September 18

Events
Up to 1900
41 - Tiberius is confirmed as Roman Emperor by the Roman Senate following the natural death of Augustus Caesar on August 19.
96 - Nerva becomes Roman Emperor, after the murder of Domitian.
324 - Constantine I decisively defeats Licinius in the Battle of Chrysopolis, establishing his own control over the whole Roman Empire.
1180 - Philip Augustus becomes King of France.
1502 - Christopher Columbus lands in present-day Costa Rica on his final voyage.
1635 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor declares war on France.
1679 - New Hampshire becomes a county of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1714 - George I of Great Britain arrives in Great Britain for the first time since becoming King on August 1.
1739 - The Treaty of Belgrade is signed, giving Belgrade to the Roman Empire.
1759 - Seven Years' War: The British capture Quebec City.
1793 - The first cornerstone for the US Capitol building is laid by George Washington.
1809 - The Royal Opera House in London opens.
1810 - The process towards Chilean independence begins with the formation of the first government junta.
1812 - The 1812 Fire of Moscow dies down after destroying three quarters (75%) of the city.
1814 - The Congress of Vienna begins, with discussions on a new order in Europe.
1851 - First publication of what later becomes The New York Times.
1870 - The Old Faithful Geyser at Yellowstone is first observed by Henry D. Washburn.
1872 - Oscar II of Sweden and Norway becomes King.
1882 - The Pacific Stock Exchange opens.
1895 - Daniel David Palmer gives the first chiropractic adjustment.
1901 2000
1906 - A Typhoon and Tsunami kill around 10,000 people in Hong Kong.
1910 - 25,000 people demonstrate in Amsterdam for equal voting rights.
1911 - Russian Premier Pyotr Stolypin is shot at the Kiev Opera House.
1914 - The Irish Home Rule Act becomes law, but is delayed until after World War I.
1914 - World War I: South African troops land in what was then German South West Africa (now Namibia).
1919 - Women in the Netherlands gain the right to vote.
1922 - Hungary is admitted to the League of Nations.
1927 - The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) goes on the air.
1939 - World War II: The Polish government under Ignacy Moscicki flees to Romania.
1940 - World War II: British steamer City of Benares is torpedoed by German U-boat U-48 on Rockall sandbank, killing 248 people.
1947 - The U.S. Air Force is formed as a group split from the U.S. Army.
1947 - The CIA is founded.
1952 - Charlie Chaplin leaves the United States and is barred, by J. Edgar Hoover, from ever entering the country again.
1960 - Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of a Cuban delegation of the United Nations.
1961 - UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold is killed in a plane crash in what is now the border region between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on his way to the war-torn Katanga region.
1962 - Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago join the UN.
1964 - Constantine II of Greece marries Anne-Marie of Denmark.
1964 - The North Vietnamese army begins infiltrating South Vietnam.
1970 - American guitarist Jimi Hendrix dies in London, aged 27.
1973 - East Germany, West Germany and the Bahamas join the United Nations.
1974 - Hurricane Fifi kills thousands of people in Honduras.
1975 - Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst is arrested.
1977 - Voyager 1 takes the first photograph of the Earth and the Moon together.
1981 - Capital punishment is banned in France.
1982 - Christian militia kill 600 Palestinians in Lebanon.
1984 - Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
1987 - Jerzy Kukuczka becomes the second mountaineer to climb all 14 peak over 8000 meters high.
1988 - Saw Maung seizes power in Burma, overthrowing Maung Maung Kha.
1990 - Liechtenstein joins the UN.
1991 - Yugoslavia begins a naval blockade of seven of its port cities on the Adriatic Sea coast.
1994 - A volcano erupts on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea, destroying the island's capital, Rabaul.
1997 - A narrow majority of voters in Wales supports devolution in a referendum.
1998 - The ferry Princess of the Orient sinks in heavy wind, in the Philippines, killing 180 people.
From 2001
2005 - Afghanistan holds its first election after the Taliban was overthrown.
2005 - The SPD-Green Party coalition government loses its majority in the German Bundestag in the German election. Angela Merkel of the CDU becomes Germany's first female chancellor two months later, leading a grand coalition.
2006 - Right wing protesters riot outside the Hungarian television building in Budapest, after the release of an audio tape in which Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany admits lying during the 2006 election campaign.
2013 - Tony Abbott becomes the 28th Prime Minister of Australia.
