On This Day in History — March 18

Highlights of March 18

• 2019 — Syrian civil war: The U.S. Air Force carried out an airstrike in al-Baghuz Fawqani, killing as many as 80, a disputed number of whom were civilians. Read more
• 2015 — Gunmen attacked the Bardo National Museum in Tunisia, killing 24 people. Read more
• 2005 — As per a court order, the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo, an American woman who suffered brain damage, was removed at the request of her husband, fueling a worldwide debate on euthanasia. Read more
• 1996 — The deadliest fire in Philippine history broke out at a nightclub in Quezon City, causing 162 deaths. Read more
• 1990 — Unidentified thieves stole thirteen works of art collectively valued at $500 million from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (pictured) in Boston, Massachusetts. Read more
• 1985 — The first episode of the soap opera Neighbours was broadcast on the Seven Network, later becoming the longest-running drama in Australian television history. Read more
• 1977 — The punk group the Clash released their first single, "White Riot", described as their "most controversial song" due to its lyrics about class economics and race. Read more
• 1970 — U.S. postal workers began an eight-day strike after Congress raised their wages by only 4 percent despite increasing its own pay by 41 percent. Read more
• 1969 — Vietnam War: The United States began secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam. Read more
• 1965 — Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov ventured outside the Soviet spacecraft Voskhod 2, becoming the first person to walk in space. Read more
• 1959 — Tibetan uprising: After the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge at Sera Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet, Chinese forces bombarded the monastery, inflicting severe destruction and killing hundreds of Buddhist monks. Read more
• 1925 — The deadliest tornado in U.S. history spawned in Missouri and traveled more than 219 miles (352 km) across Illinois and Indiana, leaving one of the longest continuous tornado tracks ever recorded. Read more
• 1921 — Russian Civil War: Bolshevik forces suppressed a rebellion of sailors and civilians in Kronstadt. Read more
• 1915 — First World War: In one of the largest naval battles of the Gallipoli campaign, Ottoman forces sank three Allied battleships and severely damaged three others. Read more
• 1906 — Romanian inventor Traian Vuia became the first person to fly a heavier-than-air monoplane (pictured) with an unassisted takeoff. Read more
• 1901 — The construction of the House with Chimaeras (pictured) commenced in Kyiv. Read more
• 1892 — Canadian governor general Lord Stanley of Preston pledged to donate an award to Canada's top-ranked amateur ice hockey club, now known as the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. Read more
• 1838 — The British soldier-explorer John Wood came close to rediscovering the ancient Greco-Bactrian city of Ai-Khanoum in modern Afghanistan. Read more
• 1793 — Andreas Joseph Hofmann proclaimed the Republic of Mainz, becoming the first republican state in Germany. Read more
• 1608 — Susenyos I was formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia. Read more
• 1277 — Charles I of Anjou acquired a claim on the Kingdom of Jerusalem in exchange for a significant sum of money. Read more
• 1241 — First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongol forces defeated the Polish armies of Sandomierz and Kraków at the Battle of Chmielnik. Read more
• 363 — A fire began in Rome that resulted in the destruction of the Temple of Apollo Palatinus. Read more

