July 18

July 18 in recent years

2024 (Thursday)

2023 (Tuesday)

2022 (Monday)

2021 (Sunday)

2020 (Saturday)

2019 (Thursday)

2018 (Wednesday)

2017 (Tuesday)

2016 (Monday)

2015 (Saturday)

July 18 is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 166 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 390 BC – Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
• 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
• 362 – Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire.
• 452 – Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it.
• 645 – Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.
• 1195 – Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo.
• 1290 – King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
• 1334 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.
• 1389 – France and England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13-year peace, the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years' War.
• 1391 – Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia.
• 1555 – The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain.
• 1812 – The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars.
• 1841 – Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
• 1857 – Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French.
• 1862 – First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
• 1870 – The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.
• 1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
• 1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
• 1942 – World War II: The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.
• 1944 – World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.
• 1966 – Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
• 1968 – Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.
• 1976 – Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
• 1982 – Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos ("peasants" or "country people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
• 1984 – McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
• 1994 – The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Community Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300.
• 1994 – Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.
• 1995 – On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee.
• 1996 – Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec's costliest natural disasters ever.
• 1996 – Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army's base, killing over 1200 soldiers.
• 2012 – At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.
• 2013 – The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Births

• 1439 – John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1507)
• 1501 – Isabella of Austria (d. 1526)
• 1504 – Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss pastor and reformer (d. 1575)
• 1552 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1612)
• 1634 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1695)
• 1659 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (d. 1743)
• 1670 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1747)
• 1718 – Saverio Bettinelli, Italian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1808)
• 1720 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (d. 1793)
• 1724 – Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria (d. 1780)
• 1797 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
• 1811 – William Makepeace Thackeray, English author and poet (d. 1863)
• 1818 – Louis Gerhard De Geer, Swedish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1896)
• 1821 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (d. 1910)
• 1837 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian priest and activist (d. 1873)
• 1845 – Tristan Corbière, French poet (d. 1875)
• 1848 – W. G. Grace, English cricketer and physician (d. 1915)
• 1853 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
• 1864 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1937)
• 1867 – Margaret Brown, American philanthropist and activist (d. 1932)
• 1871 – Sada Yacco, Japanese actress and dancer (d. 1946)
• 1881 – Larry McLean, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1921)
• 1884 – Alberto di Jorio, Italian cardinal (d. 1979)
• 1886 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (d. 1945)
• 1887 – Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian military officer and politician, Minister President of Norway (d. 1945)
• 1889 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (d. 1977)
• 1890 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1983)
• 1892 – Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian footballer (d. 1969)
• 1893 – David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier (d. 1968)
• 1895 – Olga Spessivtseva, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1991)
• 1895 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (d. 1954)
• 1897 – Ernest Eldridge, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1935)
• 1898 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (d. 1979)
• 1899 – Ernst Scheller, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Marburg (d. 1942)
• 1900 – Nathalie Sarraute, French lawyer and author (d. 1999)
• 1902 – Jessamyn West, American author (d. 1984)
• 1903 – Chill Wills, American actor (d. 1978)
• 1906 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American academic and politician (d. 1992)
• 1906 – Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
• 1908 – Peace Pilgrim, American mystic and activist (d. 1981)
• 1908 – Lupe Vélez, Mexican-American actress and dancer (d. 1944)
• 1909 – Bishnu Dey, Indian poet, critic, and academic (d. 1982)
• 1909 – Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1989)
• 1909 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (d. 1978)
• 1909 – Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
• 1910 – Diptendu Pramanick, Indian businessman (d. 1989)
• 1911 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1913 – Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (d. 2000)
• 1917 – Henri Salvador, French singer and guitarist (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1982)
• 1921 – Peter Austin, English brewer, founded Ringwood Brewery (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Aaron T. Beck, American psychiatrist and academic
• 1921 – John Glenn, American colonel, astronaut, and politician
• 1921 – Richard Leacock, English-French director and producer (d. 2011)
• 1922 – Thomas Kuhn, American physicist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Jerome H. Lemelson, American engineer and businessman (d. 1997)
