March 18 is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 288 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 3952 BC - According to the Venerable Bede, the world was created.
- 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Caligula emperor.
- 731 - Saint Gregory III begins his reign as Pope.
- 1229 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor declares himself King of Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade.
- 1241 - Kraków is ravaged by Mongols.
- 1314 - Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar is burned at the stake.
- 1438 - Albert II of Habsburg becomes King of Germany.
- 1608 - Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia
- 1673 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to some Friends (Quakers).
- 1766 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which was very unpopular in the British colonies.
- 1793 - The first republican state in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann.
- 1834 - Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.
- 1850 - American Express is founded by Henry Wells & William Fargo.
- 1865 - American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.
- 1871 - Declaration of the Paris Commune; President of the French Republic Adolphe Thiers orders evacuation of Paris.
- 1874 - Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.
- 1893 - Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best ice hockey team in Canada; originally presented to amateur champions, the Stanley Cup has been awarded to the top pro team since 1910, and since 1926, only to National Hockey League teams.
- 1906 - Traian Vuia flies a self-propelled heavier-than-air aircraft.
- 1909 - uses a short-wave radio transmitter, becoming the first radio broadcaster.
- 1913 - King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki.
- 1915 - World War I: Massive naval attack in Battle of Gallipoli. Three battleships are sunk during a failed British & French naval attack on the Dardanelles.
- 1921 - The second Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Union.
- 1922 - In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience. He would serve only 2 years.
- 1922 - The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City.
- 1925 - The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people.
- 1937 - The New London School explosion kills three hundred, mostly children.
- 1937 - Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces hand Italian forces a grave defeat at the Battle of Guadalajara.
- 1938 - Mexico nationalizes all foreign-owned oil properties within its borders.
- 1940 - World War II: Axis Powers - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
- 1945 - World War II: 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin.
- 1953 - An earthquake hits western Turkey, killing 250.
- 1959 - American President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law allowing for Hawaiian statehood, which would become official on August 21.
- 1962 - The Evian Accords puts an end to the Algerian War of Independence, which began in 1954.
- 1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.
- 1967 - Supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the Cornish coast.
- 1968 - Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.
- 1970 - Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
- 1971 - A landslide at , Peru crashes into Lake Yanahuani killing 200.
- 1974 - Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
- 1980 - On Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, 50 people are killed at an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket on its launch pad during a fueling operation.
- 1985 - The Australian television series Neighbours airs its first episode.
- 1989 - In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Pyramid of Cheops.
- 1990 - In largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 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 on board and leading to the grounding of all An-24s.
- 1999 - Launching of Internet Explorer 4.0.2144
- 2003 - US enters war in Iraq. About $1 billion was taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States began bombing Iraq, biggest bank robbery in history. [1]
- 2003 - FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.
- 2003 - British Sign Language is recognised as an official British language.
- 2005 - The first-ever prayer led by a woman in a mixed-gender congregation is held in New York City, marking a break with a 1426-year Islamic tradition.
- 2005 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband, fueling a worldwide debate on euthanasia.
- 2007 - Steven Avery convicted for homicide because of DNA evidence, DNA having shown his innocence following a previous conviction.
Births
- 1395 - John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, English military leader (d. 1447)
- 1496 - Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and queen consort of Louis XII of France (d. 1533)
- 1555 - François, Duke of Anjou (d. 1584)
- 1590 - Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649)
- 1602 - Jacques de Billy, French mathematician (d. 1679)
- 1603 - Simon Bradstreet, Massachusetts Bay colonist (d. 1693)
- 1634 - Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de la Fayette, French writer (d. 1693)
- 1640 - Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1719)