Events

• 2025 — Israel launches widespread aerial bombardments and attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 591 people, including children. Read more
• 2015 — The Bardo National Museum in Tunisia is attacked by gunmen. Twenty-four people, almost all tourists, are killed, and at least 50 other people are wounded. Read more
• 2014 — The parliaments of Russia and Crimea sign an accession treaty. Read more
• 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 people on board. Read more
• 1996 — A nightclub fire in Quezon City, Philippines kills 162 people. Read more
• 1994 — Bosnia's Bosniaks and Croats sign the Washington Agreement, ending war between the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read more
• 1990 — Germans in the German Democratic Republic vote in the first democratic elections in the former communist dictatorship. Read more
• 1990 — In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $500 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Read more
• 1980 — A Vostok-2M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43 explodes during a fueling operation, killing 48 people. Read more
• 1974 — Güzel İstanbul, a nude sculpture by Gürdal Duyar in Istanbul, is torn down in the middle of the night. Read more
• 1971 — Peru: A landslide crashes into Yanawayin Lake, killing 200 people at the mining camp of Chungar. Read more
• 1970 — Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. Read more
• 1969 — The United States begins secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam. Read more
• 1968 — Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency. Read more
• 1967 — The supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the Cornish coast. Read more
• 1966 — United Arab Airlines Flight 749 crashes on approach to Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt, killing 30 people. Read more
• 1965 — Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space. Read more
• 1962 — The Évian Accords end the Algerian War of Independence, which had begun in 1954. Read more
• 1959 — The Hawaii Admission Act is signed into law. Read more
• 1953 — An earthquake hits western Turkey, killing at least 1,070 people. Read more
• 1948 — Soviet consultants leave Yugoslavia in the first sign of the Tito–Stalin split. Read more
• 1945 — World War II: 40th Infantry Division, spearheaded by the 185th US Infantry Regiment, lands unopposed in Tigbauan, forcing the Japanese forces to surrender and General Macario Peralta and Gen. Gen. Eichelberger to declare the Liberation of Panay, Romblon and Guimaras. Read more
• 1944 — Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts, killing 26 people, causing thousands to flee their homes, and destroying dozens of Allied bombers. Read more
• 1942 — The War Relocation Authority is established in the United States to take Japanese Americans into custody. Read more
• 1940 — World War II: 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. Read more
• 1938 — Mexico creates Pemex by expropriating all foreign-owned oil reserves and facilities. Read more
• 1937 — The New London School explosion in New London, Texas, kills 300 people, mostly children. Read more
• 1937 — Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces defeat the Italians at the Battle of Guadalajara. Read more
• 1925 — The 1925 Tri-State tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people. Read more
• 1922 — In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience, of which he serves only two. Read more
• 1921 — The second Peace of Riga is signed between Poland and the Soviet Union. Read more
• 1921 — The Kronstadt rebellion is suppressed by the Red Army. Read more
• 1921 — Mongolian Revolution of 1921: The Mongolian People's Army defeats local Chinese forces at Altanbulag, Selenge (then known as Maimachen). This battle was seen as the birthday of the People's Army and completed the expulsion of Chinese militants in Mongolia. Read more
• 1915 — World War I: During the Battle of Gallipoli, three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles. Read more
• 1913 — King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki. Read more
• 1902 — Macario Sakay issues Presidential Order No. 1 of his Tagalog Republic. Read more
• 1901 — The Kumasi Mutiny of 1901 begins. Read more
• 1899 — Phoebe, a satellite of Saturn, becomes the first to be discovered with photographs, taken in August 1898, by William Henry Pickering. Read more
• 1871 — Declaration of the Paris Commune; President of the French Republic, Adolphe Thiers, orders the evacuation of Paris. Read more
• 1865 — American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States adjourns for the last time. Read more
• 1861 — Spain would annex annex the Dominican Republic, which would last for four years. Read more
• 1848 — The premiere of William Henry Fry's Leonora in Philadelphia is the first known performance of a grand opera by an American composer. Read more
• 1848 — Revolutions of 1848: A rebellion arises in Milan which in five days of street fighting drove Marshal Radetzky and his Austrian soldiers from the city. Read more
• 1834 — Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union. Read more
• 1793 — The first modern republic in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann. Read more
• 1793 — Flanders Campaign of the French Revolution, Battle of Neerwinden. Read more
• 1766 — American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act. Read more
• 1741 — New York governor George Clarke's complex at Fort George is burned in an arson attack, starting the New York Conspiracy of 1741. Read more
• 1673 — English lord John Berkeley sells his half of New Jersey to the Quakers. Read more
• 1644 — The Third Anglo-Powhatan War begins in the Colony of Virginia. Read more
• 1608 — Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia. Read more
• 1571 — Valletta is made the capital city of Malta. Read more
• 1438 — Albert II of Habsburg becomes King of the Romans. Read more
• 1314 — Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and final Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake. Read more
• 1241 — First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelm Polish armies in Kraków in the Battle of Chmielnik and plunder the city. Read more
• 1229 — Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, declares himself King of Jerusalem in the Sixth Crusade. Read more
• 1068 — An earthquake in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula leaves up to 20,000 dead. Read more
• 417 — Pope Zosimus is elected following the death of Pope Innocent I. Read more
• 37 — Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (aka Caligula = Little Boots) emperor. Read more

Born on March 18

• 2002 — Brenden Rice, American football player Read more
• 1999 — Diogo Dalot, Portuguese footballer Read more
• 1998 — Emmanuel Clase, Dominican baseball player Read more
• 1997 — Ciara Bravo, American actress Read more
• 1997 — Rieko Ioane, New Zealand rugby union player Read more
• 1997 — Jordan Whitehead, American football player Read more
• 1997 — Ivica Zubac, Croatian basketball player Read more
• 1997 — Cary and Michael Huang, the twins who founded BFDI Read more
• 1996 — Skal Labissière, Haitian basketball player Read more
• 1995 — Irina Bara, Romanian tennis player Read more
• 1995 — Julia Goldani Telles, American actress and dancer Read more
• 1994 — Kris Dunn, American basketball player Read more
• 1994 — Ronnie Stanley, American football player Read more
• 1993 — Solo Sikoa, American wrestler Read more
• 1992 — Anthony Barr, American football player Read more
• 1992 — Trey Mancini, American baseball player Read more
• 1992 — Ryan Truex, American race car driver Read more
• 1992 — Takuya Terada, Japanese singer, actor, and model Read more
• 1991 — Travis Frederick, American football player Read more
• 1991 — Leury García, Dominican baseball player Read more
• 1991 — Solomon Hill, American basketball player Read more
• 1991 — Dylan Mattingly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
• 1991 — J. T. Realmuto, American baseball player Read more
• 1989 — Robert Bortuzzo, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1989 — Francesco Checcucci, Italian footballer Read more
• 1989 — Lily Collins, English-American actress Read more
• 1989 — Shreevats Goswami, Indian cricketer Read more
• 1989 — Kana Nishino, Japanese singer-songwriter Read more
• 1989 — Paul Marc Rousseau, Canadian guitarist and producer Read more
• 1989 — Ming Xi, Chinese model Read more
• 1987 — C. J. Miles, American basketball player Read more
• 1987 — Rebecca Soni, American swimmer Read more
• 1986 — Abdennour Chérif El-Ouazzani, Algerian footballer Read more
• 1986 — Lykke Li, Swedish singer-songwriter Read more
• 1986 — Cory Schneider, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1986 — Eric Wood, American football player and sportscaster Read more
• 1985 — Ana Beatriz, Brazilian race car driver Read more
• 1985 — Duane Henry, English actor Read more
• 1985 — Marvin Humes, English singer Read more
• 1985 — Vince Lia, Australian footballer Read more

