1025 The coronation of King Bolesław I the Brave of Poland took place on April 18, 1025. He was the first Polish ruler to receive the title of rex (Latin: "king"). The name "Poland" originates from the name of a West Slavic tribe called Polanie that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, "Polanie" means "people living in open fields". Bolesław I died shortly after his coronation, most likely from an illness.
1506 Pope Julius II (reigned 1503–1513) made the decision to rebuild Rome's St Peters church making it the grandest building in Christendom. Pope Julius' scheme for the new St Peter's Basilica was the subject of a competition among architects. It was the design of Donato Bramante that was selected. The Pope laid the foundation for the new St. Peter's Basilica on April 18, 1506.
1593 In the early 1590s William Shakespeare was trying to establish himself as an actor and writer. Shakespeare managed to get as his patron the glamorous Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. On April 18, 1593, he had his first work published, the narrative poem Venus and Adonis. Venus and Adonis begins with a brief dedication to the Earl of Southampton, in which the poet describes the work as "the first heir of my invention."
1688 The first anti-slavery petition in the New World was drafted in the home of Thönes Kunders of Germantown on April 18, 1688. Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia, which had been founded five years earlier by German Quaker and Mennonite families. Kunders hosted the early Germantown Quaker meetings and the Christian group were already prominent in their condemnation of this inhuman trade, with the society's founder, George Fox, speaking strongly against it.
1775 The silversmith Paul Revere made a midnight ride from Boston to Concord to warn the colonial militia of the approach of British troops on April 18, 1775. As Revere rode through Massachusetts, he shouted "The Regulars are coming out", not "The British are coming", since Massachusetts colonists still considered themselves British citizens at the time. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War was fought the next day.
1794 William Debenham, the founder of Debenhams department stores, was born on April 18, 1794.
In 1813 Suffolk-born shopkeeper William Debenham invested in a draper’s store at 44 Wigmore Street, London. Together with his partner Thomas Clark he expanded the business with stores on both sides of Wigmore Street, one known as Debenham & Clark and the other known as Clark & Debenham. The shops grew into Debenhams department stores, which today is a public company.
1813 James McCune Smith was born on April 18, 1813. The first African-American doctor, he was rejected from all American colleges and had to attend the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1837. Smith returned to New York City in 1837 and established his practice in Lower Manhattan in general surgery and medicine, treating both black and white patients.
1817 The writer George Henry Lewes was born in London on April 18, 1817. He was the illegitimate son of the minor poet John Lee Lewes and Elizabeth Ashweek. Lewes was unattractive with a straggly mustache, pitted complexion and a head too large for his small body. In 1851 Lewes met the writer Marian Evans, later to be famous as George Eliot. Within three years, with a scandalous disregard of the conventions of their time, had decided to live together.
1873 The invention of the silvered-glass mirror is credited to German chemist Justus von Liebig. His process involved the deposition of a thin layer of metallic silver onto glass through the chemical reduction of silver nitrate. Although it was not widely adopted until after Liebig's death on April 18, 1873, his process for silvering eventually was adapted for mass manufacturing and led to the greater availability of affordable mirrors.
1906 An earthquake struck the coast of Northern California including San Francisco at 5:13 a.m. on April 18, 1906 with a moment magnitude of 7.8. Devastating fires broke out in the city that lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history.
1909 Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome on April 18, 1909 and canonized in 1920, for her faithfulness for promoting to God's grace. She is revered as a national heroine in France and is one of the patron saints of France. Her feast day is celebrated on May 30th. She is the only Catholic saint to have been burnt as a heretic.
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| Coronation of the First King, by Jan Matejko. |
1506 Pope Julius II (reigned 1503–1513) made the decision to rebuild Rome's St Peters church making it the grandest building in Christendom. Pope Julius' scheme for the new St Peter's Basilica was the subject of a competition among architects. It was the design of Donato Bramante that was selected. The Pope laid the foundation for the new St. Peter's Basilica on April 18, 1506.
1593 In the early 1590s William Shakespeare was trying to establish himself as an actor and writer. Shakespeare managed to get as his patron the glamorous Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. On April 18, 1593, he had his first work published, the narrative poem Venus and Adonis. Venus and Adonis begins with a brief dedication to the Earl of Southampton, in which the poet describes the work as "the first heir of my invention."
