WORLD HISTORY · 2018 日本語
Events of 2018Heisei 30 (Japan) · Year of the Dog
What happened in 2018?
In July 2018, Japan executed the former leader of the Aum Shinrikyo religious group and others, and in September the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake knocked out power across nearly all of Hokkaido. In November, Nissan's Carlos Ghosn was arrested, and Osaka was chosen to host the 2025 World Expo.
- PyeongChang Winter Olympics openAsia
- China abolishes presidential term limitsAsia
- First-ever U.S.–North Korea summitNorth America
- Former Aum Shinrikyo leader and others executedAsia
- Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake strikesAsia
- Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge opensAsia
- Nissan's Carlos Ghosn arrestedAsia
- Osaka chosen to host 2025 ExpoAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
2018 at a glance
| Japanese era | Heisei 30 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Dog |
| Age of people born in 2018 | Turn 8 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 2017 (Heisei 29) ／ 2019 (Heisei 31 / Reiwa 1) |
| Events | 105 |
| AP World History | Unit 9 (Globalization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 9 |
Famous people born in 2018
Our birthday pages list 1 people born in 2018. Here are some of them.
- Prince Louis of WalesBorn April 23 · turns 8 this year
Events of 2018 (timeline · 105)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
For the first time in history, all five major storm surge gates in the Netherlands are closed simultaneously in the wake of a storm.
Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.
A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii causes widespread panic in the state.
British multinational construction and facilities management services company Carillion goes into liquidation – officially, "the largest ever trading liquidation in the UK".
Myanmar police open fire on a group of ethnic Rakhine protesters, killing seven and wounding twelve.
A bus catches fire on the Samara–Shymkent road in Yrgyz District, Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The fire kills 52 passengers, with three passengers and two drivers escaping.
A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.
Syrian civil war: The Government of Turkey announces the initiation of the Afrin offensive and begins shelling Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in Afrin Region.
A 7.9 Mw earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.
A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds "dozens" of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.
The China–United States trade war begins when President Donald Trump places tariffs on Chinese solar panels and washing machines.
Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.
An Ariane 5 rocket is launched carrying SES-14, Al Yah 3, and NASA's Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk, but the satellites end up in the wrong orbit.
Winter Olympics: Opening ceremony is performed in Pyeongchang County in South Korea.
Nineteen people are killed and 66 injured when a Kowloon Motor Bus double decker on route 872 in Hong Kong overturns.
Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes near Moscow, Russia with 71 deaths and no survivors.
A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 17 injuries.
Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Dena sub-range in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, Resulting in 66 Deaths
A man throws a grenade at the U.S. embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro. He dies at the scene from a second explosion, with no one else hurt.
Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pause the Deir ez-Zor campaign due to the Turkish-led invasion of Afrin.
The first Aurat March (social/political demonstration) is held on International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan, since then held annually across Pakistan, and the feminist slogan "Mera Jism Meri Marzi" (My body, my choice), in demand for women's right to bodily autonomy and against gender-based violence, came into vogue in Pakistan.
A Bombardier Challenger 604 crashes into the Zagros Mountains near the Iranian city of Shar-e-kord, killing all 11 people on board.
US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 crashes at Tribhuvan International Airport in Katmandu, killing 51 and injuring 20.
President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigns from the presidency amid a mass corruption scandal before certain impeachment by the opposition-majority Congress of Peru.
Syrian civil war: The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Syrian National Army (SNA) take full control of Afrin District, marking the end of the Afrin offensive.
Students across the United States stage the March for Our Lives demanding gun control in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
Syrian civil war: Following the completion of the Afrin offensive, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) initiate an insurgency against the Turkish occupation of the Afrin District.
The Israeli Army kills 17 Palestinians and wounds 1,400 in Gaza during Land Day protests.
YouTube headquarters shooting: A 38-year-old gunwoman opens fire at YouTube Headquarters in San Bruno, California, injuring three people before committing suicide.
Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid a slaughterhouse in Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 undocumented Hispanic workers in one of the largest workplace raids in the history of the United States.
A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.
Syria launches the Douma chemical attack during the Eastern Ghouta offensive of the Syrian Civil War.
Former Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is arrested for corruption by determination of Judge Sérgio Moro, from the "Car-Wash Operation". Lula stayed imprisoned for 580 days, before being released by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
An Ilyushin Il-76 owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.
The New York Times and The New Yorker win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for breaking news of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal.
King Mswati III of Swaziland announces that his country's name will change to Eswatini.
A vehicle-ramming attack kills 11 people and injures 15 in Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested.
The Panmunjom Declaration is signed between North and South Korea, officially declaring their intentions to end the Korean conflict.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumes the Deir ez-Zor campaign in order to clear the remnants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border.
Barisan Nasional, the coalition that had governed Malaysia since the country's independence in 1957, suffer a historic defeat in the 2018 Malaysian general election.
Paris knife attack: A man is fatally shot by police in Paris after killing one and injuring several others.
Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes in Santiago de las Vegas after takeoff from José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, killing 112 of the 113 people on board.
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George's Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.
Ireland votes to repeal the Eighth Amendment of their constitution that prohibits abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable in the European Union.