• 1924 – Inge Sørensen, Danish swimmer (d. 2011)
• 1925 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner and hurdler (d. 2004)
• 1925 – Friedrich Zimmermann, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 2012)
• 1926 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (d. 1987)
• 1926 – Nita Bieber, American actress
• 1927 – Kurt Masur, German conductor and educator (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Andrea Gallo, Italian priest and author (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Franca Rame, Italian actress (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Dick Button, American figure skater and actor
• 1930 – Burt Kwouk, English actor (d. 2016)
• 1932 – Robert Ellis Miller, American director and screenwriter
• 1932 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet and playwright
• 1933 – Jean Yanne, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1934 – Edward Bond, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
• 1934 – Darlene Conley, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Tenley Albright, American figure skater and physician
• 1935 – Jayendra Saraswathi, Indian guru, 69th Shankaracharya
• 1937 – Roald Hoffmann, Polish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
• 1938 – John Connelly, English footballer (d. 2012)
• 1938 – Lennart Hjulström, Swedish actor and director
• 1938 – Ian Stewart, Scottish keyboard player and manager (d. 1985)
• 1938 – Paul Verhoeven, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1939 – Brian Auger, English keyboard player
• 1939 – Dion DiMucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1939 – Jerry Moore, American football player and coach
• 1940 – James Brolin, American actor
• 1940 – Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
• 1941 – Frank Farian, German songwriter and producer
• 1941 – Lonnie Mack, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
• 1941 – Martha Reeves, American singer and politician
• 1942 – Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
• 1942 – Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician, 84th President of the Swiss Confederation
• 1943 – Joseph J. Ellis, American historian and author
• 1944 – David Hemery, English hurdler and author
• 1945 – Pat Doherty, Irish republican politician
• 1946 – Leo Madder, Belgian actor and director
• 1946 – John Naughton, Scottish-Irish journalist, author, and academic
• 1947 – Steve Forbes, American publisher and politician
• 1948 – Carlos Colón Sr., Puerto Rican-American wrestler and promoter
• 1948 – Jeanne Córdova, American journalist and activist (d. 2016)
• 1948 – Hartmut Michel, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1949 – Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer and coach
• 1950 – Richard Branson, English businessman, founded Virgin Group
• 1950 – Jack Dongarra, American computer scientist and academic
• 1950 – Kostas Eleftherakis, Greek footballer
• 1950 – Jack Layton, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician (d. 2011)
• 1950 – Mark Udall, American educator and politician
• 1951 – Elio Di Rupo, Belgian chemist, academic, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Belgium
• 1951 – Margo Martindale, American actress
• 1954 – Peter Crane, English-American botanist and academic
• 1954 – Ricky Skaggs, American singer-songwriter, mandolin player, and producer
• 1955 – Terry Chambers, English drummer
• 1955 – Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
• 1956 – Razor Shines, American baseball player, manager, and coach
• 1957 – Nick Faldo, English golfer and sportscaster
• 1957 – Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1957 – Alexander Titov, Russian bass player
• 1958 – Chris Ruane, Welsh educator and politician
• 1960 – Simon Heffer, English journalist and author
• 1961 – M.J. Alexander, American author and photographer
• 1961 – Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
• 1961 – Alan Pardew, English footballer and manager
• 1961 – Pasi Rautiainen, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager
• 1962 – Lee Arenberg, American actor and screenwriter
• 1962 – Jack Irons, American drummer
• 1962 – Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian, producer, and screenwriter
• 1963 – Marc Girardelli, Austrian-Luxembourgian skier
• 1963 – Mike Greenwell, American baseball player and race car driver
• 1963 – Al Snow, American wrestler, sportscaster, and actor
• 1963 – Martín Torrijos, Panamanian economist and politician, 35th President of Panama
• 1964 – Wendy Williams, American talk show host
• 1965 – Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian soprano
• 1965 – Steve Webb, English academic and politician
• 1966 – Dan O'Brien, American decathlete and coach
• 1967 – Vin Diesel, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Grant Bowler, New Zealand-Australian actor
• 1968 – Scott Gourley, Australian rugby player
• 1969 – Elizabeth Gilbert, American author
• 1969 – The Great Sasuke, Japanese wrestler and politician
• 1971 – Penny Hardaway, American basketball player and coach
• 1971 – Sukhwinder Singh, Indian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1974 – Alan Morrison, British poet
• 1975 – Torii Hunter, American baseball player
• 1975 – Daron Malakian, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1975 – M.I.A., English rapper and producer
• 1976 – Elsa Pataky, Spanish actress
• 1976 – Go Soo-hee, South Korean actress
• 1977 – Alexander Morozevich, Russian chess player and author
• 1978 – Adabel Guerrero, Argentinian actress, singer, and dancer
• 1978 – Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player and sportscaster
• 1978 – Ben Sheets, American baseball player and coach
• 1978 – Mélissa Theuriau, French journalist
• 1978 – Joo Sang-wook, South Korean actor
• 1979 – Deion Branch, American football player
• 1979 – Joey Mercury, American wrestler and producer
• 1980 – Kristen Bell, American actress
• 1981 – Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
• 1982 – Ryan Cabrera, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1982 – Dominika Luzarová, Czech tennis player
• 1983 – Carlos Diogo, Uruguayan footballer
• 1983 – Aaron Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and drummer
• 1983 – Mikk Pahapill, Estonian decathlete
• 1983 – Jan Schlaudraff, German footballer
• 1985 – Panagiotis Lagos, Greek footballer
• 1986 – Natalia Mikhailova, Russian ice dancer
• 1988 – Änis Ben-Hatira, German-Tunisian footballer
• 1988 – César Villaluz, Mexican footballer
• 1989 – Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Sebastian Mielitz, German footballer
• 1989 – Yohan Mollo, French footballer
• 1991 – Karina Pasian, American singer and pianist