- 1657 - Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (d. 1743)
- 1679 - Matthew Decker, English merchant and writer (d. 1759)
- 1685 - Ralph Ersine, Scottish minister (d. 1752)
- 1690 - Christian Goldbach, Prussian mathematician (d. 1764)
- 1701 - Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish merchant and philanthropist (d. 1776)
- 1780 - Milos Obrenovic, Leader of The Second Serbian Uprising and Prince of Serbia (d. 1860)
- 1782 - John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)
- 1813 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German writer (d. 1864)
- 1823 - Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy, French general (d. 1883)
- 1828 - William Randal Cremer, English politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1908)
- 1837 - Grover Cleveland, President of the United States (d. 1908)
- 1840 - William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (d. 1901)
- 1842 - Stéphane Mallarmé, French poet (d. 1898)
- 1844 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (d. 1908)
- 1848 - Nathanael Herreshoff, American naval architect (d. 1938)
- 1848 - Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria (d. 1939)
- 1858 - Rudolf Diesel, German inventor (d. 1913)
- 1869 - Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940)
- 1872 - Anna Held, Polish actress and singer (d. 1918)
- 1874 - Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher (d. 1948)
- 1877 - Edgar Cayce, American psychic (d. 1945)
- 1877 - Clem Hill, Australian cricketer (d. 1945)
- 1882 - Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer (d. 1973)
- 1886 - Edward Everett Horton, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1898 - Jake Swirbul, American aircraft manufacturer (d. 1960)
- 1893 - Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (d. 1978)
- 1893 - Wilfred Owen, British poet (d. 1918)
- 1899 - Jean Goldkette, Greek-born jazz musician (d. 1962)
- 1904 - Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (d. 1926)
- 1905 - Robert Donat, English actor (d. 1958)
- 1905 - Thomas Townsend Brown, American scientist (d. 1985)
- 1907 - John Zachary Young, British biologist (d. 1997)
- 1909 - Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (d. 2007)
- 1910 - Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China (d. 1988)
- 1911 - Smiley Burnette, American singer and songwriter (d. 1967)
- 1913 - Werner Molders German WWII pilot (d. 1941)
- 1913 - René Clément, French film director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
- 1915 - Richard Condon, American novelist (d. 1996)
- 1917 - Frederika of Hanover, queen of the Hellenes (d. 1981)
- 1918 - Al Benton, American baseball player (d. 1968)
- 1918 - Bob Broeg, American sports writer (d. 2005)
- 1922 - Egon Bahr, German politician
- 1923 - Andy Granatelli, American motorsports entrepreneur
- 1926 - Peter Graves, American actor
- 1926 - Dick Littlefield, American baseball player (d. 1997)
- 1927 - John Kander, American songwriter
- 1927 - George Plimpton, American writer and actor (d. 2003)
- 1928 - Julia Mullock, Princess of Korea
- 1928 - Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist
- 1928 - Fidel V. Ramos, President of the Philippines
- 1929 - John Macurdy, American bass
- 1930 - Pat Halcox, British musician
- 1931 - John Fraser, Scottish-born stage, film and television actor
- 1932 - John Updike, American author
- 1935 - Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, Danish mathematician
- 1936 - Frederik Willem de Klerk, President of South Africa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1937 - Mark Donohue, American race car driver (d. 1975)
- 1937 - Rudi Altig, German cyclist
- 1938 - Charley Pride, American musician
- 1939 - Ron Atkinson, English former footballer and manager
- 1939 - Giannis Markopoulos, Greek composer
- 1941 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (d. 2006)
- 1941 - John W. Derr, American politician
- 1943 - Kevin Dobson, American actor
- 1947 - B.J. Wilson, English drummer (d. 1990)
- 1947 - Patrick Chesnais, French actor
- 1947 - Patrick Barlow, English actor, comedian and playwright
- 1948 - Guy Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949 - Alex Higgins, Northern Irish snooker player
- 1949 - Åse Kleveland, Norwegian singer and politician
- 1950 - Brad Dourif, American actor
- 1950 - Richard Kretchmer, English artist and historian
- 1950 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (d. 1997)
- 1950 - Larry Perkins, Australian racing driver
- 1951 - Bill Frisell, American jazz musician
- 1951 - Ben Cohen, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream
- 1952 - Mike Webster, American football player (d. 2002)
- 1956 - Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish skier
- 1957 - György Pazdera, Hungarian bassist (Pokolgép)
- 1959 - Luc Besson, French producer, writer, and director
- 1959 - Irene Cara, American actress and singer
- 1960 - Richard Biggs, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1960 - Guy Carbonneau, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1962 - Thomas Ian Griffith, American actor
- 1962 - James McMurtry, American folk singer/songwriter
- 1962 - Mike Rowe, American television personality
- 1963 - Jeff LaBar, American guitarist
- 1963 - Vanessa L. Williams, American beauty queen, actress, and singer
