July 18Birthdays & History

On this day: July 18 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 477 BCBattle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.Europe
2. 387 BCRoman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.Europe
3. 362Roman–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.EuropeMiddle East
4. 452Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it.Europe
5. 645Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.Asia
6. 1195Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo.Europe
7. 1216Election of pope Honorius III following the death of pope Innocent III two days prior.Europe
8. 1290King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England.Europe
9. 1334The 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.Europe
10. 1389France and England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13-year peace, the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years' War.Europe
11. 1507In Brussels, Prince Charles I is crowned Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders, a year after inheriting the title.Europe
12. 1555The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain.Europe
13. 1723Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, BWV 136, in Leipzig on the eighth Sunday after Trinity.Europe
14. 1806A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, kills around 200 people.Europe
15. 1812The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars.Europe
16. 1841Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.Latin America
17. 1857Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French.EuropeAfrica
18. 1862First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.Europe
19. 1863American 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.North AmericaAfrica
20. 1870The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.Europe
21. 1872The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections be held by secret ballot.Europe
22. 1914The 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.North America
23. 1925Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.World
24. 1942World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia.Europe
25. 1942The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.North America
26. 1944World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.Asia
27. 1966A racially charged incident in a bar sparks the six-day Hough riots in Cleveland, Ohio; 1,700 Ohio National Guard troops intervene to restore order.North America
28. 1966Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.Europe
29. 1968Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.North America
30. 1970An Antonov An-22 of the Soviet Air Forces crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 23 aboard.Europe
31. 1976Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.Europe
32. 1979A landslide occurs on the Iliwerung volcano in Indonesia, triggering a tsunami that kills over 530 and leaves 700 missing.Asia
33. 1981A Canadair CL-44 and Sukhoi Su-15 collide in mid-air near Yerevan, Armenia, killing four.Europe
34. 1982Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos ("peasants" or "country people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.Latin America
35. 1984McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: James Oliver Huberty kills 21 people and injures 19 others before being shot dead by police.North America
36. 1992A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web.Europe
37. 1994The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Community Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300.Latin America
38. 1994Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.Africa
39. 1995On 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.Latin America
40. 1996Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army's base, killing over 1,200 soldiers.Asia
41. 1996Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec's costliest natural disasters ever.North America
42. 2002A Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer crashes near Estes Park, Colorado, killing both crew members.North America
43. 2012At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.Middle EastEurope
44. 2013The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.North America
45. 2014The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant requires Christians to either accept dhimmi status, emigrate from ISIL lands, or be killed.Middle East
46. 2019A man sets fire to an anime studio in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan, killing 36 people and injuring dozens of others.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "July 18" / CC BY-SA 4.0