2014 - Scottish independence referendum, 2014: A majority of voters (55.3%) support Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom, with 44.7% voting for independence.
2015 - The 2015 Rugby union World Cup in England and Wales begins.
2016 - 17 Indian army personnel are killed in a grenade attack at a military base in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
2016 - The 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, come to an end, with China topping the medal table and Great Britain finishing second.
2019 - 27 people are killed in a fire at a boarding school in Monrovia, Liberia.
Births
Up to 1800
53 - Trajan, Roman Emperor (d. 117)
1434 - Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1467)
1495 - Louis X, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1545)
1587 - Francesco Caccini, Italian singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1640)
1606 - Zhang Xianzhong, Chinese peasant revolt leader (d. 1647)
1643 - Gilbert Burnet, Scottish bishop, historian and theologian (d. 1715)
1676 - Eberhard Louis, Duke of Wurttemberg (d. 1733)
1684 - Johann Gottfried Walther, German composer (d. 1748)
1709 - Samuel Johnson, English writer and lexicographer (d. 1784)
1733 - George Reid, American politician, 3rd Governor of Delaware (d. 1798)
1750 - Tomas de Iriarte, Spanish writer (d. 1791)
1752 - Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (d. 1833)
1765 - Pope Gregory XVI (d. 1846)
1779 - Joseph Story, American jurist (d. 1845)
1786 - Christian VIII of Denmark, King of Denmark (d. 1848)
1786 - Justinus Kerner, German poet and author (d. 1862)
1801 1900
1804 - John Steell, Scottish sculptor (d. 1891)
1806 - Heinrich Traube, German writer (d. 1884)
1812 - Herschel Vespasian Johnson, American politician, 41st Governor of Georgia (d. 1880)
1817 - Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romanian politician and historian (d. 1891)
1819 - Leon Foucault, French physicist (d. 1868)
1831 - Siegfried Marcus, German-Austrian inventor (d. 1898)
1846 - Richard With, Norwegian businessman, politician and captain, founder of Hurtigruten (d. 1930)
1854 - Fiorentino Ameghino, Argentine naturalist and anthropologist (d. 1911)
1859 - John Bates, 41st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1946)
1860 - Alberto Franchetti, Italian composer (d. 1942)
1862 - Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (d. 1933)
1870 - Clark Wissler, American anthropologist (d. 1947)
1872 - Carl Friedberg, German-Italian pianist and educator (d. 1955)
1876 - James Scullin, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1953)
1878 - James O. Richardson, American admiral (d. 1974)
1883 - Gerald Tyrwhit-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners, English composer, author and painter (d. 1950)
1885 - Uzeyir Haribeyov, Azerbaijani composer, conductor and playwright (d. 1948)
1888 - Toni Wolff, Swiss psychologist (d. 1953)
1888 - Grey Owl, English-Canadian conservationist (d. 1938)
1891 - Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1942)
1894 - Fay Compton, English actress (d. 1978)
1895 - Tomoji Tanabe, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2009)
1895 - John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1979)
1895 - Gregoire-Pierre Agagianian, Armenian Catholic Church leader (d. 1971)
1900 - Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, first Prime Minister of Mauritius and Governor-General of Mauritius (d. 1985)
1900 - Mahmoud Fawzi, Egyptian diplomat and politician (d. 1981)
1901 1950
1905 - Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (d. 1990)
1905 - Agnes de Mille, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
1906 - Julio Rosales, Filipino cardinal (d. 1983)
1907 - Edwin McMillan, American physicist (d. 1991)
1908 - Victor Ambartsumian, Armenian astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1996)
1911 - Edwin McMillan, American physicist (d. 1991)
1914 - Jack Cardiff, British movie director (d. 2009)
1916 - Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor, singer, director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1916 - Mercedes Salisachs, Spanish actress (d. 2014)
1917 - June Foray, American voice actress (d. 2017)
1917 - Phil Taylor, English footballer (d. 2012)
1917 - Francis Parker Yockey, American lawyer and philosopher (d. 1960)
1917 - Jozsef Asboth, Hungarian tennis player (d. 1986)
1921 - Kamal Hassan Ali, Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 1993)