Deaths

• 707 – Emperor Monmu of Japan (b. 683)
• 715 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Umayyad general (b. 695)
• 912 – Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor (b. 852)
• 1100 – Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight (b. 1016)
• 1300 – Gerard Segarelli, Italian religious leader, founded the Apostolic Brethren (b. 1240)
• 1566 – Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish bishop and historian (b. 1484)
• 1591 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (b. 1550)
• 1608 – Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1546)
• 1610 – Caravaggio, Italian painter (b. 1573)
• 1639 – Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, German general (b. 1604)
• 1695 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1634)
• 1698 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (b. 1633)
• 1721 – Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
• 1730 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (b. 1644)
• 1756 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch poet and playwright (b. 1683)
• 1792 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American admiral and diplomat (b. 1747)
• 1817 – Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)
• 1837 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (b. 1777)
• 1863 – Robert Gould Shaw, American colonel (b. 1837)
• 1872 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 26th President of Mexico (b. 1806)
• 1884 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (b. 1829)
• 1890 – Lydia Becker, English journalist, author, and activist, co-founded the Women's Suffrage Journal (b. 1827)
• 1892 – Thomas Cook, English travel agent, founded the Thomas Cook Group (b. 1808)
• 1899 – Horatio Alger, American novelist and journalist (b. 1832)
• 1916 – Benjamin C. Truman, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
• 1925 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (b. 1840)
• 1932 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French author and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (b. 1855)
• 1937 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (b. 1908)
• 1938 – Marie of Romania (b. 1875)
• 1944 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1870)
• 1947 – Evald Tipner, Estonian footballer and ice hockey player (b. 1906)
• 1948 – Herman Gummerus, Finnish historian, academic, and politician (b. 1877)
• 1949 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator (b. 1870)
• 1950 – Carl Clinton Van Doren, American critic and biographer (b. 1885)
• 1952 – Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect and historian (b. 1862)
• 1953 – Sigfred Johansen, Danish actor (b. 1908)
• 1954 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (b. 1895)
• 1966 – Bobby Fuller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
• 1968 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
• 1969 – Mary Jo Kopechne, American educator and secretary (b. 1940)
• 1973 – Jack Hawkins, English actor (b. 1910)
• 1975 – Vaughn Bodē, American illustrator (b. 1941)
• 1982 – Lionel Daunais, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1902)
• 1982 – Roman Jakobson, Russian–American linguist and theorist (b. 1896)
• 1984 – Lally Bowers English actress (b. 1914)
• 1984 – Grigori Kromanov, Estonian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 1985 – Louisa Ghijs, Belgian-German actress (b. 1902)
• 1988 – Nico, German singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1938)
• 1988 – Joly Braga Santos, Portuguese composer and conductor (b. 1924)
• 1989 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (b. 1954)
• 1990 – Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1896)
• 1990 – Yun Posun, South Korean politician, 2nd President of South Korea (b. 1897)
• 1995 – Fabio Casartelli, Italian cyclist (b. 1970)
• 1997 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American geologist and astronomer (b. 1928)
• 1999 – Meir Ariel, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
• 2001 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
• 2002 – Metin Toker, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1924)
• 2004 – André Castelot, Belgian-French historian and author (b. 1911)
• 2004 – Émile Peynaud, French wine maker (b. 1912)
• 2005 – William Westmoreland, American general (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Jerry Hadley, American tenor (b. 1952)
• 2007 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (b. 1908)
• 2009 – Henry Allingham, English soldier (b. 1896)
• 2009 – Jill Balcon, English actress (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Lithuanian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Jean François-Poncet, French politician and diplomat, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Dawoud Rajiha, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Assef Shawkat, Syrian general and politician (b. 1950)
• 2012 – Hasan Turkmani, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Vaali, Indian poet, songwriter, and actor (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and academic (b. 1953)
• 2014 – Andreas Biermann, German footballer (b. 1980)
• 2014 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
• 2014 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Alex Rocco, American actor (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Arnulf of Metz
  • Camillus de Lellis (optional memorial, United States only)
  • Frederick of Utrecht
  • Marina of Aguas Santas
  • Symphorosa
  • Teneu
  • Elizabeth Ferard (Church of England)
  • Bartolomé de las Casas (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • July 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Uruguay)
• Nelson Mandela International Day

External links

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