Died on March 18

• 2025 — Kanzi, Bonobo research subject (born 1980) Read more
• 2025 — Jessie Hoffman Jr., American convicted murderer (born 1978) Read more
• 2024 — Thomas P. Stafford, American Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut (born 1930) Read more
• 2020 — Alfred Worden, American test pilot, engineer and astronaut (born 1932) Read more
• 2017 — Chuck Berry, American guitarist, singer and songwriter (born 1926) Read more
• 2016 — Barry Hines, English author and screenwriter (born 1939) Read more
• 2016 — Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (born 1936) Read more
• 2016 — Tray Walker, American football player (born 1992) Read more
• 2016 — Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (born 1961) Read more
• 2015 — Zhao Dayu, Chinese footballer and manager (born 1961) Read more
• 2015 — Thomas Hopko, American priest and theologian (born 1939) Read more
• 2015 — Grace Ogot, Kenyan nurse, journalist, and politician (born 1930) Read more
• 2014 — Catherine Obianuju Acholonu, Nigerian author, playwright, and academic (born 1951) Read more
• 2014 — Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer, coach, and manager (born 1953) Read more
• 2014 — Lucius Shepard, American author and critic (born 1943) Read more
• 2013 — Muhammad Mahmood Alam, Pakistani general and pilot (born 1935) Read more
• 2013 — Henry Bromell, American novelist, screenwriter, and director (born 1947) Read more
• 2013 — Clay Ford, American lawyer and politician (born 1938) Read more
• 2012 — Furman Bisher, American journalist and author (born 1918) Read more
• 2012 — William R. Charette, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1932) Read more
• 2012 — William G. Moore Jr., American general (born 1920) Read more
• 2012 — George Tupou V of Tonga (born 1948) Read more
• 2011 — Warren Christopher, American lawyer and politician, 63rd United States Secretary of State (born 1925) Read more
• 2010 — Fess Parker, American actor and businessman (born 1924) Read more
• 2009 — Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, Iranian journalist and blogger (born 1980) Read more
• 2009 — Natasha Richardson, English-American actress (born 1963) Read more
• 2008 — Anthony Minghella, English director and screenwriter (born 1954) Read more
• 2007 — Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer, coach, and sportscaster (born 1948) Read more
• 2006 — Dan Gibson, Canadian photographer and cinematographer (born 1922) Read more
• 2004 — Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (born 1927) Read more
• 2003 — Karl Kling, German race car driver (born 1910) Read more
• 2003 — Adam Osborne, Thai-English engineer and businessman, founded the Osborne Computer Corporation (born 1939) Read more
• 2002 — R. A. Lafferty, American soldier and author (born 1914) Read more
• 2001 — John Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1935) Read more
• 2000 — Eberhard Bethge, German theologian and academic (born 1909) Read more
• 1996 — Odysseas Elytis, Greek poet and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911) Read more
• 1993 — Kenneth E. Boulding, English-American economist and activist (born 1910) Read more
• 1990 — Robin Harris, American comedian (born 1953) Read more
• 1988 — Billy Butterfield, American trumpet player and cornet player (born 1917) Read more
• 1987 — Kari Diesen, Norwegian singer and revue actress (born 1914) Read more

Holidays & observances

Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico); Christian feast day: Blessed Aimée-Adèle Le Bouteiller; Christian feast day: Alexander of Jerusalem; Christian feast day: Anselm of Lucca; Christian feast day: Cyril of Jerusalem; Christian feast day: Edward the Martyr; Christian feast day: Fridianus; Christian feast day: Salvator; Christian feast day: March 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Flag Day (Aruba); Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey); Men's and Soldiers' Day (Mongolia); Ordnance Factories' Day (India); Sheelah's Day (Ireland, Canada, Australia); Teacher's Day (Syria)

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