1922 - Grayson Hall, American actress (d. 1985)
1922 - Laurens van Ravens, Belgian football referee (d. 2018)
1923 - Queen Anne of Romania, last queen of Romania (d. 2016)
1923 - Peter Smithson, English architect (d. 2003)
1930 - Ignatius Moses I Daoud, Syrian cardinal (d. 2012)
1931 - Julio Grondona, Argentine football official (d. 2014)
1932 - Nikolay Rukavishnikov, Russian physicist and astronaut (d. 2002)
1933 - Leonid Kharitonov, Russian opera singer (d. 2017)
1933 - Scotty Bowman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1933 - Bob Bennett, former United States Senator from Utah (d. 2016)
1934 - Kurt Malangre, German politician (d. 2018)
1939 - Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal
1939 - Abbas El Fassi, former Prime Minister of Morocco
1940 - Frankie Avalon, American musician
1942 - Gabriella Ferri, Italian singer (d. 2004)
1942 - Alex Stepney, English footballer
1944 - Veronica Carlson, British actor (d. 2022)
1944 - Charles L. Veach, American colonel, pilot and astronaut (d. 1995)
1946 - Jimmy O'Rourke, Scottish footballer
1947 - Giancarlo Minardi, Italian businessman
1948 - Lynn Abbey, American computer programmer and author
1949 - C. K. Menon, Indian businessman and politician (d. 2019)
1949 - Mo Mowlam, English politician (d. 2005)
1949 - Peter Shilton, English footballer
1950 - Chris Heister, Swedish politician
1951 1975
1951 - Ben Carson, American neurosurgeon and politician
1952 - Dee Dee Ramone, American musician (The Ramones) (d. 2002)
1954 - Takao Doi, Japanese astronaut
1954 - Murtaza Bhutto, Pakistani politician (d. 1996)
1954 - Steven Pinker, Canadian psychologist, linguist and author
1954 - Dennis Johnson, American basketball player and coach
1954 - Einar Mar Gudmundsson, Icelandic writer
1955 - Paul Butler, English bishop
1956 - Tom McInnerny, English actor
1957 - Philip May, English investment banker, husband of Theresa May
1958 - Rachid Taha, Algerian singer and activist (d. 2018)
1961 - James Gandolfini, American actor (d. 2013)
1962 - Joanne Catherall, English singer (The Human League)
1962 - John Fashanu, English footballer
1962 - John Mann, Canadian actor, singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
1963 - John Powell, English-Canadian composer and conductor
1963 - Dan Povenmire, American television director, writer, producer and actor
1964 - Marco Masini, Italian singer-songwriter
1964 - Holly Robinson Peete, American actress and singer
1967 - Tara Fitzgerald, English actress
1968 - Upendra, Indian actor, singer, director and screenwriter
1968 - Toni Kukoc, Croatian basketball player
1970 - Aisha Tyler, American actress, television host and author
1970 - Darren Gough, English cricketer
1971 - Anna Netrebko, Russian-Austrian opera singer
1971 - Jada Pinkett Smith, American actress and model
1971 - Lance Armstrong, American cyclist
1972 - Michael Landes, American actor
1972 - Iain Stewart, Scottish politician
1973 - James Marsden, American actor
1973 - Louise Sauvage, Australian wheelchair racer
1973 - Mark Shuttleworth, South African entrepreneur
1974 - Sol Campbell, English footballer
1974 - Xzibit, American rapper
1975 - Jason Sudeikis, American actor
From 1976
1976 - Sophina Brown, American actress
1976 - Ronaldo, Brazilian footballer
1977 - Barrett Foa, American actor
1977 - Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager
1978 - Neil Entwistle, English murderer
1979 - Daniel Aranzubia, Spanish footballer
1979 - Junichi Inamoto, Japanese footballer
1980 - Charles Hedger, British guitarist
1981 - Andrea Caracciolo, Italian footballer
1981 - Jennifer Tisdale, American actress and model
1983 - Kevin Doyle, Irish footballer
1983 - Yuzo Kurihara, Japanese footballer
1984 - Jack Carpenter, American actor
1984 - Dizzee Rascal, English rapper
1984 - Travis Outlaw, American basketball player
1985 - Pete Cashmore, Scottish blogger
1986 - Cammy Bell, Scottish footballer
1986 - Keeley Hazell, English model and actress
1988 - Annette Obrestad, Norwegian poker player
1989 - Chris Eubank Jr., British professional boxer
1989 - Serge Ibaka, Congolese-Spanish basketball player
1990 - Lewis Holtby, German footballer
1992 - Amber Liu, American-South Korean singer and dancer
1993 - Patrick Schwarzenegger, American model and actor
1995 - Max Meyer, German footballer
1996 - C. J. Sanders, American football player
1998 - Christian Pulisic, American soccer player
Deaths
Up to 1900
96 - Domitian, Roman Emperor (b. 51)