Maryland Flood Event: A flood occurs throughout the Patapsco Valley, causing one death, destroying the entire first floors of buildings on Main Street in Ellicott City, and causing cars to overturn.
The Opportunity rover sends its last message back to Earth. The mission was finally declared over on February 13, 2019.
United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea hold the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore.
Antwon Rose II is fatally shot in East Pittsburgh by East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld after being involved in a near-fatal drive-by shooting.
Twelve boys and an assistant coach from a soccer team in Thailand are trapped in a flooding cave, leading to an 18-day rescue operation.
Tham Luang cave rescue: A group of Thai school children and their football coach are all rescued from a cave after being stuck there for 18 days; one Thai Navy SEAL diver dies during the rescue mission.
The Knesset passes the controversial Nationality Bill, which defines the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
A wildfire in East Attica kills at least 102 people. It is the deadliest wildfire in the history of Greece.
Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first female skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Two burka-clad men kill 29 people and injure more than 80 in a suicide attack on a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan.
Crisis in Venezuela: Seven people are injured when two drones detonate explosives on Avenida Bolívar, Caracas while president Nicolás Maduro is giving a speech to the Venezuelan National Guard.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border, concluding the second phase of the Deir ez-Zor campaign.
An anti-government rally turns into a riot when members of the Romanian Gendarmerie attack the 100,000 people protesting in front of the Victoria Palace, leading to 452 recorded injuries. The authorities alleged that the crowd was infiltrated by hooligans who began attacking law enforcement agents.
Horizon Air employee Richard Russell hijacks and performs an unauthorized takeoff on a Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 plane at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in Washington, flying it for more than an hour before crashing the plane and killing himself on Ketron Island in Puget Sound.
Thirty-nine civilians, including a dozen children, are killed in an explosion at a weapons depot in Sarmada, Syria.
The collapse of the Ponte Morandi bridge in Genoa, Italy, left 16 people injured and 43 people killed.
Three people are killed and eleven wounded during a mass shooting at a Madden NFL '19 video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.
National Museum of Brazil fire: A massive fire destroys most of the Paço de São Cristóvão, which houses the National Museum of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro. The museum holds important archaeοlogical and anthropological objects, including the remains of the Luzia Woman, Marajoara vases and Egyptian mummies.
Supreme Court of India decriminalises all consensual sex among adults in private, making homosexuality legal on the Indian lands.
Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro survives a stabbing at a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais.
A Russian reconnaissance aircraft carrying 15 people on board is brought down by a Syrian surface-to-air missile over the Mediterranean Sea.
At least 161 people die after a ferry capsizes close to the pier on Ukara Island in Lake Victoria, Tanzania.
LGBT rights activist Zak Kostopoulos is beaten to death on a busy street in Athens.
Bill Cosby is sentenced to three to ten years in prison for aggravated sexual assault.
The 7.5 Mw 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami, leaves 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.
The International Court of Justice rules that Chile is not obliged to negotiate access to the Pacific Ocean with Bolivia.
The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
The United States Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Associate Justice, ending a contentious confirmation process.
Hurricane Michael makes landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. It kills 57 people in the United States, 45 in Florida, and causes an estimated $25.1 billion in damage.
The National Fire and Rescue Administration is founded, replacing the China Fire Services and the People's Armed Police Forestry Corps as China's primary firefighting agency.
Soyuz MS-10, launching an intended crew for the ISS, suffers an in-flight abort. The crew lands safely.
Princess Eugenie marries Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
A mass shooting and bombing at Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea kills 21 people including the attacker and injures 70 others.
A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187.
The world's longest sea crossing, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, opens for public traffic.
A gunman opens fire on a Pittsburgh synagogue killing eleven and injuring six, including four police officers.
Leicester City F.C. owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha dies in a helicopter crash along with four others after a Premier League match against West Ham United at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, England.
Jair Bolsonaro is elected president of Brazil with 57 million votes, with Workers' Party candidate Fernando Haddad as the runner-up. It is the first time in 16 years that a Workers' Party candidate is not elected president.
A Boeing 737 MAX plane crashes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia killing 189 people on board. This is the first of two crashes that will lead to the plane being grounded worldwide.
Founders of Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana issue an apology following a series of offensive advertisements on social media promoting a fashion show in Shanghai, China, which was canceled.
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake with its epicenter only 24 km from Anchorage, Alaska causes significant property damage but no deaths.
The Oulu Police informed the public about the first offence of the much larger child sexual exploitation in Oulu, Finland.
The 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown, the second-longest shutdown of the U.S. federal government in history, begins.
A tsunami caused by an eruption of Anak Krakatau in Indonesia kills at least 430 people and injures almost a thousand more.
A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor.
Thirty-nine people are killed after a ten-story building collapses in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk, Russia.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 2018 in the Japanese calendar?
2018 was Heisei 30 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 2018?
2018 is the Year of the Dog.
How old is someone born in 2018?
They turn 8 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 2018?
In July 2018, Japan executed the former leader of the Aum Shinrikyo religious group and others, and in September the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake knocked out power across nearly all of Hokkaido. In November, Nissan's Carlos Ghosn was arrested, and Osaka was chosen to host the 2025 World Expo.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.