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| Title page of the first quarto (1593) |
1688 The first anti-slavery petition in the New World was drafted in the home of Thönes Kunders of Germantown on April 18, 1688. Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia, which had been founded five years earlier by German Quaker and Mennonite families. Kunders hosted the early Germantown Quaker meetings and the Christian group were already prominent in their condemnation of this inhuman trade, with the society's founder, George Fox, speaking strongly against it.
1775 The silversmith Paul Revere made a midnight ride from Boston to Concord to warn the colonial militia of the approach of British troops on April 18, 1775. As Revere rode through Massachusetts, he shouted "The Regulars are coming out", not "The British are coming", since Massachusetts colonists still considered themselves British citizens at the time. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War was fought the next day.
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| 20th-century depiction of Revere's ride |
1794 William Debenham, the founder of Debenhams department stores, was born on April 18, 1794.
In 1813 Suffolk-born shopkeeper William Debenham invested in a draper’s store at 44 Wigmore Street, London. Together with his partner Thomas Clark he expanded the business with stores on both sides of Wigmore Street, one known as Debenham & Clark and the other known as Clark & Debenham. The shops grew into Debenhams department stores, which today is a public company.
1813 James McCune Smith was born on April 18, 1813. The first African-American doctor, he was rejected from all American colleges and had to attend the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1837. Smith returned to New York City in 1837 and established his practice in Lower Manhattan in general surgery and medicine, treating both black and white patients.
1817 The writer George Henry Lewes was born in London on April 18, 1817. He was the illegitimate son of the minor poet John Lee Lewes and Elizabeth Ashweek. Lewes was unattractive with a straggly mustache, pitted complexion and a head too large for his small body. In 1851 Lewes met the writer Marian Evans, later to be famous as George Eliot. Within three years, with a scandalous disregard of the conventions of their time, had decided to live together.
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| George Henry Lewes |
1873 The invention of the silvered-glass mirror is credited to German chemist Justus von Liebig. His process involved the deposition of a thin layer of metallic silver onto glass through the chemical reduction of silver nitrate. Although it was not widely adopted until after Liebig's death on April 18, 1873, his process for silvering eventually was adapted for mass manufacturing and led to the greater availability of affordable mirrors.
1906 An earthquake struck the coast of Northern California including San Francisco at 5:13 a.m. on April 18, 1906 with a moment magnitude of 7.8. Devastating fires broke out in the city that lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history.
1909 Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome on April 18, 1909 and canonized in 1920, for her faithfulness for promoting to God's grace. She is revered as a national heroine in France and is one of the patron saints of France. Her feast day is celebrated on May 30th. She is the only Catholic saint to have been burnt as a heretic.
1914 King Edward VII's wire Norfolk fox terrier named Caesar died on April 18, 1914. Caesar wore a collar that read "I am Caesar. I belong to the King," and even had his own footman. He wasn't the favorite of visiting ambassadors mainly because he used to mistake their legs for lampposts.
1915 Roland Garros was a pioneering French aviator and a World War I fighter pilot. On April 18, 1915, he was flying a Morane-Saulnier Type L aircraft on a reconnaissance mission over German lines when he was forced to land behind enemy lines due to engine trouble. Garros was subsequently captured by the Germans and spent three years as a prisoner of war before escaping in 1918.
1922 Jack Johnson, the renowned boxer, received U.S. Patent #1,413,121 on April 18, 1922, for his invention of a wrench. The design of the "Johnson Adjustable Wrench" was aimed to make the tool more effective and user-friendly, especially for tasks requiring significant force or in tight spaces where traditional wrenches could be challenging to use. Johnson became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion in 1908 when he beat Tommy Burns.
1915 Roland Garros was a pioneering French aviator and a World War I fighter pilot. On April 18, 1915, he was flying a Morane-Saulnier Type L aircraft on a reconnaissance mission over German lines when he was forced to land behind enemy lines due to engine trouble. Garros was subsequently captured by the Germans and spent three years as a prisoner of war before escaping in 1918.
1922 Jack Johnson, the renowned boxer, received U.S. Patent #1,413,121 on April 18, 1922, for his invention of a wrench. The design of the "Johnson Adjustable Wrench" was aimed to make the tool more effective and user-friendly, especially for tasks requiring significant force or in tight spaces where traditional wrenches could be challenging to use. Johnson became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion in 1908 when he beat Tommy Burns.