411 - Constantine III, Roman general and emperor
887 - Pietro I Candiano, 16th Doge of Venice (b. 842)
1180 - King Louis VII of France (b. 1120)
1361 - Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1315)
1598 - Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese warlord (b. 1536)
1675 - Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1605)
1783 - Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (b. 1707)
1792 - August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German bishop and theologian (b. 1704)
1797 - Lazare Hoche, French general (b. 1768)
1819 - John Langdon, American politician (b. 1743)
1857 - Karol Kurpinski, Polish composer and conductor (b. 1785)
1860 - Joseph Locke, English engineer (b. 1805)
1872 - King Charles XV of Sweden/IV of Norway (b. 1826)
1891 - Jose Manuel Balmaceda, President of Chile (b. 1840)
1896 - Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist (b. 1819)
1901 2000
1904 - Herbert von Bismarck, son of Otto von Bismarck (b. 1849)
1905 - George MacDonald, Scottish minister, author and poet (b. 1894)
1909 - Grigore Tocilescu, Romanian archaeologist and historian (b. 1850)
1911 - Pyotr Stolypin, Russian politician (b. 1862)
1924 - Francis Herbert Bradley, English mathematician (b. 1846)
1939 - Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish author, painter and photographer (b. 1885)
1941 - Fred Karno, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1866)
1953 - Charles de Tornaco, Belgian racing driver (b. 1927)
1954 - Johannes Drost, Dutch swimmer (b. 1880)
1956 - Adelard Godbout, Canadian politician, 15th Premier of Quebec (b. 1892)
1958 - Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1893)
1959 - Harvey Glatman, American serial killer (executed by gas chamber; b. 1927)
1961 - Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish United Nations Secretary-General and distinguished economist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1905)
1967 - John Cockcroft, British physicist (b. 1897)
1970 - Jimi Hendrix, American musician (b. 1942)
1980 - Katherine Anne Porter, American journalist and author (b. 1890)
1987 - Americo Tomas, President of Portugal (b. 1894)
1992 - Mohammad Hidayatullah, 6th Vice President of India (b. 1905)
1992 - Princess Margaret of Denmark (b. 1895)
1994 - Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player (b. 1954)
1996 - Annabella, French actress (b. 1907)
From 2001
2002 - Mauro Ramos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
2004 - Russ Meyer, American filmmaker (b. 1922)
2006 - Edward J. King, American politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1925)
2008 - Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (b. 1931)
2009 - Irving Kristol, American columnist and journalist (b. 1920)
2012 - Santiago Carrillo, Spanish politician (b. 1915)
2013 - Marcel Reich-Ranicki, German writer and literary critic (b. 1920)
2013 - Ken Norton, American boxer (b. 1943)
2014 - Kenny Wheeler, Canadian jazz trumpeter (b. 1930)
2014 - George Radwanski, Canadian journalist and civil servant (b. 1947)
2014 - Earl Ross, Canadian racing driver (b. 1941)
2015 - Mario Benjamin Menendez, Argentine general and Governor of the Falkland Islands (b. 1930)
2015 - Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean footballer (b. 1955)
2015 - Marcin Wrona, Polish movie and television director (b. 1973)
2015 - Nancy Bernstein, American visual effects and movie producer (b. 1960)
2016 - C. Martin Croker, American actor (b. 1962)
2017 - Jean Plaskie, Belgian footballer (b. 1941)
2017 - Chuck Low, American actor (b. 1928)
2017 - Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Pakistani writer (b. 1937)
2018 - David DiChiera, American composer (b. 1935)
2018 - Marceline Loridan-Ivens, French writer and film director (b. 1928)
2018 - Jean Piat, French actor (b. 1924)
2018 - Richard M. Pollack, American mathematician (b. 1935)
2018 - Robert Venturi, American architect (b. 1925)
2018 - Norifumi Yamamoto, Japanese martial artist (b. 1977)
2019 - Graeme Gibson, Canadian novelist and union leader (b. 1934)
2019 - Tony Mills, English singer and musician (b. 1962)
2019 - Shyam Ramsay, Indian film director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1952)
2019 - Fernando Ricksen, Dutch footballer (b. 1976)
2020 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American jurist (b. 1933)
Observances
Independence Day (Chile)
Indigenous Language Day (Okinawa)
Days of the year