - Liberation of the Budapest ghetto by the Red Army
- 1955 - Battle of Yijiangshan occurred.
- 1958 - Willie O'Ree, the first African American National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut.
- 1964 - Plans are revealed for the World Trade Center in New York City.
- 1967 - Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler," is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1969 - United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay resulting in the loss of all 32 passengers and six crewmembers.
- 1974 - A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
- 1977 - Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.
- 1977 - Australia's worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
- 1978 - The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
- 1982 - U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds: "Diamond Crash" kills four team members.
- 1983 - The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe Olympic medals to his family.
- 1990 - Washington, DC, Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
- 1991 - Eastern Air Lines shuts down after 62 years citing financial problems.
- 1993 - For the first time, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is officially observed in all 50 United States states.
- 1994 - The Cando event, a possible bolide impact in Cando, Spain. Witnesses claim to have seen a fireball in the sky lasting for almost one minute.
- 1995 - In southern France near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc cave paintings and engravings over 17,000 years old discovered.
- 1997 - In north west Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound one other.
- 1997 - Boerge Ousland of Norway becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided.
- 1998 - Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the Bill Clinton - Monica Lewinsky affair story on his website The Drudge Report.
- 2000 - The strange Tagish Lake meteorite impacted the Earth.
- 2001 - The British digital television channel e4 (TV) was launched.
- 2002 - Sierra Leone Civil War is finally declared over.
- 2002 - A Canadian Pacific Railway train carrying anhydrous ammonia derails outside of Minot, North Dakota, killing one man and calling into question the maintenance of CP track and the policy of voice-tracking used by Clear Channel Communications.
- 2003 - A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
- 2005 - A U.N. World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan begins.
- 2007 - The strongest storm in the UK for 17 years kills 14 people, Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill, caused at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe. Other losses include the Container Ship MSC Napoli destroyed by the storm of the coast of Devon, England.
Births
- 885 - Daigo, Emperor of Japan (d. 930)
- 1543 - Alfonso Ferrabosco (I), Italian composer (d. 1588)
- 1641 - François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French war minister (d. 1691)
- 1672 - Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (d. 1731)
- 1688 - Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
- 1689 - Montesquieu, French writer (d. 1755)
- 1779 - Peter Roget, British lexicographer (d. 1869)
- 1782 - Daniel Webster, American statesman (d. 1852)
- 1813 - Joseph Glidden, American farmer who patented barbed wire (d. 1906)
- 1815 - Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (d. 1874)
- 1840 - Henry Austin Dobson, English poet (d. 1921)
- 1841 - Emmanuel Chabrier, French composer (d. 1894)
- 1842 - Albert Alonzo Ames, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
- 1848 - Ioan Slavici, Transylvanian writer (d. 1925)
- 1849 - Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
- 1850 - Seth Low, American politician (d. 1916)
- 1854 - Thomas Watson, American telephone pioneer (d. 1934)
- 1856 - Daniel Hale Williams, African-American surgeon (d. 1931)
- 1877 - Samuel Zemurray, U.S. businessman (d.1961)
- 1879 - Henri Giraud, French general (d. 1949)
- 1881 - Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (d. 1975)
- 1882 - A. A. Milne, English author (d. 1956)
- 1886 - Clara Nordström, German writer and translator (d. 1962)
- 1888 - Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (d. 1989)
- 1892 - Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
- 1892 - Paul Rostock, German surgeon (d. 1956)
- 1901 - Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1973)
- 1904 - Cary Grant, English actor (d. 1986)
- 1904 - Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordionist (d. 2006)
- 1905 - Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (d. 2002)
- 1908 - Jacob Bronowski, Polish-born mathematician, poet, and physicist (d. 1974)
- 1910 - Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (d. 1983)
- 1913 - Danny Kaye, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1914 - Arno Schmidt, German author (d. 1979)
- 1915 - Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1917 - Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese businessman
- 1918 - Gustave Gingras, French Canadian physician (d. 1996)
- 1922 - Bob Bell, American clown (d. 1997)
- 1925 - Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (d. 1995)
- 1927 - Sundaram Balachander, Indian veena player (d. 1990)
- 1931 - Chun Doo-hwan, President of South Korea
- 1932 - Robert Anton Wilson, American author (d. 2007)
- 1933 - John Boorman, Irish film director
- 1933 - Ray Dolby, American inventor (Dolby noise reduction system)
- 1934 - Raymond Briggs, English writer and illustrator
- 1935 - Albert Millaire, Quebec actor and theatre director
- 1935 - Jon Stallworthy, English poet
- 1935 - Gad Yaacobi, Israeli minister (d. 2007)
- 1937 - John Hume, Northern Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998
- 1938 - Curt Flood, American baseball player (d. 1997)
- 1940 - Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican racing driver (d. 1971)
- 1941 - David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
- 1941 - Bobby Goldsboro, American country/pop singer
- 1943 - Kay Granger, American politician
- 1944 - Paul Keating, twenty-fourth Prime Minister of Australia
- 1944 - Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
- 1945 - José Luis Perales, Spanish singer
- 1946 - Joseph Deiss, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1947 - Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
- 1949 - Philippe Starck, French designer