1923 The first baseball game to be played at Yankee Stadium in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City was on April 18, 1923. The game was between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, and it was attended by more than 74,000 fans. The Yankees won the game 4-1, and the stadium went on to become one of the most iconic and storied sports venues in the world.
1924 The first book of crossword puzzles was published by Simon & Schuster, appearing on the market on April 18, 1924. Its impact was huge. Almost overnight a craze for the new brain-teaser swept America. Crosswords were so popular among U.S. commuters in the 1920s that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad provided dictionaries for passengers.
1930 On the 20:45 news bulletin on Good Friday, April 18, 1930 the BBC Radio reported, "There is no news." Instead, they played piano music for the rest of the 15-minute segment. The wireless service then returned to broadcasting from the Queen's Hall in Langham Place, London, where the Wagner opera Parsifal was being performed.
1934 J.F. Cantrell opened the first washateria (laundromat) on April 18, 1934 in Fort Worth, Texas. It only had four machines and operated on a self-service model. This allowed customers to bring in their dirty laundry, wash and dry it using the machines provided, and then take their clean clothes home.
1938 On April 18, 1938 Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, made his debut in Action Comics #1, the first true superhero comic book. Action Comics #1 features the first appearance of several comic book heroes. For this reason it is widely considered both the beginning of the superhero genre and the most valuable comic book of all time.
1942 During World War II, Ronald Reagan was separated for four years from his movie career. He was ordered to active duty for the first time on April 18, 1942. Due to his poor eyesight, Reagan was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at Fort Mason, California, as a liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office.
1949 The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States was laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding on April 18, 1949. However, construction was canceled five days later, leading to a number of retired and active-duty United States Navy admirals publicly disagreeing with the emphasis on strategic nuclear bombing executed by the US Air Force as the primary means by which the nation and its interests were defended. The incident became known as the Revolt of the Admirals.
1949 Ireland was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations from 1922 to 1949. In 1948, the Irish government passed the Republic of Ireland Act, which declared that Ireland was a republic and no longer a member of the Commonwealth. The act came into force on April 18, 1949. The decision to leave the Commonwealth has had a lasting impact on Ireland's relationship with Britain and the rest of the world.
1955 Albert Einstein was wary of doctors and medicine and he suffered life long stomach pains due to a weakness in the wall of a major abdominal blood vessel. After a long illness, Einstein was admitted to a hospital in Princeton. He died during the night of April 18, 1955, when his weakness in the wall of a major abdominal blood vessel burst. The only person present at Einstein's deathbed, a hospital nurse, said that just before his death he mumbled several words in German that she did not understand.
1956 Four and a half months after Prince Rainier of Monaco announced his engagement to the American actress Grace Kelly, they married on April 18, 1956 in a brief civil ceremony at the royal palace. The next day, they married again in a large formal ceremony at Monaco's Cathedral of St. Nicholas.
1963 The first human nerve transplant was performed by Dr James Campbell at the New York University Medical Center on April 18, 1963. The patient was a 25-year-old woman who had lost the use of her right arm in a car accident. Dr. Campbell transplanted a nerve from her leg to her arm, and the patient was able to regain some use of her arm. This was a groundbreaking surgery, and it paved the way for future nerve transplants.
1980 Seven months after the Lancaster House agreement paved the way for full independence. the new state of Zimbabwe became fully independent on April 18, 1980, with the Rev Canaan Banana as the country's first President and Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister. The Zimbabwe Dollar replaced the Rhodesian Dollar as the official currency.
1980 The national flag of Zimbabwe consists of seven even horizontal stripes of green, gold, red and black with a white triangle containing a red 5-pointed star with a Zimbabwe Bird. The present design was adopted on April 18, 1980. It is based on the flag of Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zanu-PF.
2001 Basketball great Kobe Bryant married Mexican-American Vanessa Laine at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California on April 18, 2001. They had met on the set of Snoop Dogg's "Tha Eastsida" video, where she was working as a model. He and Vanessa had four daughters named Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri.
2014 The longest inverted roller coaster in the world is Banshee, located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. It opened on April 18, 2014, and has a length of 4,124 feet (1,257 m). The ride reaches a top speed of 68 miles per hour (109 km/h) and features seven inversions, including a pretzel knot and a vertical loop. Banshee is a steel inverted roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard.
1924 The first book of crossword puzzles was published by Simon & Schuster, appearing on the market on April 18, 1924. Its impact was huge. Almost overnight a craze for the new brain-teaser swept America. Crosswords were so popular among U.S. commuters in the 1920s that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad provided dictionaries for passengers.
1930 On the 20:45 news bulletin on Good Friday, April 18, 1930 the BBC Radio reported, "There is no news." Instead, they played piano music for the rest of the 15-minute segment. The wireless service then returned to broadcasting from the Queen's Hall in Langham Place, London, where the Wagner opera Parsifal was being performed.
1934 J.F. Cantrell opened the first washateria (laundromat) on April 18, 1934 in Fort Worth, Texas. It only had four machines and operated on a self-service model. This allowed customers to bring in their dirty laundry, wash and dry it using the machines provided, and then take their clean clothes home.
1938 On April 18, 1938 Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, made his debut in Action Comics #1, the first true superhero comic book. Action Comics #1 features the first appearance of several comic book heroes. For this reason it is widely considered both the beginning of the superhero genre and the most valuable comic book of all time.
1942 During World War II, Ronald Reagan was separated for four years from his movie career. He was ordered to active duty for the first time on April 18, 1942. Due to his poor eyesight, Reagan was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at Fort Mason, California, as a liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office.
1949 The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States was laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding on April 18, 1949. However, construction was canceled five days later, leading to a number of retired and active-duty United States Navy admirals publicly disagreeing with the emphasis on strategic nuclear bombing executed by the US Air Force as the primary means by which the nation and its interests were defended. The incident became known as the Revolt of the Admirals.
1949 Ireland was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations from 1922 to 1949. In 1948, the Irish government passed the Republic of Ireland Act, which declared that Ireland was a republic and no longer a member of the Commonwealth. The act came into force on April 18, 1949. The decision to leave the Commonwealth has had a lasting impact on Ireland's relationship with Britain and the rest of the world.
1955 Albert Einstein was wary of doctors and medicine and he suffered life long stomach pains due to a weakness in the wall of a major abdominal blood vessel. After a long illness, Einstein was admitted to a hospital in Princeton. He died during the night of April 18, 1955, when his weakness in the wall of a major abdominal blood vessel burst. The only person present at Einstein's deathbed, a hospital nurse, said that just before his death he mumbled several words in German that she did not understand.
1956 Four and a half months after Prince Rainier of Monaco announced his engagement to the American actress Grace Kelly, they married on April 18, 1956 in a brief civil ceremony at the royal palace. The next day, they married again in a large formal ceremony at Monaco's Cathedral of St. Nicholas.
1963 The first human nerve transplant was performed by Dr James Campbell at the New York University Medical Center on April 18, 1963. The patient was a 25-year-old woman who had lost the use of her right arm in a car accident. Dr. Campbell transplanted a nerve from her leg to her arm, and the patient was able to regain some use of her arm. This was a groundbreaking surgery, and it paved the way for future nerve transplants.
1980 Seven months after the Lancaster House agreement paved the way for full independence. the new state of Zimbabwe became fully independent on April 18, 1980, with the Rev Canaan Banana as the country's first President and Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister. The Zimbabwe Dollar replaced the Rhodesian Dollar as the official currency.
1980 The national flag of Zimbabwe consists of seven even horizontal stripes of green, gold, red and black with a white triangle containing a red 5-pointed star with a Zimbabwe Bird. The present design was adopted on April 18, 1980. It is based on the flag of Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zanu-PF.
2001 Basketball great Kobe Bryant married Mexican-American Vanessa Laine at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California on April 18, 2001. They had met on the set of Snoop Dogg's "Tha Eastsida" video, where she was working as a model. He and Vanessa had four daughters named Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri.
2014 The longest inverted roller coaster in the world is Banshee, located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. It opened on April 18, 2014, and has a length of 4,124 feet (1,257 m). The ride reaches a top speed of 68 miles per hour (109 km/h) and features seven inversions, including a pretzel knot and a vertical loop. Banshee is a steel inverted roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard.
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