- 1964 - Bonnie Blair, American speed skater
- 1964 - Courtney Pine, British jazz saxophonist
- 1964 - Rozalla, Zambian singer
- 1966 - Jerry Cantrell, American musician
- 1967 - Miki Berenyi, English singer (Lush)
- 1968 - Shinichiro Miki, Japanese seiyu (voice actor)
- 1969 - Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukrainian chess player
- 1969 - Shaun Udal, English cricketer
- 1970 - Queen Latifah, American singer and actress
- 1972 - Dane Cook, American comedian and actor
- 1973 - Max Barry, Australian author
- 1975 - Brian Griese, American football player
- 1975 - Tomas Žvirgždauskas, Lithuanian footballer
- 1975 - Sutton Foster, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1975 - Rodleen Getsic, American musician, civil servant
- 1976 - Jovan Kirovski, American soccer player
- 1976 - Tomokazu Ohka, Japanese baseball player
- 1976 - Scott Podsednik, American baseball player
- 1977 - Danny Murphy, English footballer
- 1977 - Zdeno Chára, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1977 - Devin Lima, American singer
- 1977 - Willy Sagnol, French footballer
- 1977 - Terrmel Sledge, American baseball player
- 1977 - Fernando Rodney, American baseball player
- 1978 - Khalilah Adams, American actress
- 1978 - Yoshie Takeshita, Japanese volleyball player
- 1978 - Jan Bulis, Czech ice hockey player
- 1979 - Adam Levine, American singer (Maroon 5)
- 1979 - Brandon Lee, American adult actor
- 1980 - Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
- 1980 - Sophia Myles, English actress
- 1980 - Sebastien Frey, French footballer
- 1981 - Jang Nara, Korean singer and actress
- 1982 - Chad Cordero, American baseball player
- 1982 - Pedro Mantorras, Angolan footballer
- 1983 - Andy Sonnanstine, American baseball player
- 1984 - Vonzell Solomon, American Idol Contestant
- 1985 - Vince Lia, Australian Footballer
- 1986 - Bia Figueiredo, Brazilian racing driver
- 1992 - , Englsih Arsenal Midfielder
- 1996 - Madeline Carroll, American actress
Deaths
- 978 - King Edward the Martyr of England
- 1227 - Pope Honorius III (b. 1148)
- 1314 - Jacques DeMolay, Frankish noble, the 23rd Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b.1244)
- 1583 - King Magnus of Livonia (b. 1540)
- 1584 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (b. 1530)
- 1675 - Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (b. 1606)
- 1689 - John Dixwell, English judge (b. 1607)
- 1696 - Robert Charnock, English conspirator
- 1745 - Sir Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1676)
- 1746 - Anna Leopoldovna, regent of Russia (b. 1718)
- 1768 - Laurence Sterne, Irish writer (b. 1713)
- 1781 - Anne Robert Turgot, French statesman (b. 1727)
- 1823 - Jean-Baptiste Breval, French composer (b. 1753)
- 1835 - Christian Gunther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian statesman and diplomat (b. 1769)
- 1871 - Augustus De Morgan, Indian-born British mathematician and logician (b. 1806)
- 1898 - Matilda Joslyn Gage, American suffragist (b. 1826)
- 1907 - Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist and politician (b. 1827)
- 1913 - King George I of Greece (b. 1845)
- 1936 - Eleftherios Venizelos, Former Prime minister of Greece
- 1939 - Henry Simpson Lunn, English humanitarian and religious leader (b. 1859)
- 1941 - Henri Cornet, French cyclist (b. 1884)
- 1945 - William Grover-Williams, British racing driver
- 1947 - William C. Durant, American automobile pioneer (b. 1861)
- 1962 - Walter W. Bacon, Governor of Delaware (b. 1880)
- 1963 - Wanda Hawley, American actress (b. 1895)
- 1964 - Sigfrid Edström, Swedish sports official (b. 1870)
- 1965 - King Farouk I of Egypt (b. 1920)
- 1969 - Barbara Bates, American film actress (b. 1925)
- 1973 - Lauritz Melchior, Danish-born American opera singer (b. 1890)
- 1975 - Alain Grandbois, Quebec poet (b. 1900)
- 1976 - Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (b. 1893)
- 1977 - Marien Ngouabi, President of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1938)
- 1977 - José Carlos Pace, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1944)
- 1978 - Leigh Brackett, American author (b. 1915)
- 1978 - Peggy Wood, American actress (b. 1892)
- 1983 - King Umberto II of Italy, (b. 1904)
- 1983 - Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (b. 1910)
- 1984 - Charlie Lau, American baseball player (b. 1933)
- 1986 - Bernard Malamud, American writer (b. 1914)
- 1988 - Billy Butterfield, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1917)
- 1990 - Robin Harris, American actor and comedian (b. 1953)
- 1995 - Robin Jacques, illustrator of children's books (b. 1920)
- 1996 - Odysseas Elytis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 1999 - Elizabeth Huckaby, American educator (b. 1905)
- 2000 - Eberhard Bethge, German theologian (b. 1909)
- 2001 - John Phillips, American musician (The Mamas and the Papas) (b. 1935)
- 2002 - R.A. Lafferty, American science fiction writer (b. 1914)
- 2002 - Gösta Winbergh, Swedish tenor (b. 1943)
- 2003 - Karl Kling, German race car driver (b. 1910)
- 2003 - Adam Osborne, British computer pioneer (b. 1939)
- 2004 - Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman (b. 1927)
- 2006 - Bill Beutel, American journalist (b. 1930)
- 2006 - Dan Gibson, musician (b. 1922)
- 2007 - Bob Woolmer, English cricketer and Pakistan national coach (b. 1948)
Holidays and observances
Liturgical feasts
External links