- 1949 - Bill Keller, American newspaper editor
- 1950 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
- 1951 - Bob Latchford, English footballer
- 1951 - Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist (d. 1982)
- 1952 - R. Stevie Moore, American singer, songwriter, and home recording pioneer
- 1953 - Brett Hudson, American actor
- 1955 - Kevin Costner, American actor
- 1955 - Fergus Martin, Irish artist
- 1956 - Sharon Mitchell, American porn actress
- 1956 - Tom Bailey, English singer (Thompson Twins)
- 1961 - Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 - Jeff Yagher, American actor
- 1962 - Alison Arngrim, American actress
- 1963 - Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
- 1964 - Jane Horrocks, British actress
- 1965 - Dave Attell, American writer and comedian
- 1966 - Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player
- 1966 - André Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver
- 1967 - Kim Perrot, American basketball player (d. 1999)
- 1967 - Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
- 1968 - Frank Quitely, Scottish comic book artist
- 1969 - Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
- 1969 - Batista, American professional wrestler
- 1969 - Jim O'Rourke, American musician and producer (Loose Fur and Wilco)
- 1970 - DJ Quik, American rapper
- 1970 - Peter van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
- 1971 - Jonathan Davis, American musician (KoЯn)
- 1971 - Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
- 1971 - Josep Guardiola, Spanish footballer
- 1972 - Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
- 1973 - Crispian Mills, British musician (The Jeevas and Kula Shaker)
- 1974 - Michael Tunn, Australian television and radio
- 1974 - Maulik Pancholy, American actor
- 1974 - Christian Burns, English musician (BBMak)
- 1974 - Princess Claire of Belgium
- 1976 - Damien Leith, Australian Idol 2006
- 1977 - Curtis Cregan, American actor
- 1977 - Alina Jidkova, Russian tennis player
- 1978 - Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
- 1979 - Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer and producer
- 1979 - Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
- 1979 - Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
- 1980 - Robert Green, English footballer
- 1980 - Julius Peppers, American football player
- 1981 - Kang Dong-won, South Korean model and actor
- 1981 - Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
- 1982 - Quinn Allman, American musician (The Used)
- 1982 - Joanna Newsom, American harpist/singer-songwriter
- 1983 - Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
- 1984 - Benji Schwimmer, American dancer
- 1984 - Michael Kearney, American child prodigy
- 1984 - Maarja Kivi, Estonian singer
- 1984 - Cho Seung-Hui, Korean-American mass murderer (Virginia Tech Massacre) (d. 2007)
- 1985 - Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer
- 1987 - Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer
- 1994 - Shane Lamour, Inventor of artificial intelligence
Deaths
- 52 BC - Publius Clodius Pulcher (murdered)
- 350 - Constans, Roman Emperor, (b. 320)
- 474 - Leo I, Byzantine Emperor (b. 401)
- 1367 - King Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
- 1425 - Edmund de Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
- 1471 - Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
- 1547 - Pietro Bembo, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1470)
- 1583 - Margaret of Austria, regent of The Netherlands (b. 1522)
- 1664 - Moses Amyraut, French theologian (b. 1596)
- 1677 - Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch merchant (b. 1619)
- 1803 - Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet (b. 1743)
- 1862 - John Tyler, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
- 1873 - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English author (b. 1803)
- 1878 - Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist (b. 1788)
- 1892 - Anton Anderledy, Swiss Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
- 1896 - Charles Floquet, French statesman (b. 1828)
- 1923 - Wallace Reid, Actor (b. 1891)
- 1927 - Empress Carlotta of Mexico (b. 1840)
- 1936 - Rudyard Kipling, British writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1865)
- 1940 - Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish writer (b. 1865)
- 1952 - Curly Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1903)
- 1954 - Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b. 1879)
- 1963 - Hugh Gaitskell, leader of the British Labour Party (b. 1906)
- 1966 - Kathleen Norris, American writer (b. 1880)
- 1967 - Goose Tatum, American basketball player (b. 1921)
- 1969 - Hans Freyer, German sociologist (b. 1887)
- 1970 - David O. McKay, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
- 1978 - Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher, critic and writer (b. 1919)
- 1978 - Carl Betz, English musician (b. 1921)
- 1980 - Sir Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer (b. 1904)
- 1984 - Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
- 1985 - Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor (b. 1912)
- 1995 - Adolf Butenandt, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- 1995 - Ron Luciano, American baseball umpire (b. 1937)
- 1996 - Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao,Indian film actor (b.1923)
- 1997 - Paul Tsongas, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (b. 1941)
- 2000 - Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
- 2001 - Al Waxman, Canadian actor (b. 1935)
- 2003 - Edward "The Sheik" Farhat, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
- 2005 - Lamont Bentley, American actor (b. 1973)
- 2006 - Jan Twardowski, Polish poet (b. 1915)
- 2007 - Brent Liles, American musician (Agent Orange/Social Distortion) (b. 1963)
Holidays and observances
- Winnie The Pooh Day (in observance of the birthday of Alan Alexander Milne, 1882.)
- Paryaya festival at Udupi held every alternate years 2006, 2008, 2010 etc.
Religious observances
- Chair of Saint Peter[1]
- Saint Margaret of Hungary[1]
- The Feast of the Confession of Peter observed in Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches.
- Feast day of Saint Athanasius (Eastern Orthodox)
- Feast day of Saint Cyril of Alexandria
- Feast day of Saint Volusianus
- January 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Saint Prisca[1]
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins